Each species of mushroom is a different growing experience. Even if you have grown mushrooms before, please read the instructions for your kit carefully before proceeding. If you run into any problems please see our FAQ.
Step 4: Initiating Fruiting Blue Oyster
Deflate the block by loosening the twist tie and squeezing out the air. once deflated, tightly re-apply the twist tie.
Choose a spot from which you will grow your mushrooms.
Use a clean knife to cut a cross pattern about 5cm long and wide.
You can choose to grow your mushrooms from just one spot, or from several at once.
Step 5: Misting
Blue Oyster prefer to grow in an environment with 80-95% humidity. Because of this, you'll need to gently mist your kit regularly with water from a clean spray bottle. You want to create a humid environment for the mushrooms and to keep their bodies moist, rather than to 'water' them as you would a plant .
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Before your mushrooms begin to grow, a gentle mist 3 times a week will suffice.
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Once you see your mushrooms begin to pin, mist them twice a day and make sure to keep the mushrooms moist as they won't be able to grow if they begin to dry out.
Step 6: Pinning
'Pinning' should begin within 3 -5 weeks of initiating fruiting. If you haven't seen any pinning after 5 weeks please see out FAQ. Once they have begun to pin, your mushrooms will grow rapidly. Keep the mushrooms moist during this period.
Step 7: Harvest
Harvest your mushrooms before the edges begin to either flip up or to wrinkle, darken and split. A white dust under your mushrooms means they have started to drop spores. Your mushrooms will be at their most tender if you harvest them before they sporate, but they'll still be perfectly delicious if you don't quite catch them in time. Just don't forget to wipe off your counter! To harvest, twist the whole bunch at the base and pull. Be sure that you have not left any mushroom stem attached to the substrate as this can inhibit the next flush.
Step 8: Initiating The Next Flush
Did you know that your box has the ability to produce several clusters or 'flushes' of mushrooms over time?
Place your kit in the fridge for 12-24 hours. The change in temperature tricks the mycelium into thinking that the seasons are changing and will encourage them to flush.
You can then return your kit to your chosen location and repeat steps 5-7. Times between flushes can vary from 3-9 weeks, so be patient and don't forget to keep the humidity up by misting. Your kit may flush several times, but the amount of mushrooms will reduce with each flush and the time between flushes will increase.
Step 9: What to do with your kit when it stops producing mushrooms
Did you know that fungi play a key role in storing carbon? Trees and plants remove carbon from the atmosphere and fungi break down plant waste to create new carbon-rich soil. Clean air, healthy soil and delicious mushrooms: just one of the many ways fungi are incredible!
Once your block has finished flushing, Once your block has finished flushing, you can compost the block and dispose of the fruiting bag in general waste.
We hope you've enjoyed growing your Blue Oyster Mushrooms!
We're passionate about sharing the diversity of the fungi kingdom & making more of its edible & medicinal delights easy to grow. Want to try another strain or learn how to cultivate mushrooms? See our full range of mushroom growing kits and cultivation workshops!