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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Mushrooms

17 replies

JesusSufferingFuck22 · 29/10/2022 11:25

I’m looking for any recommendations for mushroom growing kits? I’ve used gro cycle before with mixed results. I’m not expecting to be self sufficient but would like to supplement my supermarket ones with tastier homegrown ones with not ridiculously expensive mushrooms. TIA

OP posts:
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IcakethereforeIam · 29/10/2022 13:01

I got some kits for growing oyster mushrooms as gifts for friends. They looked like the cardboard cartons you get Tropicana juice in. My friends enjoyed the gifts got about 2 and a bit good crops. They were expensive though (over £15).
I've seen videos on YouTube tube by people who grow their own, juice need a suitable container (glass jar, bucket, etc.), a growth medium like sawdust, and mushroom spawn. What puts me off trying is, it seems, you need to sterilise the growth medium, I assume to kill unwanted fungal spores. I don't know a practical way of doing this.

I hope someone will come on this fungal thread who's tried this and has some practical experience.

JesusSufferingFuck22 · 29/10/2022 14:40

IcakethereforeIam · 29/10/2022 13:01

I got some kits for growing oyster mushrooms as gifts for friends. They looked like the cardboard cartons you get Tropicana juice in. My friends enjoyed the gifts got about 2 and a bit good crops. They were expensive though (over £15).
I've seen videos on YouTube tube by people who grow their own, juice need a suitable container (glass jar, bucket, etc.), a growth medium like sawdust, and mushroom spawn. What puts me off trying is, it seems, you need to sterilise the growth medium, I assume to kill unwanted fungal spores. I don't know a practical way of doing this.

I hope someone will come on this fungal thread who's tried this and has some practical experience.

Yeah, I looked into doing it “properly” and tbh it was going to be too much effort.

I may just bite the bullet and spend the £££ on the one I like. Early Christmas present or something😂

OP posts:
CuriousEats · 03/11/2022 00:15

You sterilise the growth medium by soaking it in water, placing it inside a bag, and microwaving the hell out of it.
Wait till its cooled to room temperature before mixing the spawn in. You'll need to slit some holes in the bag to allow some airflow
Once its going, you can keep it going, a bit like sourdough. Ie before it exhausts that growing medium, take some out and mix it into the next batch of prepared medium.
White oysters are supposed to be the least fussy.

CuriousEats · 03/11/2022 00:16

Remind me in the morning and I'll take a pictire of the more detailed instructions if you're still interested.

MereDintofPandiculation · 03/11/2022 20:22

White oysters are supposed to be the least fussy. We had some oysters turn up in our woodpile. Didn’t manage to keep them going to a second year, though

IcakethereforeIam · 03/11/2022 20:29

@CuriousEats that's very generous of you, thank you. Do the instructions recommend what and how much?

StillWeRise · 03/11/2022 20:34

I had one of the kits described above
It was good fun but I only got 2 crops, it wasn't really a sensible answer to my mushroom needs!
I'd be interested to hear of someone who's done it on a larger or lengthier scale

CuriousEats · 03/11/2022 22:44

Here it is. From the James Wong Homegrown Revolution book(highlyrecommendit if you like trying unusual stuff) . Disclaimer- I've never actually tried it!!

If theres any bit thats not clear enough to read, lmk and I'll take a closer photo.

Mushrooms
Mushrooms
Mushrooms
Mushrooms
Mushrooms
CuriousEats · 03/11/2022 22:47

@MereDintofPandiculation did you scoff the lot? 😁

IcakethereforeIam · 03/11/2022 22:54

@CuriousEats thank you, you're very kind. I'll have a read tomorrow.

I know the garden at Dunham Massey, the bush with blue berries and pink calyxes that smells of peanut butter, the tree that smells like candy floss and the bush with the zombie fingers.

Have you ever noticed the oak tree in the car park with the hole through it?

CuriousEats · 03/11/2022 23:19

I haven't seen any of them! I must be going round with my eyes closed (or chasing after 2 small toddlers). Where abouts are the peanut butter shrub and the katsura tree? They look incredible in the pictures on google.

IcakethereforeIam · 04/11/2022 00:16

The katsura tree (candy floss) is at the end of the stream nearest the lake by the wee slab bridge. Iirc the pink star blue berry (it does look amazing, the berries are an awesome colour, the peanut butter smell was underwhelming but perhaps stronger when the leaves are fresher) was alongside the stream at the other end from the katsura, on the left as you're walking away from it. I think there are two candyfloss trees but I might be wrong and, if not, I can't remember where the other one is. If they've lost their leaves there may be no scent. I haven't been for a few weeks and I may be misremembering all of this. The holy oak is at the far side of the car park, the overflow. You walk up the rows of the main carpark, the overflow is at the top the oak tree will be on the right in the grassy bit as you turn in, it may be near the end of a row of iron fencing. The zombie fingers (the fruit) is on the wall of the building that the path sneaks past just at the side of the lake.

IcakethereforeIam · 04/11/2022 00:25

Feck knows if these will work or are accurate

Mushrooms
Mushrooms
CuriousEats · 04/11/2022 08:00

Thanks for that. We walked right past the zombies then, but didn't go near the others before we ran out of time. I'll check them out next time I go!

MereDintofPandiculation · 04/11/2022 20:04

CuriousEats · 03/11/2022 22:47

@MereDintofPandiculation did you scoff the lot? 😁

Of course. It’s only the fruiting bodies, no good to the fungus if I didn’t eat them (apart from spreading the spores) Can’t remember if I left one out fir the medics!

IcakethereforeIam · 04/11/2022 20:13

Grin and/or the coroner!

CuriousEats · 05/11/2022 23:39

Haha!

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