Growing Oyster Mushrooms Indoors

[larry_stewart]

Have you tried to use grain for a substrate? I tried it one year, pressure cooking the wheat to sterilize it. I was able to get a mycelium to grow, but that's as far as I went. I didn't have a humid enough area in the basement for the mushrooms to grow.
I'm always excited to see your experiments! I love the tenting idea. That will make such a difference in humidity. What fun!

Most of the pre inoculated blocks I get are grain substrate, but I've never started one from scratch. The only one I did from scratch was the hardwood pellets. Apparently when they are formed they go through an intense heat process that doesnt make them sterilized, but starts off at a low contamination . I remember having to pour boiling water into them to rehydrate and kill most of what was left. Then cool, add the mushrooms spores.... Im going to play around with this tent this year and see how much it makes a difference. I think the consistent humidity will be a big plus. If all goes well, then may start diving into inoculating more things myself using different substrates . I belong to some mushroom group online, and they are soooooo involved in all of that, maybe too much for me, but as of now, the process is fun.

Good Luck! sounds fascinating!
Also interested to hear just what you will be going to prepare with all those mushrooms!

My wife asked for mushroom barley soup this week, I told her she'd have to wait a few weeks when we're over our head in mushrooms . But yea, I got to start making a list of things to make. Im just afraid I'll jinx myself and wind up with nothing. But mushroom barley soup and marinated mushrooms are first on the list. The lions mane I'll press flat then pan fry to sear them ( I did that last year and it worked out well). I also made a " Crab cake" like thing, due to their flakey texture and slight seafoody kind of flavor. My wife loved it ( I want crazy about it).

 

[larry_stewart]

No real update other than my temperature and humidity controls seem to be working. Everything holding as programmed, which it should, but I'm always skeptical of these things . I also inoculated 10 Toilet paper rolls and 2 gallon buckets with oyster mushroom. Now the waiting game begins.

 

[blissful]

I hear you @larry_stewart .
I've been fermenting tempeh (my first time) this week. My first batch....I made mistakes with, then I started a 2nd and 3rd batch which are fermenting now. I check their temperature every hour, like watching a pot of water boil....nothing is happening but everything is as it should be. It takes 48 hours (or a bit longer sometimes for making starter) and I'm at the 24 hour mark with the 2nd and 3rd batch. My bought starter had expired in january, so there's that issue too!
I took the white and black mold off the top of some of the first batch that did get it on top, but not in the middle or bottom, and dehydrating it, then using it for starter in the future.
Good tempeh should smell mushroom-y. I probably should start a thread on it. If I end up with pictures of success, then I will.

 

[larry_stewart]

I've done tempeh before. It could look like nothing is happening then you wake up the next morning and it's covered with white. After I make it, I steam it for 20 minutes or so then into the freezer it goes. My dehydrator only goes as low as 95F, and I think it calls for 90F, But I've never had any major issues.

 

[blissful]

I've done tempeh before. It could look like nothing is happening then you wake up the next morning and it's covered with white. After I make it, I steam it for 20 minutes or so then into the freezer it goes. My dehydrator only goes as low as 95F, and I think it calls for 90F, But I've never had any major issues.

Did you put the containers of tempeh (zip lock bags with holes) in containers or zip lock bags (w/o holes) in the dehydrator to keep the moisture? My dehydrator's (excalibur) lowest temperature says it will do 95 but when I measured it (3 thermometers) it was 100 deg F. I decided to try putting things on top of the dehydrator and am getting 85-95, towels under and over the zip lock bags.

 

[larry_stewart]

I punched holes about 1 inch apart through out the hole zip lock bag, making sure the holes went through and through. I then added the soy bean mixture , closed the bag and flattened to an even thickness. I laid that flat on the dehydrating trays ( with the screen). Every 12 hours or so I'd rotate the trays . Usually between 24 - 36 hours is the sweet spot where you will notice the transition from individual beans to a solid slab.

Once done, I steam the slabs in a bamboo steamer for 20 minutes then freeze for later use .

I also have an Excalibur.

*** One thing I've had happen to me, is sometimes the perimeter or edges get a little black or not fully inoculated. I started making sure I put holes really close to the edges ( all around) and the seemed to have done the trick. Im guessing it wa dead space with no airflow.

 

[blissful]

I was doing a lot of reading and some of the internet sources say the black mold that 'spored' is best used for starter. So this last time I cut the black parts off to dry and use for starter. I'll start a tempeh thread.

I appreciate what you said, how you rotated your tempeh.

 

[larry_stewart]

6 days later, starting to pinhead. For a size reference, the heads are maybe 2 mm in diameter

 

[larry_stewart]

First careless mistake.
I noticed 2 varieties fruiting, the other 2 were not. I assumed due to different varieties they are on a different time line ( which is true), but I know oyster mushrooms ( one of the one not fruiting) are usually relatively quick, so I did an inspection, and found a huge, flat cluster growing in an air pocket under the block ( a region where I did NOT cut a hole for the shrooms to grow through.

Mushrooms usually start to fruit when there is a change in their environment that beneficial to growth ( Drop/ or change in temp, increase in humidity, increase oxygen...). The blocks come from the farm ready to fruit, so you just have to introduce the above conditions to initiate the fruiting process. I now have a controlled environment where regarding temperature and humidity ( which is great, cause I used to have to mist the blocks multiple times a day, now it is automatic). The increase in oxygen is cause by making a slit in the bag, allowing the block to be exposed to fresh oxygenated air, and allowing a portal for the shrooms to grow through.

