Species & Strain Selection

There are many important factors when determining what mushrooms to grow. Season, Location, Available Substrate, Resistance to Competitor Organisms, Market Demand, and Cultivation Experience… Certain strains have been selected for medicinal compounds, substrate preference, and for quality/quantity of fruiting bodies. At Aloha Medicinals Inc., we are concerned with all aspects of cultivation and are constantly isolating new strains from wild specimens, or are selecting specimens for substrate preference, & medicinal properties.

Ask yourself a few questions… What material do I have to grow on? Straw, sawdust, agricultural waste… Is my growing room more cost effective to keep warm or cold this season? What is my market demand? If growing oyster mushrooms, would they prefer white, blue, grey, brown, white, yellow, or pink caps? For shiitake, do your customers prefer high quality flower shiitake, or will you be selling large, medium, or small mushrooms? Cap color light vs. dark? Or are you preserving mushrooms for powder, or canning, and volume is more important than quality? Where will you be selling to… local farmers markets, restaurants, or wholesaling? Distance to market may make a difference due to shelf life and fragility of some species.

In regard to temperature during fruiting, some mushrooms, like Pink oysters (Pleurotus djamor AM1) are warm weather species that cannot survive below 4°C (approx. 40°F). Yet other strains will fruit prolifically after being frozen, like Letinula edodes 75. Some strains are wide range and will fruit all season, which are best suited to growers that fruit outdoors under variable conditions and want mushrooms throughout the season, or curtailed to indoor growers that fruit multiple species with slightly varied conditions.

*NOTE*

*When possible, select local isolates of commercial strains due to a natural resistance to competitor organisms and its ability to produce economically viable volume.    

*When fruiting outdoors seasonally, choose wide range strains to fruit all season, or a warm weather strain for hot temperatures, and cold weather for fruiting in spring and fall. 

To simplify strain selection we have listed our most commercially viable strains for the most popular species. So you can focus on growing, while we focus on providing the best strains for your success! 

Pick up your strain at Aloha Medicinals Inc. 

Genus Species	Strain	Cap Color	Yield	Mushroom Size
Shiitake	3782	Dark –light	high	small
	CS2	Dark	high	small
	75	Light	high	medium
	Straw	Dark	medium	large
	720	Dark	high	small
	Sams	Light	high	medium
	Don	Dark	high	medium
Oysters Hysizygus ulmarius	ElmA	White	high	large
Golden Oyster	AM1	Yellow	medium	small
Pleurotus cornucopiae	Rolland	Cream	high	medium
Pink Oyster	AM1	Pink	medium	medium
	VDE1	Pink	high	large
Common Oyster	012A	Brown-Grey	high	medium
	213	Brown-Grey	high	medium
	Chief Niwot	Brown	high	large
	Prune	Tan	high	medium
	HK	Brown	high	large
	PL	Blue	high	medium
Pleurotus pulmonarius	AX	Brown	high	medium
Pleurotus Sajor-caju	AM1	Brown	high	medium
Lion’s Mane
	AM1	White	high	small
	AM2	White	high	medium
	NO2	White	high	large
KINGS
Pleurotus eryngii	KO1	Tan	medium	medium
Pleurotus ferulae	AM1	White	high	large
Pleurotus ferulae	VDE1	White	high	large
Pioppino
Agrocybe aegerita	SWORDBELT	Tan	high	small
Nameko
Pholiota nameko	AM1	Orange	high	small
Wine-Cap Stropharia rugoso-annulata	Kirch	Burgundy	high	large

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Strain Spotlight: Pleurotus pulmonarius AX

Pleurotus pulmonarius, also known as the Phoenix mushroom, or the Italian oyster, is very similar to its Pleurotus ostreatuscousins, often causing confusion when being identified. Its name is derived from its shape, Pulmonarius, Latin for 'lung'.  The Phoenix mushroom generally prefers warmer temperatures than the more cold weather ostreatus, making it a popular species for commercial growers in hotter climates.

The best example of Pleurotus pulmonarius Aloha has is the AX strain. Typically grown on Straw, these hearty mushrooms will also thrive on sawdust (alder, maple, oak, poplar, elm, aspen or cottonwood), and on some conifers. Growing small and flat in large cluster, this strain's fruit body is often round shaped, not the eponymous lung shape. Long thin stemmed with small gils extending down the stem. The caps of AX provide thick meat however and are delicious when prepared like most oysters. Like all pulmonarius, the AX strain grows better in hotter climates, with 75-85 F (24-29 °C) for the spawn run, and 50-70 °F (10-24 °C) fruiting temperature. AX yields very efficiently, with a BE of 120%+ weight biological efficiency. This strain is perfect for oyster growers in a hotter climate that don't want to air condition their growing chambers.

This strain is available at Aloha Medicinals Inc. for those interested in growing it. It is available as pure culture or spawn.

