BLUE OYSTER (PLEUROTUS OSTREATUS) GROW KIT INSTRUCTIONS                   

WHAT YOU NEED

-Box cutter or razor blade

-Pan or shallow dish

-A spray bottle filled with water (tap is fine, filtered is better)

-A sunny, room temperature surface in your house (ie a window ledge, the counter space next to your sink, your bathroom, near a humidifier, in a greenhouse/solarium/area with other plants and regular attention)

WHAT IS A MUSHROOM GROW KIT?

Your grow kit contains a breathable mushroom bag with fully myceliated mushroom substrate. Mycelium is the intelligent fungal network that forms mushrooms as means of reproduction. Substrate is the material mycelium decomposes, which provides mushrooms with the energy and nutrients they need to fruit. The compacted, myceliated substrate in a mushroom bag is referred to as a mushroom block. As long as it sits in the dark in its box, it will be protected from the environmental conditions that initiate pinning, or, the initial stages of mushroom growing. Initiating pinning is a process referred to as fruiting. To initiate pinning, your mushroom block needs to be exposed to light and air.

WHAT DO I DO WITH MY MUSHROOM  GROW KIT?

1. Remove the mushroom bag containing your mushroom block from the kit box. Observe your mushroom block. The mycelium of Blue Oyster mushrooms is thick, rubbery and white. There will be areas of the block where the mycelium is thicker (look for bright white blobs of mycelium).

2. The most developed area of  mycelium on your block will be indicated by a black X. Use your boxcutter to make an incision in the plastic of the bag by tracing over the X. It is ok if the blade slices into the mycelium or substrate- it is resilient!  

3. Get your H2O spray bottle. Pull the flaps away from the mushroom block and spray the mycelium and substrate liberally with water. You will repeat this step 1-2 times every day for the next 2-4 weeks while the mycelium forms the fruiting body of your Blue Oyster mushroom.

4. Sometimes mushroom material gets slimy and leaky. If your incision was close to the bottom of the bag, it is more likely that sugary enzymes will collect and drip out of the bottom of the bag. Place your mushroom bag in a pan or shallow dish to protect the surface of your chosen growing space from any potential mushroom kit run-off.

5. Place your mushroom kit in an area of your home that is sunny and can handle humidity. Observe and mist daily. When misting, soak the area exposed by the cut you made in the bag. I mean really, really give it a good spray (as in pump the nozzle 10-15 times). Continue this even after the fruiting body begins developing. If the fruit forming is pressing against plastic and needs to be freed, tear or cut the plastic away so it can grow uninhibited! 

6. Once your mushroom fruit body has matured (the caps of the mushrooms have begun to unfurl out of their original tight clustered formation and have faded from blue to gray), it is time to harvest! Harvest by either slicing the mushroom off the block, or pull the mushroom away from the block firmly with your fingers. Cut away any excess substrate stuck to the mushroom.

7. Your Blue Oyster mushrooms are now ready to eat! No need to wash them, they have never been touched by pesticides or herbicides, and you and I are the only people who have handled them. You can eat the stems! Sautee, roast or broil your mushrooms with butter/oil  and salt, or add them to pasta sauce or soup.

8. Continue to mist and observe your mushroom block’s behavior. It will fruit a 2nd (sometimes a 3rd time). Once it stops producing mushrooms or becomes moldy, compost your spent substrate!

Questions? Concerns? Feedback? Please reach out!

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