Growing Oyster Mushrooms: A Timeline

Growing mushrooms from home is a unique and environmentally friendly way to grow one’s own food.

Heather Armstrong, Reporter|January 11, 2022

At two weeks since receiving the kit and four days of growth, the mushrooms were nearly ready to pick. They had a sweet, earthy scent that reminded me almost of mint, and I could tell the air around them was thick with spores.

As an aspiring mycologist, I’ve always wanted to experiment with growing my own mushrooms, so when I found out about the possibility of buying ready-to-use growing kits online, I immediately decided I would try it out. I ordered two kits from the South Carolina-based company Mushroom Mountain; one for button mushrooms, which we kept in storage for a while and I am currently attempting to grow, one for cold blue oyster mushrooms. As I carefully followed the instructions on the kit and cultivated the tiny mushrooms that soon sprung from the kit, what I witnessed amazed me.

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When the kit first arrived, it laid dormant for over a week while the mycelium spread to every corner of the kit. During this time, we kept the kit in a cool, dimly lit room, and made sure to keep the kit moist and the air humid. The plastic around the kit is its humidity tent, which prevents moisture from escaping.