Jochen Gartz - Magic Mushrooms Around the ... - preterhuman.net

CHAPTER 6
MUSHROOM CULTIVATION:
CLASSIC FINDINGS AND NEW TECHNIQUES
While conducting research on the
Mexican mushroom species during the 1950s,
R. Heim and R. Cailleux determined the basic
conditions essential to the cultivation of various
mushrooms. Before providing additional details,
I would like to briefly summarize the nutritional
requirements and characteristics of fungal
growth, to the extent that these issues are of
interest here.
Extraterrestrial or Earthly Organisms
In terms of cultivation parameters and
nutrients, the psychotropic species are no
different from table mushrooms and other
common gilled mushrooms. For that reason, Oss
and Oeric's speculations about extra-terrestrial
origins of these species clearly belong into the
realm of fables. In addition, psilocybin and
psilocin are substances that can be derived from
tryptophan by means of discernable reactions;
indeed, the amino acid tryptophan in its free
form has been found in a large number of
mushroom species.
The natural propagation of higher
mushrooms is linked to their basidiospores,
which are produced on the gills of developing
fruiting bodies and which are eventually cast
off. Once the spores have been dispersed - by
the wind, for example - they will germinate
when conditions are favorable (nutrients,
temperature, moisture, lack of competing
organisms) and finally, they gradually colonize
available substrates. Initially, a monokaryotic
mycelial thread (i.e. a mycelium with only one
nucleus per cell) grows out of the spore and
superficially penetrates the nutrient substrate.
When two of these hyphae meet, they form a
mycelium with two nuclei, or a dikaryotic
mycelium ("mycelial network"). Later on, these
mycelial strands go on to differentiate into
sporeproducing fruiting bodies ("fruiting").
Eventually, their spores disperse and germinate
once again.
During most parts of the year, the
dikaryotic mycelium grows unnoticed in its natural
substrate and remains purely vegetative, that is, it
continues to spread and to utilize new nutritional
resources without producing mushrooms, provided
there is sufficient moisture and temperatures do not
drop below freezing. ln its dormant state, the
mycelium can weather droughts and the cold
temperatures of winter, only to begin to grow
anew. Some species have mycelia with thick
strands that are visible within the substrate (e.g. the
rhizomorphs of Psilocybe cyanescens), while other
species, such as Psilocybe semilanceata, develop
comparatively thin strands that are hardly visible at
all.
The Secret of "Overnight" Growth
Every mushroom collector knows that
there are years of maximum mushroom yields.
Other years, mushrooms are scarce and dry periods
may pass with no apparent crops of gilled
mushrooms or boletes. For the majority of
mushroom species, the specific conditions required
to reach the fruiting phase have not yet been
determined.
The saprophytic species (including the
hallucinogenic ones except the Inocybe species:
mycorrhiza with trees) generally fruit after optimal
mycelial growth has been induced by appropriate
nutrient substrates, as long as the following
environmental conditions are maintained:
1) Decrease of the temperature until time of
optimal fruiting.
2) Increase of the humidity to 95-100%.
3) Decrease of carbon dioxide concentration
through increased air circulation.
4) Exposure to light may be necessary for
fruiting.
The last two items already touch upon the essential
requirements for mushroom cultivation, since these
conditions are always present in