How to grow Oyster Mushrooms!
- Stella Marr
- 16 hours ago
- 2 min read
I started growing oyster mushrooms last summer because I was bored and in desperate need of a new hobby. Then I fell in love with the process of oyster mushrooms, it became more rewarding than I could have imagined (and had a delicious outcome!) With a bit of patience and used coffee grounds, you too can grow your own. Oyster mushrooms are also one of the easiest types of fungi to cultivate due to their quick growth and low contamination rates, making them an appealing choice for beginners.
Materials:
-coffee grounds
-100ml mushroom grain spawn
-1l glass jar with lid
-micropore tape
-70% isopropyl alcohol
-spoon
-paper towel
-water mister
You can purchase your grain spawn from websites such as “Urban Farm It” and “North Spore.”
Step 1: Start by sterilizing all your materials by washing them or wiping them downwith 70% isopropyl alcohol. Then drill or punch 2, 1cm holes into thelid of your jar and cover them with micropore tape.
Step 2: Brew 4-5 tablespoons of fresh coffee grounds. Once they’ve cooled and dried, spoon them into your sterilized jar and mix with the mushroom spawn. Make sure you’re using fresh coffee grounds. After 24 hours, they start to collect bacteria and mold.
3: Place your jar into a warm, dark place. It will take around 2 weeks for it to completely colonize. You’ll know you're ready when it's completely white. Next, brew another 4-5 tablespoons of coffee and add the drained grounds into the jar, not mixing into the existing mycelium.
4. Put your jar back in its place and wait until it's completely white again before adding more grounds. Repeat this process until you have a couple inches between the neck and lid.
5. Finally, you want to introduce your jar to fruiting conditions. Remove the lid and cover the jar with a damp paper towel, which you’ll spray with water daily to maintain the humidity needed for your fungi friends! Then place your jar in indirect sunlight.
6. When tiny mushrooms first appear (known as pins), remove the paper towel. They should grow to their full size around 4-5 days.
7. Pull and twist your mushrooms when they’re ready to harvest. Then repeat the steps with the damp paper towel to induce a second and even third flush. Congratulations! Now you may store your mushrooms in the fridge for up to a week or you can dehydrate them to use in soups and other fun recipes.
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