Manual - Black Pearl King 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 in the plastic. The mushrooms will grow out of these crosses.
The position of the crosses does not matter much. The mycelium notices 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 and not too close to the heating. Black Pearl Kings grow best in an oxygen-rich environment with a high humidity. The bathroom and the utility room are generally the most suitable places in the house.
To raise the humidity in the immediate surroundings of the grow kit you can put the block on a wet cloth.
This oyster mushroom species 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 the growing speed. In the cold the mushrooms 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 pins will appear. Until then, keep the mycelium at the crosses moist. You can do this by spraying water on the open spots with a plant sprayer.
If no mushrooms start to grow yet, you can put the grow kit in the fridge for a night to trigger the block into forming mushrooms.

STEP 4

As soon as the mushrooms stop growing fast and just before the caps have opened up completely, they can be harvested. The clusters can be pulled off the block in one piece.

STEP 5

To encourage a next harvest, the open spots have to be kept moist every day. 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.