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Growing Oyster Mushrooms

September 7, 2015 By sue Leave a Comment

My family gave me a mushroom growing kit for my birthday.  The kit was from Mushroom Gourmet and was for Oyster Mushrooms but they also have a kit for Button Mushrooms.  It comes with everything you need except the mushroom spawn. A few days before you want to start growing, you simply email or txt the supplied number giving the voucher number from your kit and they send the spawn to you.

Mushroom Kit
Comes with everything you need
Send away for spawn when you are ready to use it

First you soak the straw in water for 2-3 days and then let it drain for an hour.  Make a hole in the middle and add the mushroom spawn.  Shake it up to distribute the spawn and then squeeze out the air and secure the bag.  Cut 8-10 small crosses in the bag; wrap the growing bag in the white cloth and put it back in the box.  Place in a spot out of the sun but not in total darkness, with the top of the box open.  Somewhere from 12-24C is best.

Soak straw in water for 2-3 days
Leave to drain for 1 hour
Make hole in centre and add spawn

Shake well, squeeze out air and seal
Wrap in protective cloth
Put in box and leave in a growing spot

After a week you shake the growing bag up and put it into a large plastic bag with the top folded over loosely.  After another week you put some sheets of wet newspaper in the bottom of the plastic bag and leave the top open.  It takes another 1-2 weeks before you start to see mushrooms growing out through the crosses, and then you gradually remove the protective cloth to allow them to breathe and grow. You pick the mushrooms once they start to flatten out.

Put wet newspaper in bottom of plastic bag
Put growing bag into plastic bag
And into the box

Mushrooms start to grow out of the crosses

Harvest when they start to flatten out
Harvest mushrooms

You can get a second and third flush from your kit, and if you want to you can keep the culture going so that you can keep growing mushrooms.  You’ll need to get fresh straw, sawdust or leaves for this.

I discovered that the best way to get the mushrooms to grow quickly is to go away for a couple of days.  The only problem then was that they released their spores everywhere so that a white carpet of dust covered the floor and much of the furniture as well.

P1080205

 

Oyster mushrooms have been eaten for hundreds of years in Europe and Asia, and are the second most consumed mushroom in the world.  They can be used in any way you would eat field mushrooms.

I sautéd mine using the recipe below and tried them on toast, in an omelette and served with broccoli. Delicious!

1 tbsp vegetable oil

400g oyster mushrooms

2 tsp cider vinegar

Heat oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat until hot. Sauté mushrooms until golden, about 8 minutes. Add vinegar and sauté until evaporated, about 1 minute. Season with salt if desired.

Harvest mushrooms
Saute in pan and enjoy
Great stir-fried with broccoli

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Filed Under: Kitchen Tagged With: Mushrooms

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Life’s Bounty is about all the things I enjoy experiencing, creating, and sharing. Join me as I travel in search of new experiences; coax more produce from my backyard in Auckland, New Zealand and preserve the harvested bounty; and try my hand at making anything from cider to jewellery to cards to gift packs of soap.
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