CS264617B1 - Mushroom and mushroom plant with automatic irrigation - Google Patents

Abstract

The container for growing mushrooms and plants with self-watering automatically and continuously ensures sufficient water and air in the soil and substrate to the maximum extent achievable by simple means. Water is sucked into the substrate by a wick (glass) from the lower storage container. The plants do not need to be watered regularly. Water is replenished after a few weeks. Otherwise, the plants grow completely independently. The container is also suitable for growing mushrooms on waste substrate, such as waste wood chips, sawdust, leaves. The mycelium grows well in the substrate, because it ensures sufficient air exchange and permanent humidity. Well-known edible mushrooms can be grown, such as the wrinkled collar, the purple cep, the variable mushroom and other edible mushrooms. The container system is suitable for small and large consumers. The container can be made of plastic, is very simple and inexpensive to produce. Its price would correspond to current containers for growing plants. Compared to current containers, the container according to the invention has many significant advantages, not yet achievable. The container would improve the cultivation of plants, flowers, vegetables in households, on balconies, cottages, and would enable the introduction of mushroom cultivation on waste forest material. It also allows research into mushroom cultivation under conditions that could be easily and quickly applied into widespread practice.

Description

The invention relates to the production of fungi or plants where it is solved, the supply of water and air, and at the same time the temperature regime in the substrate or in the soil, so that these values are favorable and at the same time stabilized for intense growth of fungi and plants.

A known method of growing plants is hydroponic, wherein the plants placed in the dry substrate in the inner pot have roots that penetrate the openings in the bottom of the inner pot and extend into the water in the outer pot.

The inner pot is fixed in the outer pot. This method is not advantageous for all plants, the plants grow well only in a warm environment, in cold water the roots of the plants die. Regular replacement of nutrient solution is necessary, seeds cannot be sown. Establishing hydroponics presupposes experience with the method, pre-cultivation of plants and this method cannot be used for mushroom cultivation. In another known method two pots are used, outer and inner, wherein the nutrient water is sucked from the outer pot through the holes in the bottom of the inner pot, which contains the plant soil.

Water is sucked in by wick of glass wool or basalt wool. The disadvantage is that glass wool or basalt wool has little capillary action. Another known method consists in feeding water and nutrients from a water container to a growing vessel having a bottom and walls formed by an inner shell and an outer shell, such as a wick, between the fiber bundle and the other suction material. with both packaging. The inner shell of the container is permeated by openings through which the nutrient water from the wick passes to the plant substrate inside the container. A disadvantage of said solution is that the suction material placed between the two containers of the growing vessel is intensively influenced by external influences.

The sun's rays heat the outer shell of the container and raise the temperature in the area of the suction material. There is an increased evaporation of water, an increase in the concentration of fertilizer in the aqueous solution, and the influence of heat and warm dissolved fertilizer on the roots of plants that reach down to this point is negatively affected.

Another known method consists in feeding water from a water container to a growing vessel as a wick through a bundle of co-running fibers or other suction material into a nip that is provided with openings and extends from the inner surface of the growing vessel into the growing vessel.

Neither this procedure nor the previous solution will ensure sufficient aeration of the substrate as required by fungi that grow in the forest litter. That is, in a layer of bark fragments, branches and leaves. For example, the champignon mushroom (Lepista nuda), when the substrate is insufficiently aerated, forms mycelium predominantly on the surface of the substrate, the so-called floating mycelium.

The above-mentioned drawbacks are eliminated according to the invention in that an inner vessel is fastened in the outer vessel, the bottom and walls of which are penetrated by openings. The outer vessel comprises water into which the suction wick, preferably a glass mesh, is formed, consisting of bundles of parallel running fibers between which there are parallel running capillary spaces. The lower part of the wick extends into the water and the upper part of the wick enters the inner container, wherein in the inner container the wick is placed in a container containing openings. The inner vessel comprises an organic, airborne substrate, for example, wood chips, leaves, and other waste material resulting from logging, or soil.

