Mushrooms

[JesusSufferingFuck22]

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

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😂

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

@MereDintofPandiculation did you scoff the lot? 😁

@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?

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.

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.

Feck knows if these will work or are accurate

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!

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!

and/or the coroner!

Haha!