1. Upon receiving your shiitake (Lentinula Edodes) mushroom block, you can either fruit it right away or store in a fridge for up to a week before fruiting.
2. When you are ready to fruit the block, let the bag sit in its fruiting environment for 1-2 days.
* A space with indirect sunlight/light and temperatures ranging from 62-74 is sufficient for fruiting shiitakes. 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, remove the entire shiitake block out of the bag and set onto a clean plate, large shallow tupperware, etc. We recommend fruiting the block with the bottom side down, the block will fruit no matter what direction you put it.
4. You will need to mist the block 1-2 times daily with unchlorinated, clean water until the mushrooms are ready for harvest. We recommend distilled, reverse osmosis or filtered water. Misting frequency may vary depending on the environment.
5. Within 7-9 days you will be harvesting beautiful, fresh, organic mushrooms!
-TIPS-
-Make sure to avoid having the block sitting in water as that 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.
- Avoid direct sunlight until mushrooms are fully formed.
-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.
-Our blocks can produce several flushes of mushrooms in most cases. After you harvest all of the first flush mushrooms rehydrate the mushroom block by soaking in a tub/bucket of clean water for 12-18 hours before introducing it back to fruiting conditions. A teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide per five gallons of water can help prevent bacterial contamination when soaking.
-Maintaining a humid environment for the block will help with additional flushes.
-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.
-Stems are edible and just as nutritious as the cap, don't waste food!
-HARVESTING-
- Wash hands.
-Make sure to use a clean knife or scissors. Sterilizing with isopropyl alcohol is sufficient enough.
-Shiitake Mushrooms are "ready" once the underside of the cap begins to open up and expose its gills. The younger the mushroom the better it will store in a refrigerator.
-Cut at the base of the stem and avoid damaging the surface of the block
-Refrigerate mushrooms or dehydrate for long term storage. Shiitake mushrooms are usually good up to 2 weeks in a fridge.