By passing the outer surface of the inner vessel into the inner surface of the outer vessel, a closed space is formed which contains the water to be irrigated and an air space with high air humidity above it. Said space between the outer and inner receptacles may communicate through one small opening in the wall of the outer receptacle with the ambient air to exchange gases (C 2 and CO ₂ ), but this connection does not reduce the high air humidity contained by the air entering through many holes in the walls and bottom into the inner vessel and into the substrate in which the mycelium grows.

The mycelium can grow rapidly with the possible gas exchange and there is no danger of the putrefaction of rotting bacteria, especially at the wall of the container, which is made of plastic and is therefore impermeable to air. The two walls of the two vessels and the air space between them also provide good isolation of the mycelium substrate against the rapid temperature variations that may occur outside the vessel.

The object of the invention is shown schematically in the attached drawing in vertical section.

The outer container 11 comprises water 7 and an air opening 4 is formed in the side wall of the outer container 1, which connects the space between the containers with the external air. Glass fibers 5 emerge from the water 2 ^{in the} outer vessel, between which there are capillary spaces Glass fibers, the pick-up wick 5 enters the inner vessel 2, where the substrate 8 is, and in the inner vessel 2 the suction wick 2 is placed in 11. The inner vessel 2 comprises openings 3 in the wall and in the bottom 3. An enclosed space 2 is provided between the outer vessel 2 ^{and the} inner vessel 2. There is air 12 ^{in the} substrate 8. The solution is suitable for growing many kinds of edible mushrooms. The container is also suitable for growing plants that are particularly demanding in terms of air in the soil, such as tomatoes. The advantage of the solution is in a simple container. The solution eliminates the disadvantage of plastic containers, which is impermeable to the walls and bottom for air.

The mycelium of true wood decaying fungi (Oyster Mushroom and other species that grow on fresh log) grows well in a confined space, such as a polyethylene sealed bag with a higher CO 2 content. MyceJium other fungi that grow on agitated wood or forest litter require air exchange for good growth. The method according to the invention, which ensures sufficient humidified air in the substrate, will allow the mycelium, for example, to purify purple (Lepista nuda) to penetrate even in the thicker layer of the substrate. A suitable substrate for purple sorghum is a mixture of wood chips from branches of deciduous trees, sawdust, and possibly the use of leaves. The leaf can be used as part of the substrate, but it is also suitable for forming the surface layer of the substrate, as a coating against drying of the substrate. The mycelium of giant puffball, chestnut and mushroom mushroom also grows well in said substrate. It is also possible to grow mushrooms on the straw, for example Stropharia rugosoanulata. However, the straw must be separated from the glass fibers by a layer of chips or sawdust, as excessive contact with the suction fibers will result in excessive water being sucked into the straw. The advantage of the collar is that the fruiting bodies grow within a wide temperature range and do not require light. Pre-prepared larger quantities of seedlings of said fungi are added to the described substrate in an inner vessel, here the mycelium will grow through all the substrate and then at higher atmospheric humidity, 50-100% in the space above the substrate form the fruiting bodies. Effective fruiting is in the range of 10 to 25 ° C. Most mushrooms require white daylight. In some fungi, such as purple lentils, the formation of fruiting bodies can be induced (fructification) by a decrease in temperature.

The suction wick inside the substrate in the inner container may be in a container with openings to more evenly distribute the irrigation to the substrate and to the mycelium. The chip substrate can also be used for growing orchids, ferns and other epiphyte subtropical and tropical plants, even in an apartment, using the container of the invention.

Claims (2)

Container for growing mushrooms and plants, comprising an outer container with water and an inner container in which the soil or substrate is, the inner container being provided with a suction wick, characterized in that the inner container (2) is provided with openings (3) and a closed space (9) is provided between the inner vessel (2) and the outer vessel (1), the side wall of the outer vessel (1) being provided with an air opening (4). Container according to claim 1, characterized in that the intake wick (5) which is arranged in the inner container (2) is provided with a cover (10) in which the openings (11) are provided.