Penny bun (Boletus edulis), also known as cep, porcino or porcini, belongs to the most sought after wood mushrooms. You may use it in the kitchen in a variety of ways, as penny buns stand out with a great taste and typical, mushroom aroma. Both fresh and dried porcini add character to every dish. Ceps may be found in spruce and pine forests, less frequently in deciduous or mixed forests. This species commonly forms mycorrhizal associations with spruces, although its mycelium also lives in symbiosis with pine, beech and oak trees.

Fleshy penny bun caps are at first semicircular and convex but turn almost flat with time. The mature ones are dark brown, smooth or slightly wrinkled and have white or pale yellow tubes at the bottom. The caps sit atop pale, broad stems. These mushrooms provide great drying material, as they do not turn brown and retain nice, light colour. They develop from summer until late autumn. Using the mycelium available in our store you would be able to harvest them from your own garden.

Place the mycelium onto the ground from April until late autumn. Choose a place in vicinity of trees, because these mushrooms naturally live in forest environment of spruces, pines, oaks and birches. Mix one package of the mycelium with 5 litres of peat and 1 litre of wood coal, ashes from a campfire or your fireplace. You may also use 0.5 litre each of gypsum and vermiculite in order to improve the soil structure. Add plenty of water to the mixture and place 0.5 l portions of it into holes dug under trees. Cover it with a 5 cm thick layer of soil and then mulch with tree bark, coniferous trees' branches or wood ground cover. The mycelium does not require any special care measures, you only need to water it during drought periods each 10-14 days.

Growing mushrooms is not difficult, but in order to enjoy some success you need to provide the fungi with optimal conditions for their growth and development. The species and age of the trees, under which the culture grows, type of soil and environmental conditions belong to the crucial factors here. You will be able to harvest the first mushrooms within 2-3 years.

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