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Strain Spotlight: Agrocybe aegerita Swordbelt

The Agrocybe aegerita species sometimes referred to as the brown cap mushroom, is a small white-rot fungi looking very similar to a button mushroom, but with a brown cap. Sometimes confused with poisonous varieties within the genus makes these mushrooms deadly to pick in the wild but if properly identified provide a great taste raw or cooked. 

The Swordbelt strain is said to taste like bacon. How could you need a anymore to be sold on this culture? The A. aegerita Swordbelt, grows large, providing constantly big fruitbodies, brown caps getting darker toward the center and growing in large clusters. the provided fruitbodies are of a sterotypical 'mushroom' shape and have gills that stop at the thick stem. This is another mushroom with a median fruiting temperature of 50-65 °F (10-18 °C) and grown on sawdust or straw (alder, poplar or other hardwood and conifers) it is paired well with a Shiitake grow. There is downside to this tasty strain however, it happens to be difficult to fruit and rather picky about its climate, however if one is able to fruit that it provides decent yields of around 60% biological efficiency (biological efficiency, or BE is a measure of how many fruit bodies, by weight, a growing block produces compared to the raw dry weight of the substrate). This isn't a strain for beginners or growers looking for a very variable temperature mushroom, but when grown it is very rewarding.

Anyone interested in growing this particular A. aegerita strain is invited to contact Aloha Medicinals Inc. in order to purchase mushroom spawn.  Directions on how to fruit this mushroom may be found here. 

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Strain Spotlight: Lentinula edodes 75

The Shiitake mushroom, scientifically known as Lentinula edodes has a long and storied history ranging all the way back from 199AD in China, to this day it remains in wide spread use as an edible and medicinal mushroom. Grown normally on hardwood substrates, conifer sawdust or wood-chips supplemented with wheat bran or another type of grain.

 Our L.E. 75 strain is a shining example of this lineage. Easy to grow and easy to fruit. This resilient strain just seems to fruit in almost any condition. Producing a very consistent medium sized meaty brown cap and thick stem. Delicious with a beautiful texture this strain is ideal to spice up any meal when grown from home. Our 75 strain is a very efficient grower as well, producing a Biological Efficiency of 100% and above (calculated via wet weight substrate). The temperature range for L. edodes 75 is limited to the lower end, however with a suggested (10-24 °C) fruiting temperature. Our Lentinula edodes 75 strain is an ideal shiitake to start out with, durable and easy to fruit.  It provides people interested in kits with many meals of delicious mushrooms!

If you are interested in growing this particular shiitake strain you can find mushroom spawn of L. edodes 75 at Aloha Medicinals Inc. Below you'll find details on how to grow this strain. 

Materials needed:

• Tub (large enough to mix substrate in)
• Water
• Scoop
• Filter kit bags
• Woodchips/sawdust (oak, chinkapin, tanoak, hornbeams, alder, aspen, poplar, cottonwood, beech, birch, chestnut, hickory, maple, sweetgum, tupelo, willow)
• A grain supplement
• Eggshell (Calcium carbonate)
• Gypsum
• Measuring Cup
• Autoclave or pressure cooker
• Bucket
•  Sharpie
• Heat sealer
• Grain Spawn

PROCEDURE

Sterilization or pasteurization of a substrate is a key step in growing mushrooms, it ensures the best starting point for your culture to thrive and grow and avoids as much contamination by molds and bacteria as possible. Here is a step by step guide on a simple easy to do method for sterilization of sawdust substrate for use in kits.

1. First pour the sawdust or woodchips into the mixing tub, all measurements in this procedure will assume 30lbs of dry substrate
2. Next, add the grain supplement to your substrate. This amount should be 10-15% of your total substrate, around 3 pounds for this procedure.
3. Add the Eggshell (Calcium carbonate) and gypsum next, 1 cup each.
4. Mix thoroughly by hand or with a scoop or shovel, until the supplements are mixed seamlessly into the substrate, breaking up clumps when they are seen.
5. Add water with a hose and spray nozzle or a pitcher next. Mix very thoroughly, feeling the substrate as you go, the moisture content should be at around 70%. An easy way to check if you have enough water is to take a handful of sawdust and squeeze until only a couple drops of water come out of the substrate. The saw dust should not clump up when squeezed.
6. When proper water level is achieved used scoop to fill filter bags to a desired level. 6lbs of wet substrate is a recommended weight.
7. Clean the inside edges of the bags, this is to ensure a proper seal after sterilization.
8. Place bags into your autoclave or pressure cooker and sterilize at 121°c and 15 psi for 2 hours.
9. Remove bags into a clean environment. Using proper clean room procedure inoculate bags with desired grain spawn then heat seal them.
10. Mix grain spawn into substrate via shaking, this is to achieve the fastest colonization of your sawdust.
11. Place bags upright in growing rooms, with substrate packed down tight into a mostly solid block and wait to colonize then follow further growing instructions based on the chosen strain.

