Q & A

What is the right amount of water to spray on my grow kit?

On average, I would say 3 sprays twice a day, but you can adjust based on your climate.

Warm/Humid Climate:  1-2 sprays twice a day

Cool/Dry Climate:  3-5 sprays two-three times a day

 How do I harvest my mushrooms?

Blue & Golden:  Use a knife to cut the bottom of the stem off of the mushroom kit.

Pink:  Use scissors to cut the back of each mushroom off. 

Note:  Pulling mushrooms off of the kit with your hands can tear the mycelium, increasing your risk of mycelium contamination as you continue to grow your kit.

How many times can I harvest from one mushroom kit?

 I guarantee one mushroom flush, and you should be able to get 2-3 flushes. Continue to spray your kit after harvesting your mushrooms. Sometimes you can even get 4 rounds of mushrooms!

Note:  You will notice that the quantity of mushrooms you get will decrease with each harvest.

How do I store my harvested mushrooms?

Blue & Golden:  If you do not cook with your mushrooms right after harvesting, you can place them in a brown paper bag and refrigerate them for 5-7 days. Personally, I enjoy the freshness of the mushrooms when cooked immediately after harvesting.

Pink:  These are tropical mushrooms that should not be refrigerated. You can keep pink oyster mushrooms on the counter top for about 24 hours before cooking with them. If you wish to increase the shelf life, you could dehydrate them.

Do my mushrooms need to be washed?

No.

Do not wash your mushrooms. Washing oyster mushrooms can make them mushy and slimy. The wonderful thing about mushroom kits is that there should be no bugs or dirt on your mushrooms.

Can I eat my mushrooms raw?

Technically, yes, but I would not recommend it. The flavor of the mushrooms is a lot better when cooked. Also, mushroom cell walls are made of fibrous chitin, which is hard on digestion its raw form.

If you want to put mushrooms in a cold dish, I recommend slowly cooking them in olive oil with herbs and spices as desired and then letting them cool. You can add them to a salad for a blast of flavor.

 How do I cook with oyster mushrooms?

Oyster mushrooms are a delicious addition to any savory sauce, soup, or bowl. They taste best when slowly sautéed in olive oil or butter with a little salt and pepper (and herbs, alliums, and spices as desired).

When I add them to a recipe, they are the first ingredient I sauté in the pan, even before the onions.

What are the health benefits of oyster mushrooms?

There are so many!

They are high in fiber, B-vitamins, and antioxidants while being low in calories and fat.

According to the NIH, "oyster mushrooms have been found to possess a plethora of health-promoting properties, including antioxidant, antidiabetic, anticancer, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, antiatherogenic, anti-hyperglycemic and immunomodulating properties, solidifying their reputation as a highly beneficial and versatile natural remedy."

Aditya, Neeraj, Jarial RS, Jarial K, Bhatia JN. Comprehensive review on oyster mushroom species (Agaricomycetes): Morphology, nutrition, cultivation and future aspects. Heliyon. 2024 Feb 19;10(5):e26539. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e26539. PMID: 38434383; PMCID: PMC10907667.

How do I know if my mushroom kit is getting contaminated?

Generally, if there is a spot on your grow kit that is a different color and texture than the rest of your mycelium and mushrooms, you likely have contamination.

Mold:  If you have dark blue, green, black, or grey splotches, this is likely mold. You can carefully remove these splotches by scooping the mold and surrounding mycelium out with a spoon, being careful not to rub the mold against other parts of the mushroom kit. Then, you can spray the small area where you removed the mold with a little bit of white vinegar. 

Note:  Vinegar kills mold and fungus, so try to make sure you don't put vinegar all of your grow kit.

Fungus Gnats:  These tiny black flies are the worst! But they can be managed. If there are a few gnats on your kit, take the bag out of the box and spray everywhere you can access on the inside with neem oil, which is a natural, food safe product. If you are at a point where there are lots of flies, you may be best off removing the mycelium from the mushroom kit and tossing it in the compost.

From personal experience, I have found the fungus gnats often come from naturally occurring fungus in the soil of house plants. If you regularly add a little bit of over-the-counter hydrogen peroxide (~3%) to your watering can, you can kill the fungus gnat larvae in the soil while growing healthy plants. I would also recommend regular dumping a couple teaspoons of hydrogen peroxide down all of your drains, as fungus gnats seem to rely on drains for water.

What can I do after I have harvested 3-4 rounds of mushrooms from my grow kit?

Now you have the opportunity to give your mycelium a second life and try out a science experiment! Here is one idea:

Mushroom Bucket:  

1. Get a 6-gallon bucket or large re-purposed plastic container. 
2. Drill holes about 3-4 inches apart from each other around the container.
3. Cover the holes with masking tape.
4. Mix dish soap or laundry detergent in water. 
5. Find about 6 gallons of eco-friendly substrate (aka food) for your mushrooms. This could include freshly brewed coffee grinds, brown cardboard, dried corn stocks or other dry plant stems, straw, hardwood pellets, and other organic materials. 
6. Soak your substrate in the soapy water until it's completely wet.
7. Dump your substrate into a large strainer in the sink and press out excess water.
8. Take your mycelium out of the grow bag. Mix it into the substrate in the 6-gallon bucket. 
9. Put the lid on your bucket, and let it sit at room temperature for 1-2 weeks. 
10. Once the mycelium is growing on the top of the bucket, remove the tape from the holes. Keep the lid on.
11. Spray mycelium under the lid and the holes on the sides of the bucket with water twice a day.

If you created your own experiment and were fascinated by the results, I would love to hear about it.