Grow your own mushrooms in 3 easy steps
STEP 1: Place your grow box in a warm dark cupboard for 3-5 days. Then inspect the gow bag visible through the cut-out opening in the side of the box.
If the grow medium has a nice white layer of fluff (mycelium) covering it then you are ready to move on to step 2. If not, then return the box to the cupboard for a few more days.
Then inspect the growth again and if the mycelium has now grown completely over the visible portion of the grow bag you are ready for step 2.
STEP 2: Using a clean, sharp blade cut an X into the grow bag at the opening in the side of the box. Place your grow box in a cool-ish (20-25C), well lit room but not in direct sunlight. Be sure to aim the cut-out opening in the box towards the light source eg: a window.It is best if the area you place the box has a gentle air flow as oxygen is one of the triggers to tell your mycelium to start growing mushrooms, the other trigger being light.
Using clean, preferebly filtered or bottled water, mist the mycelium through the X you have cut, 3-4 times per day with about 5ml per misting, until the mushrooms are half size (approx 3-5 days). As they get bigger you should spray less frequently (1-2 times per day)
Try not to spray the mushrooms directly, but rather just the mycelium, otherwise your mushrooms may become to watery when cooking.
The 1st harvest should be in approx 8-12 days, but this is very much depends on the rooms air temp, humidity, light and oxygen levels.
STEP 3: To harvest your mushrooms you can either gently pull and twist them off at the base, or use a clean sharp knife or scissors to cut them off at the base.
Tips:
One wave of mushrooms grown from your grow kit is called a flush. You can get 2-3 flushes from one grow box, results will depend on the variety of mushroom, air humidity, light and temperature of the room they are grown in. To help your mushrooms have more than 1 flush, cut away any remaining mushroom remnants left behind from the previous harvest. Then rehydrate your grow box by by spraying 10ml filtered or bottled water onto the mycelium 3 times per day and you should see new baby mushrooms (pins) developing within approx 7 days.
Don't suffocate the mushrooms once they start pinning (baby mushrooms appear on the mycelium). Mushrooms breathe in oxygen and exhale CO2, therefore you can cover then with a clear plastic tub or bag to keep the pins moist, but be sure there is a gap or hole in the bottom to allow the heavier CO2 to escape from.
Mushroom Growing Variety Specifics
Golden, Pink & Blue Oysters:
These mushrooms like to grow in a room/fruiting chamber where the temperature is around 20-26C
Mycelium: Thick White Mycelium when its ready to pin.
Lions Mane:
These mushrooms like to grow in a room/fruiting chamber where the temperature is around 18-24C
Mycelium: Thinner than oyster mushrooms, its ready to pin when you see thin white mycelium.
Shiitake:
These mushrooms like to grow in a room/fruiting chamber where the temperature is around 10-21C
Mycelium: Thinner than oyster mushrooms, it starts off white, but just before they are ready to pin the mycelium will turn nut brown. When you see the mycelium turn from white to brown, cut the bag and spray the mycelium 3-4 times per day (5-10ml botlled or filtered water)
