"These Are a Few of My Favorite Things": Christmas Gift Edition

Happy New Year, Friends!🥳

Sometimes the gifts we receive are wonderful and just what we needed, but don't have a lot of appeal as a conversation topic. Other times, the gifts have a bit of novelty to many of us. We find ourselves with a natural curiosity about these gifts that others receive. 

So this week (and next if I'm slow), I'll post a little about some of the gifts I received that may have interest to some of you.

A shiitake mushroom growing kit

For a couple of decades, I have wanted to try growing mushrooms indoors. I could never justify the cost of the kit as part of my grocery budget. Earlier this fall, I thought perhaps I might mention this sort of kit to my family members as a gift possibility. My family seemed to think this would be a perfect gift for me, as I'm constantly trying to grow more varied foods for my family.

My son and daughter-in-law bought this at a local farmer's market the weekend before Christmas and kept it in their fridge (to keep it from starting) until Christmas Day. It came packaged in a large plastic bag with a ventilation patch (like sometimes found on fresh produce bags). 

I started the kit on Tuesday. I  removed the block with spores from the plastic bag and rinsed it as recommended, then sprayed it all over using spring water (no chlorine). I set the block on a make-shift rack of canning jar lids (one of the recommendations from the kit company) set on a large plastic bin lid as a tray. The rack ensures good ventilation all around.

I placed a large plastic bag loosely over the top and have been spraying once per day since. (The kit company suggested either a large plastic bag or a cardboard box.) The company suggested to place the covered kit in bright, but indirect light. I put it about 8-10 feet away from a large window in one of the sunniest rooms in the house. Just note, a sunny room in the maritime NW in a house surrounded by tall evergreens is really not all that sunny for very long each day.

Above is what the kit looked like the first day, with one mushroom protruding from a side and lots of small white bumps all over.

And here's what it looked like Thursday afternoon. Until today, I didn't realize those white bumps were beginning mushrooms. But now I can see that's what these are. I should have a lunch sack full of shiitake mushrooms in a week or two.

Whoa! I guess I underestimated the growth speed of these little jewels. Here's Saturday's photo! I'll be harvesting a bunch in just a couple of days. The company recommends storing the harvested mushrooms in a paper bag in the fridge. The paper allows a good balance of moisture retention while minimizing mold growth. Stored this way, the mushrooms will keep for up to 2 weeks.

The kit company has a website which offered info on starting it, when to harvest the mushrooms, how to store harvested ones, and how to get the kit to produce additional flushes. The website was very informative and helped give me the confidence to get the kit started. I was a little nervous that I would botch the kit. Evidently, those mushrooms were ready and waiting, just needing a bit of moisture and room temperatures.

While my son and daughter-in-law bought this kit from a local company, mushroom growing kits are also available online to be shipped. I've seen indoor home consumer kits priced for as little as $13 on Amazon. I don't know if growing mushrooms indoors is a bargain or not compared to buying mushrooms from the store. However, the outdoor kits, also sold online, will recolonize and last for many, many years and may be a better "deal" for growing mushrooms than indoor kits. I specifically wanted an indoor kit, though, so I could grow mushrooms for our meals this winter. But I'll be thinking on the possibility of starting an outdoor colony someplace near my vegetable garden.

This is one very tasty Christmas gift!