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Reishi the King of Medicinal Mushrooms

What is REISHI? - Ganoderma lucidum or REISHI is probably the most popular medicinal mushroom on Earth. Highly appreciated for its medicinal properties since ancient times.

History - According to the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia, Reishi Mushroom or Ganoderma lucidum provide an historical record which spans 2000 years. Traditionally it was used in China by Taoist monks to promote a centered calmness, improve meditative practices, and attain a long and healthy life. Chinese royalty, seeking longevity, held reishi mushroom in high esteem. It became immortalized throughout Chinese culture in paintings, statues, silk tapestries, and on the robes of emperors. Reishi mushroom has also been revered in Japanese culture where it is considered to be the most important of all the Japanese medicinal polypores.

Reishi mushroom was listed among the superior tonics [shang pin] in the most famous of all Chinese materia medicas, the Shen Nung Ben Cao Jing (206 BC-AD 8). Superior herbs were among the most highly regarded of all medicines since they were considered to prolong life, prevent aging, boost qi, make the body light and limber, and correspond to heaven. Reishi mushroom was listed as the most respected out of the 120 superior tonics cited.

Dried REISHI Mushrooms

PREPARATION: Due to its bitter taste reishi is traditionally prepared as a hot water extract. Simply, add 0.07-0.5 oz (2-15 g) of dry sliced reishi to 0.5 gal (2 liters) of boiling water. Decoct slowly until 2/3 of the water is reduced. This will result in a dark and fairly bitter liquid rich in active constituents such as polysaccharides. See the following link for a more detailed procedure on how to Make Your Own Mushroom Extract

Alcohol Extract (traditional): Macerate 90 g of sliced reishi in 500 ml of red wine for at least 10 days.

Constituents - TRITERPENES: more than 100 different highly oxygenated lanostanoid triterpenes have been identified in reishi mushroom. The predominant triterpenes are ganoderic acids A-Z. Other triterpenes include A and B, ganoderol A and B, epoxyganoderol A-C, ganoderic acid A-D, ganodermic acids, ganoderiol A-Iganodermanontriol, ganodermatriol, ganolucidic acids A-E, lucidone A-C, lucidenic acids A-M, lucidadiol, and lucidal.

POLYSACCHARIDES: numerous bioactive polyglycans are contained in all parts of the mushroom fruitbody. Among them are neutral polysaccharides, acidic glucan and polyglycan, protein bound heteroglucan, arabinoxyoglucan, a heteroglycan with a beta 1-4 core, and peptidoglycans.

AMINO ACIDS: serine, alanine, glycine, threonine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, proline, valine, and other minor amino acids.

OTHER CONSTITUENTS: steryl esters, adenosine, fungal lysozyme, faty acids, and a protease. 

Contraindications - there are no reported contraindications cited in the literature. However, immune-modulating substances such as reishi mushroom should be used with extreme care or avoided completely in organ transplant patients utilizing immuno-suppressive agents or in patients with autoimmune diseases.

For more information check out Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi or Ling Zhi) Health Benefits

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Strain Spotlight: Pleurotus ulmarius ElmA grown with the lime method

The Elm Oyster, also known as Pleurotus ulmarius or Hypsizygus ulmarius scientifically, is a hearty mushroom providing large clusters of meaty fruitbodies. Tasty and substantial these mushrooms provide excellent additions to any meal, adding extra texture and flavor to a dish or fine to eat cooked on their own. The Elm oyster mushroom get its name from the types of substrates  it is commonly found on in the wild, the titular elm tree.  In a controlled environment however many substrates can be used with pasteurized straw providing high yields, wood-chips or sawdust from elm trees and other biological waste is also come as recommended viable substrates.

Our Elm A strain is a quick growing strain, the mycelium colonizing a variety of media and substrates in a few short weeks, making it perfect for low tech or low cost growing operations interested in outgrowing contaminants that may reduce or completely inhibit yields from other strains. Our Elm oyster strain performs best on a pasteurized straw substrate, with a quick first flush and providing many flushes thereafter, reaching around 150%+ biological efficiency (calculated via wet weight) if cared for properly. Elm A fruits optimally in temperatures ranging from 55-65 °F (10-18 °C), however is hearty enough to survive at higher temperatures with some loss in biological efficiency. All around Elm A is an excellent strain recommended for beginners to mushroom growing, or to someone looking for quick and cheap homegrown all natural food with an easily grown strain.

