Growing mushrooms at home is an enjoyable and rewarding experience. Follow the instructions below to guide you through the process. After you have successfully cultivated your own mini crop you will be a pro and addicted like we are!
Prep the mushroom kit by wiping the outside of the bag and a razor blade or sharp knife with alcohol-based hand sanitiser. This will remove any bacteria that could grow on the substrate (inner contents of the bag).
Cut a 5 x 5cm ‘X’ in the front centre of the bag. When the fresh air and humidity hit the exposed substrate under the cut, primordia (or pins) should form there. DO NOT TOUCH THE SUBSTRATE - Touching the substrate can introduce bacteria and cause the mushroom pin sets not to form.NEVER REMOVE THE PLASTIC BAG FROM THE BLOCK.
Place the bag somewhere with good airflow and indirect sunlight.
Keep the temperature between 16-22 degrees Celsius.
Spray/mist the cut area of the block with water 4 times per day. If you notice it is drying out, you will need to spray more often.
The mushrooms will start pinning out of the cut you have made. Once they are fully grown, twist the whole bunch off. It is recommended you harvest your mushrooms before they start to go ‘frilly’ on the edges.
Place the mushrooms in a paper bag and store them in the fridge.
Repeat this process and you should get another smaller flush from this block in a few more weeks.
Cook amazing recipes with your gourmet mushrooms!
Pinning - Primordia Formation
To form primordia, or 'pinning' you need to provide the block and the ‘X’ opening with four elements;
Light - Mushrooms need a bit of light to grow. Natural light is best, do not place your kit in direct sunlight. Indirect diffused sunlight is best. You should aim to have around 12 -14 hours of light a day.
Humidity - During the pinning stage the oyster blocks like close to 100% humidity. Lightly mist or spray the ‘X’ on your block 3-5 times per day but be careful not to overwater. The ‘X’ should be lightly moist, do not soak.
Fresh Air Exchange (FAE) - Mushrooms create CO2, they do this as they break down the wood substrate. If there is too much CO2 in the room, they won't fruit. To prevent this, you need to ensure there is plenty of fresh air moving around the oyster block. If you have your block in a smaller room, cracking open the window will help.
Temperature - Italian and Grey Oyster mushrooms like 15-20deg, while pink Oyster mushrooms prefer a warmer temperature around 18-25deg.
Fruiting
Reward time. All going well, you have provided your block with the best conditions and have some good pins growing. Now it’s time for them to mature. At this time, the humidity can be dropped slightly back but still needs to be high. Over 65- 70% is good. The temperature should remain between about 16-20 degrees. Try to keep the humidity and temperatures constant during this stage and the mushrooms should form. To do this you can continue to lightly spray the mushrooms, ensuring they have some humidity. If you leave the Italian Oysters to grow, they will become huge. It’s best to pick them before they get too large when they are just the perfect size for cooking. Once picked, place the mushrooms in a paper bag inside the fridge as quickly as possible. If stored correctly, your oysters can last up to 10 days.
Repeat Process
After you have harvested your first mushroom flush, use a clean knife and cut away any excess mycelium (the white stuff). Again, keep spraying the exposed substrate with water 3-5 times a day, and within a couple of weeks, you should get a second flush of mushrooms. You will be surprised just how many mushrooms will grow from a single block.
FAQ’s:
Do I need to start growing as soon as the farm is purchased/taken home? Not necessarily. For Italian and Grey Oysters, you can leave the bag inside a fridge to extend their shelf life for weeks/months. For Pink Oysters you can leave the bag in a cool dark place like a garage (not the fridge). However, we recommend starting the growing process as soon as you can.
How long do they take to grow until we can eat them? On average, it takes up to 2 weeks for the first flush to be ready for harvesting, you may even get a second or third flush if you are lucky.
How many mushrooms will I get in total? You may get up to 800 grams of mushrooms, perhaps up to 1.2kg if you are lucky to get a second flush.
Do they grow indoors or outdoors, what is the best location to grow them? They need to be grown indoors, ideally in a warm spot that has adequate airflow.
It looks like there is green/black mould forming on the front, what should I do? Scrape a thin layer off the front of the substrate with a clean knife (sterilise the knife and do not touch the substrate). Continue misting daily until growth begins. You can also close the contaminated X with tape, turn the bag around and start the process again from the other side. If there is no growth after 21 days, please take a photo of the kit and email it to: paul@refarm.co.nz
My kit is not growing and it has been more than 2 weeks. All individual kits are affected by environmental conditions, the species of mushroom and sometimes luck! Don't fret, if yours hasn't started yet give it a few more days of daily nurturing. Our growing timeframes are a guideline. If there is still no growth after 21 days, please take a photo of the kit and email it to us.
How long do the mushrooms last if I don’t eat them immediately after harvesting? Once harvested from the bag, the mushrooms should last you a few days in the fridge if stored correctly in a paper bag. If you have the equipment you can also dehydrate your mushrooms for a longer shelf life.
How do I dispose of the mushroom bag? Remove the plastic bag from the substrate block and dispose of the plastic in your rubbish. You can break up the substrate block (bag contents) and add this to your compost or directly onto your garden as a mulch. It will do wonders for the soil in your garden!
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