Cultivating your own oyster mushrooms can be a delightful and rewarding experience, one that adds both flavour and nutrition to your daily diet. Here at Hearty Growers, we make it easy for you with our Oyster Mushroom Grow Kit , but a thriving harvest requires a little TLC. Let's walk through the care process to ensure your mushrooms grow to be healthy, delicious, and hearty!
Setting Up Your Grow Kit: Open the top panels to reveal the incubated mycelium block sleeping within, carefully cut along the marked black lines with clean scissors (watch your fingers, kids get an adult to do this part). Tuck the excess bag into the sides and place your grow kit in an area with indirect light—too much direct sunlight can dry out your kit. A spot with ambient natural light, like a kitchen counter away from the window, is ideal.
Humidity Is Key: Oyster mushrooms thrive in humid conditions. Mist your grow kit with water, twice daily to maintain the humidity, however, you do not want any puddles forming on the surface of the block. Blot any excess with a paper towel.
The Perfect Temperature: Oyster mushrooms are resilient, they fruit within the range of 10-24°C with optimum temperatures being 16-18°C (60-64°F). This makes them perfectly suited to our climate, as they'll happily grow in most homes throughout the year.
Air Circulation Matters: Oyster mushrooms appreciate a gentle breeze. This simulates their natural environment and encourages them to grow. Ensure there's good air circulation, but avoid placing your kit in the path of a strong draught.
Watching Them Grow: The beauty of oyster mushrooms is in their rapid growth. You'll see changes daily as they develop from tiny pins to full-sized mushrooms ready for harvest. This process can take as little as 5-10 days.
Harvest Time: When the edges of your oyster mushrooms begin to turn upwards, they're signalling they're ready to be picked. Harvest them by gently twisting and pulling them from the grow block. Don't wait too long, as they'll begin to heavily sporulate on anything around the box.
Post-Harvest Care: After harvesting, your grow kit may be ready for a second or even third flush of growth. Give it a rest for a day, then submerge in water overnight for 10-12 hours to rehydrate, then resume misting. Please note that each subsequent harvest takes longer due to a finite amount of energy being in the block.
Our Promise & Grow Guarantee: We're on this journey with you! We guarantee each kit to produce at least one bountiful harvest of Oyster mushrooms, though many experience 2-3 fruitful harvests. Should you face any hiccups, our dedicated team is here to guide you.