It's summer here in Australia and a good season for pink oyster mushrooms. Did you know that different oyster mushrooms like different temperature ranges? I didn't either, until I started growing them a a few years ago. Last year I didnt' grow any, because we were travelling, and then Dad was ill and passed away, so I just couldn't bear doing much at all even when I was home. But lately I've had a really desire to grow them again, and pinks are definitely my favourite.
It's pretty easy to grow mushrooms once you know how. The hardest part is getting all your kit together. Once you've done that, and ordered some mushroom spawn, you're good to go. Here's all the kit I use:
- 1 solid esky
- 1 - 2 pillow cases and some twine or rope to tie it off
- Straw
- Hardwood sawdust (MUST be hardwood)
- Buckets (4 - 5 litres work best - big yoghurt tubs or try the DIY store)
- Lime
- Gypsum
- Big stockpots for boiling water
- Sterilising liquid such as isopropyl alchohol
- Rubber gloves
- Mushroom spawn (go online and see what's available near you)
- Rubber gloves
- Micropore tape (try your local pharmacy)
- A big tub or bucket to mix the spawn into the substrate
Then it's a matter of firstly sterilising everything you're going to use - the esky, the buckets, the tubs, the gloves, everything. I use the laundry or kitchen, using a boiling kettle to rinse the sink and the buckets as well. Oyster mushrooms don't want to compete with other bacteria and moulds, so you need to give it a fighting chance.
I then mix the substrate - one bucket = .5 bucket straw, cut into 2 cm pieces, .5 hardwood sawdust, 1 tsp gypsum (provides extra food) and 1 tbsp lime (helps sterilise). Once that's mixed, wet it - this means the hot water is going to soak through a bit better. Stuff it in a pillowcase. I usually do 4 buckets to a pillowcase just fine. Secure the end with your twine, creating a loop that you can hook a carabiner or hook on later - you'll need this to hang and drain it.
I apologise that I've recycled this photo - I was in a hurry this morning and didn't get a chance to take a photo of the esky full of boiling water. I do it on my front deck as I can then drain the hot water off the side and it's easy for me to carry the hot water through the front door, but you might have a better system. Fill it the esky with hot water and shut it, leaving it for about four hours.
Then I hang the pillow slip from a rope so all the hot water drains out. You can used gloved hands to squeeze excess water out. I usually leave it for half an hour.
The tub I mixed the substrate in is now used for the wet substrate (I've washed and sterilised it) - I'll let it cool here with a lid on. Sometimes I come past with resterilised gloves and mix it up a little so it cools down quicker - it depends how impatient I am.
Then I mix some mushroom spawn in - it's inocoluted grains, so you need to break them up a bit and mix them through. Yes, I have made a mess. I'll scoop that up later and put it into one of my pot plants outside as sometimes you get some cheeky mushrooms coming up when you least expect it.
Then, I stuff it into the buckets. Oh, I forgot something. The buckets have been pre drilled with holes, sterilised, and then the holes taped over with micropore tape. Here's an old photo to demonstrate. I use a step drill. Since COVID the price of buckets have gone up so I'm usually chasing people down that I've given a bucket of mushrooms to! I dont think it's worth selling them - too much hassle - but it's nice to gift people some mushrooms and very special people I know get a bucket of them.
The buckets are stuffed - leave a gap at the top but don't worry too much. If you have too much, pack it down a little more but not too much as you want the mushrooms to have some air to grow. At this stage, I have shit everywhere, so after I put the bucket lids on, I give them a quick rinse and pop them in the laundry.
Eventually, I'll have mushrroms just like this. You have to mist them every day so it's humid and make sure they get a bit of air flow, but that's it really - you don't need a special grow room, but please don't grow them in your toilet, as that's gross. I tend to grow them near my kettle in the kitchen so I remember to mist them every time I make a tea.
Well, that's it - four buckets of mushrooms. I will start some more in a few weeks time - I should get eight buckets to one bag of spawn. Fingers crossed they don't go mouldy - that CAN happen, but it's only happened to me once. It does feel like a day's committment, but if you have all your stuff together and a plan, it's not too hard to do. It gets easier the more you practice and I don't have to read instructions anymore or think about it too much.
With Love,
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Greetings @riverflows ,
What an awesome and industrious post. ^__^
Thank you for the introduction to Pink Oyster Mushrooms!
Kind Regards,
Bleujay
Excellent stuff! Honestly in my region people use a little bit different kit to grow mushrooms. But here we need to consider local differences and agriculture traditions
A different kit?
I mean that people when in my region when try to grow up mushrooms for themself use more simple kit for it. sometime whey just use stumps of old trees of suitable type and simply bury them in the prepared soil in the garden. But it doesn't work for all types of mushrooms.
good tips, with skyrocketing prices of veggies and fruits now, it does make sense to grow our own, as i did
Yeah definitely.
feels like a mini science experiment at home
Yes, it's good to do with kids as well
WHut!! So the shrooms grow on the outside of the bucket? I had no idea on this?
But uhh..you just keep them normal indoors? No hazards from the flying spores coming from this?
Yes. Think about the bucket being the soil where the mycelium grows, and when it fruits, it fruits above ground aka the hole of the bucket. Mushrooms need air and light, believe it or not! Plus some humidity, which is why you spray around the bucket.
They only spore when they are old - so if you pick them fresh there's no danger of that.
If you don't pick them and they spore, it's not dangerous. Did you know humans inhale between 1,000 and 10 billion spores on a daily basis?
You might get a smear of spores to clean up and if you never clean theym up maybe they'll start growing in other places but the likelihood of that is pretty low.
Great job!
I love oyster mushrooms.
We cook soup from the beef "pre-stomach", sorry I don't know the englsih word, and it is great if you use oyster instead of beef.