How To's

Following these directions will help to ensure a smooth return / exchange process, in the unlikely event that it is needed.  Failure to follow these instructions may result in an exchange / refund denial.

Liquid Cultures-

1.  Shake up the syringe to break up the mycelium and disperse it evenly.

2. Use the supplied alcohol wipe and wipe the injection port or the spot on the bag that you are going to inject.

3. When you inject, spray liquid down the sides of the the jar or the bag.  Use about 2cc of liquid per jar.  We do not recommend injecting bags but if you choose to, immediately cover the hole with a piece of tape. Do not shake it.  If there is contamination in the liquid culture (we guarantee ours to be clean or they will be replaced free of charge), you will see it in streaks where the liquid ran down the sides.  If you shake it as soon as you inject, there is no way to tell where contamination might have come from.

4. If your jars are sterile and hydrated properly, you should have fully colonized grains in 1 to 3 weeks depending on the species, temps, etc.  Some people like to shake the jars after they've verified they are clean and colonization has begun.  We have tried both ways and don't find much of a difference in colonization times.

**Following the above directions is crucial to the return / exchange process if it is needed**

Ready to fruit blocks-

Congratulations on the purchase of your new ready to fruit mushroom block!  Now what do you do?  How do you actually get this thing to produce mushrooms?  That's what we're going to cover here.   

1. Open the bag, squeeze as much air out as you can, fold the top down and use tape to hold it down. You want the plastic to be as tight to the block as possible. The fewer air pockets between the bag and the substrate, the better.

2. Using a flame sterilized knife or scissors, cut on the black lines on your bag. Try not to damage the mycelium and substrate below.

3. Fill a spray bottle with tap water and spritz the plastic where you made your slices. Spritz your kit at least twice daily - more if you're in a particularly dry climate. (If your mushrooms start to grow but dry up and die, your growing conditions may be too dry and you should make a humidity tent! See instructions below).

4. Place your kit in the most humid part of your home and outside of direct sunlight. We suggest putting it on a kitchen counter close to a sink. The mushroom mycelium will sense the oxygen in the air and produce mushroom 'pins,' another term for 'baby mushrooms.' This will usually begin to happen within two weeks of slicing the plastic.

5. Harvest your mushrooms when the caps have fully opened but before the spores start to drop.  If the spores do drop, it's not a big deal.  You can eat them, they just make a mess and you don't want to breathe them.

Beginners Grow Kit-

Have you already used a ready to fruit kit?  Are you intrigued?  Want to get more involved in the growing process?  That's exactly what these kits are for.

1. Remove the foil from the top of the Mason jar. Ensure the cap is still on tight. Do not open this jar! This jar and the grains inside were sterilized on day that your order was received. Using the provided alcohol wipe, wipe down the injection port on the lid. 

2. Carefully remove the luer lock cap from the liquid culture syringe and attach the included 18g needle. Be very careful here, not to breathe on or touch the end of the syringe or the needle. Do not lose or touch the surface of the luer lock cap. Do not uncap the needle until you are ready to inject.

3. Wipe down the injection port 1 more time with the alcohol wipe. Uncover the needle and inject the jar with 2 to 3cc’s of liquid culture. When injecting, spray the side of the jar so that the liquid runs down the side and put a squirt in the middle of the jar as well.

4. Remove the needle and put the luer lock back on. Most liquid cultures can be stored in the refrigerator until you need them again…. They will keep for 6 months or more.

5. Put the inoculated jar in dark temperate place. Hiding it in a closet somewhere is usually perfect. After a few days you should start to see the mycelium propagating throughout the oats. When the jar is 25% or so colonized, give it a good, vigorous shaking to spread out the mycelium and speed the process. After about two weeks, the jar should be fully colonized. You do not want to jar to be solid white. You should still be able to see the oats but they will be covered in mycelium. If the jar sits too long and the grains get covered in a thick white, almost rubbery appearing mycelium, you will have to sterilize something (spoon, fork, etc) to break up the mycelium before introducing it to a final substrate.

Inoculating the Fruiting Substrate-

This process has a much higher chance for contamination. Typically this would be done in a flow hood or a still air box. However, with proper preparation, there are ways around this. Use a small room, preferably without carpet. A small bathroom is perfect. Clean the bathroom. Lysol and wipe down everything. Also Lysol the products you will be working with- the substrate bag, the mason jar, etc. Do not turn the fan on. You want the air to be as still as possible. Don’t forget to clean your hands very well. Keep a bottle of hand sanitizer handy and use it often. When you’ve cleaned everything as well as possible, proceed below.

1. Shake up your mason jar to break up the oats.

2. Sanitize your hands and the grain spawn bag one last time. You will need to cut open the substrate bag. Flame sterilize the knife or scissors you will use to cut it open. Cut the bag open just below the seal.

3. Dump the grains in. Be very careful to not touch the inside of the bag with your hands or the jar.

4. Immediately seal the bag. Fold the top of the bag down a few times and tape it shut. Tape it all the way around, so it is sealed. If you have an impulse sealer, this is the time to seal the bag. Your folds should stop above the filter patch on the bag. Make sure to not block the filter patch, this is how the mycelium will breathe.

5. Carefully mix the grains into the substrate. The better and more thorough you mix, the quicker the bag will colonize. After mixing, push the block back together and throw it your dark temperate place.

6. The bag should take anywhere from two weeks to one month to colonize. You’ll know it’s fully colonized when the substrate is completely white and have a rubbery feel to it if you tap the side (almost like tapping a basketball). It will feel solid now as opposed to loose when you started. Once it looks fully colonized, wait one more week, then it's time to fruit the block.  Refer to the "Ready to Fruit Block" instructions at the top of this page.

How to make a humidity tent:

Simply take a trash bag or other loosely fitting plastic bag and put PLENTY of 1/2 inch holes in it (THIS IS IMPORTANT: Mushrooms exhale CO2 and inhale O2. They will suffocate themselves if there isn’t adequate airflow! Oyster mushrooms that look stringy or strange are usually growing that way because they need more air!). Spray the slice at least once per day with a spray bottle. If you choose to use a humidity tent make sure to spray the inside of the tent once per day to maintain humidity.

*CAUTIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS:

IF YOU PLAN ON CONSUMING YOUR HOME-GROWN MUSHROOMS, MAKE SURE TO COOK THEM THOROUGHLY. IF IT IS YOUR FIRST TIME EATING THIS SPECIES, IT IS BEST TO START WITH A SMALL AMOUNT TO SEE HOW YOUR BODY RESPONDS!

MUSHROOMS PRODUCE SPORES AS THEY DEVELOP. THIS IS A NATURAL MEANS OF REPRODUCTION FOR THE FUNGUS. THEY USUALLY APPEAR AS A DUSTY SURFACE ON YOUR GROW KIT BENEATH THE MUSHROOM CAPS. PEOPLE WITH ALLERGIES OR COMPROMISED IMMUNE SYSTEMS MAY WANT TO CONSIDER PUTTING FRUITING MUSHROOM KITS OUTDOORS OR IN A WELL-VENTILATED AREA AS AIRBORNE SPORES SOMETIMES CAUSE RESPIRATORY IRRITATION. SPORES MAY ALSO CAUSE IRRITATION FOR SOME NON-ALLERGIC OR IMMUNE COMPROMISED MUSHROOM GROWERS, THOUGH THIS IS RARE. HARVESTING MUSHROOMS WHILE STILL IN THEIR YOUNGER GROWTH STAGES WILL REDUCE THE OVERALL SPORE LOAD.