Do mushroom grow kits work? Mushroom growing kits work if they are used correctly and you can get pounds of fresh mushrooms from them
Mushroom growing kits are the perfect introduction to the wonderful world of mushroom cultivation. Do mushroom grow kits work? They do, and they can help you produce pounds of your own fresh, gourmet mushrooms to eat.
Today we are going through reasons for using a mushroom growing kit to cultivate mushrooms at home.
Do mushroom grow kits work? They work for both commercial and hobbyist mushroom cultivation
Mushroom cultivation from scratch requires materials and knowledge. For instance, when conducting inoculations, most professional mushroom farmers use a flow hood in order to avoid contamination. They also use pressure cookers or large capacity steamers to help sterilize materials. There is a need for adequate materials for substrate, as well as the mushroom cultures used for inoculation.
A mushroom growing kit takes all of this equipment out of the equation, making it a more simplistic process for the customer.
Our kits also come ready-to-fruit, which makes them a viable option for commercial mushroom farmers. This is the case because there are a myriad of ways to operate within commercial mushroom farming. Some commercial producers will make their own spawn, develop bags, fruit the mushrooms, and then sell the fresh mushrooms. That requires a lot of steps, equipment, and staff. Some other mushroom farmers will only produce spawn and sell that to growers who only want to spend time, effort, and resources fruiting the mushrooms and selling them fresh (or dried). Our ready-to-fruit kits are perfect for these types of farmers who want to fruit and sell fresh mushrooms, but do not want to go through the entire process of inoculating and incubating mushroom spawn.
Our kits are produced in a manner that can help mushroom growers succeed, as the kits fruit 3-5 pounds of fresh mushrooms throughout its lifetime. At a retail price of $30, this is a great deal compared to other mushroom grow kits on the market.
Do mushroom grow kits work? Make sure you have the right conditions in your environment
Even though mushroom grow kits are designed to be an easier introduction to the world of mushroom cultivation that starting from scratch, it does not mean that fruiting is guaranteed. This is the case because environmental conditions play a factor in growing mushrooms. For instance, oxygen, light, the proper temperature and humidity are important to the success of a mushroom grow.
Mushrooms need fresh air exchange (FAE) in order to grow, and some species require more of it than others. The same goes for humidity and temperature. When fruiting mushrooms, it is good to have the growing kit in an area with light but not direct sunlight. The area should have enough light that you could comfortably read a book in it.
As an example, let’s look at the king oyster mushroom (also known as the king trumpet mushroom) and the lion’s mane mushroom. The king oyster prefers temperatures to be no higher than 70˚F while fruiting, with a relative humidity in the 95-100% range. Lion’s mane can tolerate a wider range of temperatures, ranging from 45-70˚F, although ideal is in the 65-70˚F range. Humidity should be 85% or higher.
Our mushroom growing kits can be used inside or outside, as long as the proper environmental conditions are met.
Other benefits of our growing kits: Variety and quality
We provide an array of mushroom species in our growing kits. This allows customers to grow a variety of mushrooms, and it allows mushroom farmers to try out new species to provide to their customers. The mushroom species we currently have available in our grow kits are:
- Blue oyster mushroom
- Pink oyster mushroom
- Golden oyster mushroom
- King oyster mushroom
- White oyster mushroom
- Black oyster mushroom
- Shiitake mushroom
- Lion’s mane mushroom
- Pioppino mushroom
- Reishi mushroom
See all of the kits we offer here.
How to use the mushroom growing kits: A look at lion’s mane and oysters
Once you are ready to use the kit, begin by cutting holes into the bag so the mushrooms have an area to fruit out of. Mushrooms love oxygen and humidity. Those are the two things we think about when attempting to grow delicious mushrooms, and the holes cut will allow an array to mist the mushrooms while also giving them oxygen.
For lion’s mane mushroom kits, we like to cut “V” shapes into the plastic bag. This design works well for the shape of the fruiting bodies and allows the mushrooms space to grow out of. Lion’s mane likes to fruit up at the top of the bag so you can roll the bag down and flip it over so it stays in place.
Once your bag is ready with appropriate cuts in it, you should mist the mycelium block with a spray bottle. Additionally, you can use an 18 gallon tote to put your grow kit in. Using a tote like this allows for good humidity and moisture as you can directly spray the walls of the container and it will stay appropriately wet. The mushrooms still have plenty of room in a container like this.
Typically, lion’s mane will take about 14 days to begin fruiting. Then, after another few weeks you will get another flush.
Growing with our series of oyster mushroom kit options
Instead of cutting “V’ shapes in the bag, we recommend using an “X” shape. Keep in mind that it is okay if you cut into the substrate a little bit. The blue oyster mycelium is so well-colonized and aggressive in spreading that the kit will still work in producing mushrooms.
The mushrooms will form underneath the plastic and they will end up pushing back the plastic as they go.
These oyster kits will fruit three or four times before they are spent. You will be able to use your bounty in a variety of ways, as oysters are quite versatile. Oyster mushrooms are a great mushroom to add into egg dishes or stir fries, so keep that in mind if you are thinking about new ways to add them into meals. You can also check out
this article of ours on blue oyster mushrooms, which includes a couple recipe ideas for sauteing or roasting oyster mushrooms. This other article shares
a recipe for frying mushrooms.
