Enoki
Each species of mushroom is a different growing experience. Even if you have grown mushrooms before, please read the instructions carefully before proceeding. If you run into any problems please see our FAQ.
Step 1: Mycelium Check
Inside of this box, mycelium has has been happily breaking down the organic growing medium and converting it into energy.
Open the box and remove the bag of Enoki mycelium and growing medium from the box. DO NOT OPEN THE BAG but instead inspect the block through the bag to determine what stage the mycelium is at.
What colour is it?
Mostly brown =
needs more time in a warm / dark location
Mostly white =
Ready to move on to step 2
If your mycelium needs more time to develop, return it to the box and place it in a warm location - over 15°C and NO MORE THAN 25°C. Check it for up to 2 weeks until it is almost completely covered white mycelium.
Step 2: Initiating Fruiting
Enoki can be fruited in 2 different ways (make sure you choose ONLY one method! Attempting both at the same time will dry out your block.)
Option 1: Top fruiting
If you are interested is longer stems and smaller caps, choose this method.
Cut open the top of you bag, make enough room for your mushrooms to grow, and seal the top of the bag with tape or clips. Your mushrooms will grow inside this Co2 rich environment. The advantage of this method is that you will have to do less daily spraying because the humidity will stay inside of the bag.
Once your mushrooms begin to pin, you have the option to open and/or roll down the bag to allow fresh air in so the caps become larger.
Option 2: Side Fruiting
If you'd like to grow mushrooms with shorter stems and larger caps, choose this method.
Let all of the air out of your bag and cut a large slit down the side of the bag. Your mushrooms will grow from this slit with plenty of access to oxygen.
If you are using this method you will need to spray your block regularly to make sure the substrate does not dry out.
Step 3: Finding an Ideal Location
Enoki Grows best in cooler temperatures. Find a spot in your house between 4-20 degrees Celsius.
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If you are growing your enoki inside the bag for a high co2 environment, you will not need to worry about humidity.
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If you are growing your enoki through a slit, find a humid spot, or mist your kit with water from a clean spray bottle regularly to keep it from drying out at the opening.
Step 4: Growing
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If you are growing your mushrooms inside of the bag, You won't need to perform any ongoing growing maintenance. Just be sure to monitor you mushrooms's growth. If your mushrooms are growing completely without caps and you would like them to form some caps, open the top of the bag and mist daily with water from a clean spray bottle once the stems have reached the desired height.
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If you are growing your mushrooms from a slit in the side of the block, mist them daily with water from a clean spray bottle.
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It should take from 3-5 weeks for you enoki to begin to pin. You can speed this process along by popping them in the fridge for 24 hours.
Mushrooms grown with the bag sealed may not form any caps. If you like caps to form, open the top of the bag.
If you're growing your mushrooms from a slit in the side of the bag, mist them daily.
Caps will flatten as your mushrooms mature. Be sure to harvest them before they have all flattened.
Step 5: Harvest
Enoki stems are very long, so you'll need to harvest all of your mushrooms at once, being sure to remove all of the stems from the mycelium block.
Step 6: Second Flush
To get a second flush of mushrooms, make sure your mycelium block is nice and moist.
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If you've grown it through a slit in the side of the bag, the plastic should have kept in a lot of moisture. Simply return to misting daily.
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If you've grown you mushrooms from the top of you block, we recommend doing the following before starting your next flush:
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fill the bag with water, clip the top closed and place in the fridge for 24 hrs
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The next day, drain out the excess water and start again from step 3
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Step 7: What to do with your kit when it's finished 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 kit has finished flushing, discard the bag in the general waste. You can now recycle the box and additional packaging and compost the block. Alternately, plant it in the garden to see if it will gain a some energy and produce one last seasonal crop for you! Simply dig a hole in a shady spot, bury the block and cover it over with around 5cm of soil. Water it occasionally to keep the soil moist.
We hope you've enjoyed growing your Enoki 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!