 Aloha Medicinals Inc. is the major provider of cultures and spawn of P. ulmarius ElmA. They also grow this mushroom using a very simple method of substrate disinfection  -called the lime method. If you would like to grow this particular mushroom strain visit their website and place an order for Elm Oyster mushroom spawn. Once you have your 'mushroom seeds' you will need the following materials:

• Drum (55gal used in this description)
• Clear Polyethylene bags, 2mil thickness
• Pitchfork or similar tool
• Gloves
• 70% isopropyl alcohol
• Straw
• Water
• Hydrated lime (calcium hydroxide, available from most gardening supply stores).
• pH test strips (aquarium section of a pet store)
• Small knife
• Rubber band or other closure method
• Sharpie
• Grinder (Machete or cane knife if unavailable)
• Mesh Screen that fits in the mouth of the drum
• Weights
• A rack or shelf, with small gaps for draining
• Grain or liquid spawn of your desired culture

PROCEDURE

1. Obtain a amount of straw or hay from a feed supply store in your local area, untreated if possible. (If already thoroughly shredded into pieces smaller than one inch skip Step 2).
2. You now need to shred the straw into pieces one inch or smaller, you do not want long or solid pieces of substrate in your grow bags. This can be achieved in any number of ways. If you have access to some sort of hammer mill or midsized grinder run it through that till achieving desired size. If no such implement is available to you can use a machete or cane knife to chop your straw is reduced to the required length.
3. Fill a drum with water, tap or from the hose is fine.
4. Add hydrated lime to your drum, 0.75 pounds per 55 gallons (355g per 200L) and stir it in with your pitchfork until the water is uniformly pale.
5. Check the pH levels of your water with pH test strips, you're looking for a ph level of 10 or higher.
6. Put on your long gloves and begin to add straw in large handfuls to your drum filled with water. Push the straw under the water so it is submerged. Continuing adding straw until you are no longer able to submerge any more straw. If necessary add more water to make sure you are able to completely submerge the straw.
7. Put your mesh grating and weights on top of your straw to keep it submerged in your lime water.
8. Every 2-4 hours use your pitchfork to turn your straw, this helps to keep the lime suspended in the water and the pH levels high and uniform throughout the substrate.
9. After 18-24 hours of soaking, remove the weights and the mesh, and lay out your rack that you will use for draining.
10. Use gloves again for this step. Take handfuls of straw, wringing excess water from the substrate before laying it out on your rack. Repeat this process until the first handful of straw has stopped dripping.
11. When your straw substrate has stopped dripping excess water, remove it from your rack and put it into your grow bags. Introduce 2 large handfuls of straw then do Step 12, add two more handfuls and repeat step twelve until your bag reaches the desired weight (6lbs suggested).
12. Inoculate the straw with your desired grain or liquid culture, adding small amounts in a layered process described in Step 11. This promotes more even and quick growth.
13. When the inoculation process is complete press down on the straw into the bag, twisting the excess bag down to keep the straw compressed into a tight block. Ensuring a tight solid block of substrate is key to a healthy grow bag, make sure your bag is as compressed as you can get it before ting off the top, using a rubber band or wire tie.
14. Label and date your bag properly and put it on a shelf to sit for 24 hours.
15. After letting for 24 hours stand your grow bag on end and use a alcohol sterilized knife to cut small 1/2 inch slits in the bag about 1 inch apart horizontally and 3 inches apart horizontally all around the outside of the bag.    
16. Introduce your bag into a room or container of the proper humidity and temperature with good air flow.
17. Wait for your new mushroom culture to fruit! 

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Earn Ksh 592,000 per acre from broccoli growing in Kenya

14800plants per acre yielding heads weighing 1kg each, sold at 40/= per kg. Cost of production is about Ksh 148, 580 per acre. Gross income: 14800×40=Ksh 592,000.Net income: 592,000-148,580= ksh 443,420.Broccoli growing in Kenya is gaining momentum as more people discover the high nutritional value of the vegetable. The vegetable belong to cabbage family and management practices are similar. 

The crop is started in the nursery which is shaded and regularly watered. The seedlings should be transplanted when they have at least 4 true leaves. During field establishment, seedlings are spaced at 60cm between rows and 45 cm from plant to plant. At planting, up to 40 tons per hectare of manure is applied. 40grams of double superphosphate fertilizer is applied per plant and later top dressed with CAN at a rate of 20g per plant when plants are 20 cm high. 

Broccoli growing in Kenya requires a second top dressing with CAN fertilizer three weeks after the 1^st topdressing at a rate of 40 grams per plant. Keep the field free of weeds until the crop covers the ground. Major pests include diamond back moth, cabbage sawfly, cabbage aphids, cutworms etc. When growing broccoli in Kenya, serious diseases which should be controlled include black rot, ring spot, downy mildew.

Downy mildew is a severe problem in broccoli growing in Kenyan high altitudes. Crop rotation, use of certified seeds in addition to nursery and field hygiene are the major control measures against diseases while growing broccoli in Kenya. Maturity takes 80-90 days from germination. The crop should be harvested in clean containers.