Manual - Common oyster mushroom grow kit

STEP 1

Take the grow kit out of the box.

STEP 2

Use a sharp knife or a pair of scissors to cut 1 or more crosses of about 4 by 4 cm into the plastic. The mushrooms will grow out of these crosses.
The position of the crosses does not matter much. The mycelium will notice by itself where most of the oxygen comes from, and mushrooms will form there on their own.

STEP 3

Do not put the block in direct sunlight or too close to the heating. Oyster mushrooms grow best in an oxygen-rich place with a high humidity. The bathroom and the utility room are generally the most suitable spots in the house.
To raise the humidity right around the grow kit, you can put the block on a wet cloth.
This oyster mushroom variety also does well in cold surroundings. As long as it does not freeze too hard, they can also grow in the garden or on the balcony. The temperature does affect how fast they grow. In the cold the mushrooms will grow more slowly, but that does not detract from the quality of the mushrooms. Keep in mind that on sunny days the humidity outside is often too low for the mushrooms to grow well.
After 1 day to 2 weeks the first little heads will show up. Until then, keep the mycelium at the crosses moist. You can do this by spraying water onto the open spots with a plant sprayer.
If no oyster mushrooms are starting to grow yet, you can put the grow kit in the fridge for a night to trigger the block into forming mushrooms.

STEP 4

Once the oyster mushrooms stop growing fast and just before the caps have opened up completely, you can harvest. The clusters can be pulled off the block whole.

STEP 5

To encourage a next harvest, the open spots have to be kept moist daily. You can do this with a plant sprayer. After about 1 to 4 weeks new mushrooms will start to form.

The whole process can be repeated 1 to 3 (and maybe even 4) times. When the block is completely exhausted, it makes excellent compost.