Bay bolete (Boletus badius) belongs to the fungi that grow most commonly in Central European forests. It is as widely used in the kitchen as the penny bun and valued for its excellent aroma. It adds flavour to every dish. You may dry it or pickle in vinegar brine. The mushrooms develop single or in groups from middle of summer until autumn. They grow in coniferous and deciduous forests, often on sandy soils on glades and along paths and roads.

The bay bolete mushrooms are medium large. The cap surface takes on a bay or maroon-brown colour, while the tubes at the underside are pale yellow or olive green. The stem is long, brown or pale with brown stripes. Blue-green spots appear on the spots, where mushrooms have been damaged and that distinguishes this species from the cep (porcini). Firm and crunchy flesh has nice mushroom aroma and taste.

The mycorrhizal mycelium of the bay bolete available in our store enables you to grow wood mushrooms in your garden. You should, however, remember, that there are multiple factors that influence the development of fungi that you cannot influence yourself. The soil type, presence of the preferred tree species, with which the mushrooms live in symbiosis and the weather during the vegetation period count among the most important ones.

You may start bay bolete growing from April until late autumn. Choose a site under the trees, such as pines, spruces, oaks and beeches, dig a few holes and place circa 0.5 litre of the spawn mixed with a substrate. The optimal mixture consists of 5 litres of peat, 1 litre of wood coal or ashes, 0.5 litre of gypsum and 0.5 litre of vermiculite. The substrate prepared that way needs to be watered and placed into the holes, covered with a 5 cm thick layer of soil and mulched, so the soil does not dry. You need to water the culture shall the drought period extend over 10-14 days. Provided the conditions would be favourable, the mushrooms may be harvested after 2-3 years already.

There are growing instructions and the sow-by date printed on each package of the mycorrhizal bay bolete mycelium.