1. Upon receiving your Oyster (Pleurotus Ostreatus) mushroom block, you can either fruit it right away or store in a fridge for up to one week before fruiting.
2. When you are ready to fruit the block, let the bag sit in its fruiting environment for 1-2 days before making any cuts.
* A space with indirect sunlight/light and temperatures ranging from 55-70 is sufficient for fruiting oysters. Higher humidity environments are more suitable fruiting environments. Avoid drafts from ceiling fans and home ventilation*
3. After sitting in the bag for 1-2 days, Fold the top of the bag to one side of the bag (taping down is optional), set that side face down on the surface. Using a sharp sterile knife or razor, make one cut (5 inches) across the front of the bag facing upward. Let the blade sink in about a 1/2" into the block, this disturbs the mycelium and helps initiate pinning.
*DONT REMOVE THE BLOCK FROM ITS BAG.*
4. You will need to mist the cut once to twice daily with unchlorinated, clean water until the mushrooms are ready for harvest. We recommend distilled, reverse osmosis, or filtered water. Once pins begin to emerge from the bag, a very light misting or a humid environment will help pins form into large clusters.
5. Within 8-9 days you will be harvesting beautiful, fresh, organic oyster mushrooms! Enjoy!
-TIPS-
-Make sure to avoid water sitting on the block surface as this will weaken the mycelium and make it prone to contamination and poor quality mushrooms.
-Direct air blowing on the mushroom block will dry it out faster and affect mushroom output.
- Mushrooms prefer humid environments, containers, grow tents, aquariums etc. can help optimize the mushrooms environment.
-Mushroom blocks are a great addition to a grow tent or grow room. Keep in indirect light and it will produce mushrooms for you and CO2 for your plants. One per 5'x5'x5' space is more than adequate for CO2 supplementation. Keep in mind that they might attract fungus gnats once the block begins to age.
-Our blocks can produce several flushes of mushrooms in most cases. After you harvest the first flush, flip the block inside the bag to supply oxygen to a new region of the block.
-Want an extra boost of vitamin D? Once most of the mushrooms are ready to harvest, expose the block to direct sunlight for a couple hours right before you harvest the mushrooms.
-HARVESTING-
-Pleurotus Ostreatus are ready once the caps begin to curl downward. Harvest before they flatten out or curl upward. The younger the mushroom the better it will store in a refrigerator.
-Cluster separate from the block without the use of a knife, just used your hands and a rocking/twisting motion to break the cluster loose.
-If you are not able to harvest it at the right time and the caps flatten out or curl upward, don’t fret, it is still delicious and edible, but will not store as well.
-Use or refrigerate mushrooms directly after harvesting. Oyster mushrooms are usually good for 1-2 weeks in a fridge
