1. Select Location: choose a draught-free, airy spot like a wardrobe or laundry. (I'll be sticking mine in the bottom of the pantry I think?)
2. The kit contains two bags: peat moss (the smaller bag, called the casing) and a larger bag of compost.
Leave the box closed until the bag of compost until it looks frosty white or mouldy. (The first kit made no mention of this, and of course I remember the compost was brown, so wonder nothing happened. Actually, I remember wondering which was the compost and which was the casing, so I could have even gotten them the wrong way around! As I said, it had virtually no instructions.)
3. Once the compost if white, apply the peat moss evenly over the surface, leaving it loose and fluffy. Do not compress. Spray water on it evenly. Close the bag gently and replace the lid.4. After 4-6 days start to inspect the kit: once you see fine white threads (mycelium) growing on the surface (5-10% coverage), open the bag and leave the lid off.
5. Using a hand held sprayer, water gently every day making sure the casing layer stays damp and does not dry out. Do not allow water to pass through the casing layer into the compost.
6. 1-3 weeks after removing the lid, you will notice tiny mushrooms forming. As the mushrooms reach pea size you will need to increase the watering rate, sometimes more than once per day.
7. Pick the mushrooms by gently twisting them out of the casing. Lightly smooth over the hole in the casing soil.
8. You can expect mushrooms to crop over several weeks or longer. After each crop, keep the kit in the same place and keep moist until the next crop is ready.
9. When harvesting in finished, recycle the contents of the kit and the box in your compost heap.
11 comments:
will mushrooms grow next year to?If you keep the kit I mean? How do you now if youll get anymore? dumb questions I know but Ive never used a kit
Hi Kirsty :-)
No, from what I've read, once the casing has stopped producing, that's it as has run out of mushroom spores, so no more mushies, you have to buy a new kit. Unless you are very clever like Wombat at ALS and can buy spores and set up your own mushroom farms, but they are out of my league, LOL.
My first attempt didn't work, so if these do, I'm presuming that the number of 'shrooms growing will gradually dwindle so I should geta fair idea of when it it "spent" and it can be composted. I'll be interested in seeing how many mushies I get out of a kit - they are currently selling for about $10 a kilo so I'd be hoping for at least a couple of kilos to make it worth my while. I'll keep you posted :-) Cheers!
mmmm!! mushies :)
I remeber my parents buying mushoorm kits when I was little. I bought one when I was about 21 and nothing happened :( but afer reading your post I'm tempted to try again. Mushies on toast is a delicious breakie!!
I mean remember LOL
Re ongrowing of kits,try dumping in a good compost pile,worth a try.
Unfortunately button mushrooms are frequently commercial hybrid strains or with inbuilt genes to stop you "copying" their technology. ( really )
instead try growing so called "exotics" such as oyster mushrooms. These are primary decomposers, and consume dead plant matter.( "saprophytes" )
If you can sterylise some media U can be more sure of growing them, also, if serious try books by Stamets or see his web site " fungi perfecti " in USA.
If you also put your "substrate in a clear container, u will either A see whiteness forming througout ( good) or B see no whiteness, and or worse see green stuff ( Not good )More to it but set and forget outside also a good option....
If you have limited interest/time try adding the result of following proceedure to a likely pile of fresh dry plant matter outside.
Very quickly blend an oyster mushroom in blender with water and prefferrably a little "food" ( malt,or even a little flour would do, as would sugar but even mushrooms shouldnt live on that for long..)Little means less than 2% volume roughly.In blending, one or 2 short 3 second bursts will do, too much bruises cells.
Transfer to sealed jar with air in it and swirl to aerate.( this can be done every few hours, if you can do it for a day or 2 this will improve activity of culture, otherwise blended mix can be added directly to substrate outside. )
If swirled for a few days, myceliem strands will form "starforms" which multiply their potential to colonise a substrate quickly.
These methods are discussed in some of Stamets' books in greater detail.
No guarantees, but your chances of getting some free mushrooms'd be way better like this, than messing with button mushrooms, which are fussy tertiary decomosers anyway. Hope that is of use to you all.
In terms of ecological lifestyles, much wasted plant material and paper ect could be used for ( saprophitic ) mushrooms. FYI button mushrooms are healthy but not known to have a variety of positive disease fighting power of many saprophites, including oyster, and shiitake mushrooms.
Scott F ( hobby applied mycologist, and all round know it all.. lol)
Hi, im based in Melbourne. Can i know where to get the mushroom growing kit? As i can't see any retail shop selling them to the public. My e-mail kensingter @ Yah00 DOT com ....Thanks!!
Hi anonymous,
Try your local garden nursery or hardware shop with a garden section, such as Bunnings or Mitre 10, as well as discount stores with garden section such as K-Mart and Big W. The kits come in cardboard boxes and cost about $20 to $25.
Have fun!
Julie
Thank you for these instructions Julie. I think I bought the 'other' kit you talked about, with very few instructions. I came across your site while trying to find some better instructions. Now my mushrooms have a chance of growing.
You have a great site :)
Cheers,
Bec.
Is there any health issues in growing them in the house?? I mean, if you put the box in a pantry cupboard, will this create mould growing on the shelves etc?
Hi Kathryn,
Yes, because the mushrooms need high humidity, it's possible that spraying them could make conditions in the whole area more likely to grow mould - after all, mushrooms are a fungi. I have grown mine under the sink, in the laundry and in the garage, so I'd stick to areas such as these if you have concerns about mould.
Cheers,
Julie
Hi Julie,
I've recently bought a box from Bunnings and it actually comes all ready to go. The compost was even whiter and I could see little small mushroom heads (about 2mm).
I've set it all up five days ago. The instructions on the box says you should leave it closed for 10 days until the mycelium is growing, but I can see that the casing is all covered in white...
Should I open the box now or should I leave it for the full 10 days?
Hope you've had a good crop!
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