The Toadstools

By Maris Lee Menenberg, Hailey Kim, and Anya Singh

Question:(affect, effect, relates to) How does temperature affect the growth of mushrooms?

Rationale: (reason)We think that this is important because it will help farmers and scientists know how
mushrooms grow better and help them grow fungus.

What we know from our research:(Helpful information) We learned that (5-8 things

Anya: Mushrooms are easy to grow when you grow a small amount at a time. We also need to make sure
that the soil is always moist. Mushrooms grow the best in 60- 70 degrees. Mushrooms are made up 92%
water, 1% fat, 4% carbs, and 2 % protein. There are over 75 species of glow in the dark mushrooms. A
Portabella mushroom contains more potassium than a banana. Mushrooms are also called toadstools and
Fungi.

Maris: The mushroom is a fleshy, soft body of fungus, often sprouting in soil. You can identify a
mushroom by their physical structure. It usually is in the form of a stalk with an umbrella shaped top. They
are often called toadstools. The mushroom does not only show on the surface, but it connects to a web
underground. That web can extend miles. The part of the fungus sprouting above ground is what we call
a mushroom. The head of the mushroom is called a fruiting body, and the fruiting body produces spore
cells which create more mushrooms above the underground fungus. Some mushrooms are healthy and a
good supplement to meals while others can be poisonous and deadly. Some mushrooms grow fast,
usually overnight. The expand rapidly because of the quick release of the spores. Others grow quite
slowly, adding tissues to the fruitbodies. Mushrooms are 92% water, 4% carbohydrates, 2% protein and
less than 1% fat. One single portabella mushroom can contain more potassium than a banana.

H: You do not have to have a dark space to grow mushrooms. Mushrooms are responsible for the food
waste and breaking it down. They also recycle the food waste that still has some nutrients that can be
reused for soil. The genetic composition of mushroom is more like a human because in the sun they can
produce vitamin D like humans. They are also more like humans because of that then plants.

Sites we used for research:(bibliography)

https://grocycle.com/5-things-i-wish-i-knew-before-i-started-growing-mushrooms-for-a-living/

www.eatoilmushroom.org

www.youtube/mushroom video/ (All about Mushrooms)

https://www.mushroomadventures.com/t-mushroom_kit_instructions.aspx

https://verticalveg.org.uk/how-to-grow-oyster-mushrooms-at-home/

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/food/mushrooms.html

https://www.bhg.com/gardening/vegetable/vegetables/how-to-grow-mushrooms/

Our Hypothesis:(Ends in a period)

Hailey: H

Anya: A
Maris: I think that the mushrooms that grow in the light will die almost immediately because mushrooms
do not do well in about 74° F or higher.

H: My hypothesis is that the mushroom that the one not on the heating pad will grow better.

A: My hypothesis is that the one on the heating pad will die. Mushrooms usually grow in 60-74 degrees.
Right now, the temperature is in its 60’s and 70’s so the room temperature one will grow and the boiling
hot one will die. Therefore, making the boiling hot one die.

Materials:(Very detailed list - usually 10 items or more)

1. 2 x mushroom growing kit

2. Water sprayer
3. Water
4. Camera
5. Heating pad

Steps of our experiment: (Numbered steps)

1. Find a good experiment place near an outlet

2. Place a box on the table
3. Place a box on the heating pad
4. Water it 2 times a day, 14 spays in total]
5.

Our Results:(pictures and graphs)

Mushroom Day 2: 5/1/19 Day 3: 5/2/19 Day 3: 5/3/19

1st Spraying day. 2nd

Spraying Day Got the heating pad
On the top: Without and a heating cord and
Warmth, bottom with sprayed.
heating cord

Day 4: 5/4/19 Day 5: 5/5/19 Day 6: 5/6/19 Day 7: 5/7/19 Day 8: 5/8/19 Day 9: 5/9/19
weekend Sprayed and sprayed sprayed sprayed
weekend the one wit

Last day
 j
Conclusion

Looking at our results, it is clear that our original hypothesis was right. One way we know it is right is that
the one on the heating pad did not die and that they did not grow better. We think this happened because
_________________. Another interesting that that happened was that __________________. I think this
was because ___________________. In conclusion, it turns out that _____________________. If I were
to do this again, two things I would change would be take the time-lapse of the other mushroom box.