The mistake I made was while handling the block, I created an air pocket between the plastic and the inoculated block ( but it wasn't an area where I made a slit for them to grow through. It was also not facing a direction where I could see it ( without manipulating the block). I kept the sides where I made the slits easily visible. Anyway, I Got suspicious when it hadn't fruited , so I rotated the block around, and there was the huge cluster of mushrooms trying to grow underneath the plastic . I cut the plastic to allow it to expand ( see pic below. I then checked all the blocks for any 'rogue ' mushroom clusters and exposed them. Rookie mistake. I only it came with 2 block sets for each variety , and for the reason ( knowing Id screw something up) I only did one block from each variety to learn from. The unopened blocks could be stored in the fridge for awhile before used, so I have time. now that I know what to look for, hopefully Ill avoid this next time around.

I do remember last year, when storing the inoculated TP rolls in the fridge, I didn't wrap the bags tightly ( leaving air pockets) and they started going in the fridge. So looking back, it makes sense now.

 

[blissful]

Those tubular mushrooms are kind of weird looking, like chicken legs or something.
I hope they taste good. Is this a kind you've grown before?

 

[KatyCooks]

Oh, I am such an idiot! I paid £14.99 for a mushroom kit this weekend. What can I say, I got carried away. I wish I had seen this thread first. (I read the instructions when I got it home and it says I should expect 3 lots of mushrooms from the kit. So, if I am very lucky and get ANY mushrooms at all from this kit, it will have taken a lot more effort than just going to my local supermarket.

 

[blissful]

...
*** One thing I've had happen to me, is sometimes the perimeter or edges get a little black or not fully inoculated. I started making sure I put holes really close to the edges ( all around) and the seemed to have done the trick. Im guessing it wa dead space with no airflow.

@larry_stewart , Yes, the more holes the better! Mine are turning out better with holes a cm apart instead of an inch apart. The black is the spores, the most mature of the mold, excellent for use as a starter or you can eat it too. Mold is a Fungi and the cotton-y mold is the mycelium.

 

[larry_stewart]

Oh, I am such an idiot! I paid £14.99 for a mushroom kit this weekend. What can I say, I got carried away. I wish I had seen this thread first. (I read the instructions when I got it home and it says I should expect 3 lots of mushrooms from the kit. So, if I am very lucky and get ANY mushrooms at all from this kit, it will have taken a lot more effort than just going to my local supermarket.

I usually get on about two rounds of mushrooms ( I dont think Ive ever gotten 3). Now, with a better set up creating a better environment, maybe Ill get more.

 

[larry_stewart]

Those tubular mushrooms are kind of weird looking, like chicken legs or something.
I hope they taste good. Is this a kind you've grown before?

Ive grown them before, but they never deformed like this. They've always grown out of one of my poked holes. Since these were trapped , they were struggling to find oxygen and were also compressed by the outer packaging. I doubt they will normalize, even though I have exposed them and gave them space to grow and expand. They should taste ok.

 

[dragnlaw]

Oh, I am such an idiot! I paid £14.99 for a mushroom kit this weekend. What can I say, I got carried away. I wish I had seen this thread first. (I read the instructions when I got it home and it says I should expect 3 lots of mushrooms from the kit. So, if I am very lucky and get ANY mushrooms at all from this kit, it will have taken a lot more effort than just going to my local supermarket.

LOL, don't feel bad Katy - I paid a lot more than that! But I also got some on sale. 10% of the price. Well, one was not good at all - absolutely nothing happened. 2nd one started, sort of got a half a growth then started dying. The fact that it started was good so I don't know what happened to kill it.
The very first one I got was pretty good - I got the first crop really nice - 2nds crop was OK and the 3rd was barely even able to call it a 3rd.
Truth to tell - I think it was me. Had someone else, more "careful" than I, probably would have had a great crop all the time.

But unless they are less than 1/2 price, I won't do them again. Thrill of growing them is great, but seriously not worth the effort for the price. Still cheaper in the store.

 

[larry_stewart]

But unless they are less than 1/2 price, I won't do them again. Thrill of growing them is great, but seriously not worth the effort for the price. Still cheaper in the store.

Only the mushrooms I grow outside pay for themselves. The best I've ever done indoors is break even. Now with my new set up, Im hoping things will be more efficient and pay for themselves. But, as you said, initially it was for the thrill of doing and seeing how they grow.

 

[larry_stewart]

Updated on deformed oyster mushrooms ( which are trying their hardest to turn into normal mushrooms) , follow up pic from 2 days ago to see how quick they grow and lions mane

 

[blissful]

Wow the oyster mushrooms are looking better and like little sculptures. Very cool. They look pretty happy.

 

[larry_stewart]

Wow the oyster mushrooms are looking better and like little sculptures. Very cool. They look pretty happy.

Yeah, I just wish. caught them a few days earlier so they had more time to develop properly, but there is always next time.

 

[dragnlaw]

Do/did you find the Lion's Head slower to develop than the oysters?

I mean, they all just suddenly start and then the Oysters keep on going while the Lion's Heads just sort of plod along.