I sautéed mushrooms daily for about a week to ten days.
I did have some difficulty getting the right amount of humidity and light for the kit, moving it from one window area to another, and trying out different coverings. In the end, a spot in the family room away from the window but still bright with indoor temps in the low to mid-60s, and covered with a large clear plastic bag seemed to be what it needed.
New mushroom development slowed down by the last week of January. I wasn't sure I'd done a very good job with the kit and wondered if I'd be able to get another flush out of it.
I followed the instructions and uncovered the block and allowed it to dry out for about 10 days. At that point I soaked it in clean water for a day, keeping it submersed with a heavy bowl on top. I pulled it out of the water and set it on the make-shift rack over a plastic bin lid and covered it with the clear plastic bag. Like I said, I wasn't sure anything extra would sprout.
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| That's a developing mushroom! |
Well low and behold, after spritzing it with water daily for a week, the block began sprouting new mushrooms! I'm excited to see how well it will do for a second flush. Supposedly, I may be able to get a third flush from the block. So after it slows down this time, I'll repeat the resting period followed by soaking and see if any more mushrooms will sprout at that point, too.
When I think the whole block is about finished, I'll break it up into an outdoor pot and see if any will grow over soil outdoors. Worth a shot, right?
That looks like a lot of fun. We had a mushroom log that we kept outside and didn't do anything special with it. It lasted for several years, but didn't produce much after a while.
ReplyDeleteHi Live and Learn,
DeleteWhat the instructions stated with my kit is that eventually the mushrooms will use up all of the nutrients in the substrate. So mine will peter out at some point, too. An outdoor mushroom log sounds like fun.
Good to know that you are getting another batch of mushrooms!
ReplyDeleteHi Kris,
DeleteI'm excited that this is working for me! I was a little unsure if I would be doing things the correct way to get more mushrooms. When you try something for the first time, everything always feels uncertain.
I'm happy to read your update, and that it looks like the second flush will take place! Still on my want-to-do list.
ReplyDeleteCat
Hi Cat,
DeleteI hope you get the opportunity to try growing mushrooms yourself soon. I'm excited for this second flush.
These are shiitake mushrooms. I read that one can get between 3 and 5 flushes with this variety. So, that does sound promising. I just hope it works for me for more flushes after this one.
When you do get an opportunity to try mushroom growing, outdoor kits produce over a longer period than indoor kits (years, even). And within the category of indoor kits, different types of mushrooms produce different counts of flushes. Just an FYI.