Oyster Mushroom Kits — Tailwind Acres

The rain has finally made our garden pop. Wow! I was getting a little nervous our seeds would lay dormant forever, but at last the rain worked its magic. The rain also has us wondering if the wild mushrooms have fruited. We’ve been checking some local woods regularly but have yet to explore since the much showers this past week.

2016 Walk in the Woods

As much as we enjoy exploring the wild for mushrooms, we are not foragers. Big confession: despite keeping our eyes open neither Adam nor I have ever found a coveted morel in the wild. We hope this doesn’t discredit us as growers as we appreciate the flavor and versatility of fresh mushrooms. We did happen upon the mother-load of wild mushrooms in 2016 after a very, very wet August. Thankfully we had our camera - see photo gallery. We didn’t pick any!

Growing chambers

Kids experiment with humidity and lighting

Shiitakes starting to emerge!

Wow, look at those babies!

Marketing ploy!

Kids prepping their mushrooms

It's also about presentation, no?

Adam first introduced me to shiitake mushrooms. For those who haven’t tried a shiitake, you’re missing out on a pleasantly earthy taste. Since 2011 Adam has done a project with his biology classes where students grow shiitake mushrooms. He orders pre-made shiitake log kits from Field and Forest. The kids work in teams to build a mushroom chamber for their “logs” and then market and sell them to school staff. The project finale includes a mini top-chef competition where students use their mushrooms to cook a meal judged by the school chef. Students really up their game and the recipes are clever. Raise your hand if you’ve ever tried grilled shiitakes drizzled with chocolate bacon over vanilla bean ice cream?

For the last handful of years we have been antsy to grow our own mushrooms using spawn and properly setting up the growing conditions. Despite having some experience with mycology, Adam recognized he needed some professional development in mushroom cultivation. In February 2019 we both attended a daylong Organic University course at MOSES all about starting mushroom cultivation.

We started oyster mushrooms last year with some success and learned a whole bunch. This year we decided to expand the oyster endeavor and venture into shiitake cultivation.

Why mushrooms?

For the Health of It! Both of us eat meat, but have gone through periods in our lives of being mostly vegetarian. Mushrooms are a great substitute for meat as they add texture and protein to vegetarian (or non-vegetarian) dishes. Additionally mushrooms contain Vitamin D (the only item in the produce section with it), help boost immune system function, regulate blood pressure and sugar levels, lower cholesterol and contain antibacterial and antiviral properties. They have even been shown to suppress cancer cells (Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation).
Like most cases of “grow your own” the flavor of home grown mushrooms can’t compete with those that are stored and shipped.
Conventional mushrooms are often cultivated with the use of fungicides. We like to minimize our exposure to these chemicals when and if possible.
There’s nothing quite like watching and participating in a life cycle. Mushroom growth is fascinating!
By the end of May and early June we will have limited amounts of grey dove and golden oyster mushrooms kits available. If you’re from the Decorah area and are interested in having a kit please contact us -
abohach@gmail.com or cerbfl01@luther.edu.

Step #1

We start with a set amount of substrate, in other words what the mushroom spawn will eat while it grows. Different mushrooms grow best on different substrates. Here we are using finely chopped straw.

Step #2

Here we are getting the substrate (straw) ready for sterilization. This process helps to reduce the risk of contamination of other fungi or bacteria on the substrate so the mushroom spawn can colonize.

Step #3

Here’s Adam submerging the substrate into a lime bath to elevate the PH to about 11-12. This will kill off any undesired organisms.

Step #4

The substrate needs to sit in the mixture for 24 hours.

Step #5

We decided to use food grade buckets for our mushroom “chambers.” These need holes for the fungi to breath and it’s also where the mushrooms will emerge. Some opt to hang long plastic bags from rafters, but we figured with buckets we can reuse them and can easily stack them! Small children can help with drilling holes.

Step #6

Make sure you have your spawn ready to go. It’s a good idea to get it from a trusted source to ensure high quality.

Step #7

Take the semi-wet (moist) substrate and mix with the sawdust or grain spawn and place into the buckets.

Step #8

Place the mushrooms in a semi-controlled environment or outside. Different varieties of spawn do best in different conditions, but in general it’s good to mimic conditions you’d find in nature. We use an unoccupied machine shed that has a few skylights but is mostly dark.

Step #9

Watch them grow! The whole process of waiting for the mushrooms to fruit takes anywhere from 3-8 weeks depending on the strain. We mist occasionally especially to encourage fruiting.