Lugowy mushroom

Lugowy mushroom is a good edible mushroom, used fresh (boiled for about 10 minutes in soups, in second dishes and sauces to better preserve its aroma, it can be used without boiling) and dried. It can be salted and pickled. It grows from late May to late October on open spaces, meadows, pastures, in grass along roads, at the edge of forests or on forest clearings, after warm rains, in groups, often in stripes.

Cap: diameter 3-6 cm, initially conical, then convex, spreading, with slightly grooved and often uneven, toothed edge, light-brown in damp weather, fading to pale cream in dry weather.

Gills: sparse, wide, attached, later nearly free, light, ochre-colored in mature mushrooms. Stipe: thin, straight, same color as cap, 4-8 cm long and 0.3-0.5 cm in diameter, fibrous, whitish-fuzzy at base. Flesh: thin, pale yellowish, with pleasant sharp aroma.

Cultivation on wood. This method involves using wood as substrate. In home conditions, winter lugowy mushrooms are cultivated on wood of deciduous trees — willow, poplar, hazel, birch, chestnut, walnut, apple, plum, etc. Wood can be used both as cut logs (stumps) and as live trees. At intervals of 15-20 cm, make grooves or drill holes 3-5 cm deep and 2-3 cm in diameter around the entire perimeter of the stump. Fill the grooves or holes with mycelium. Or split the segment lengthwise, sprinkle a thin layer of mycelium, put halves together and tightly tie with wire.

Mushrooms planted on wood grow for 5-6 years. One package is sufficient for 60-70 kg of wood.