Mushroom kits

[Sparkly]

If I use a mushroom kit such as this....

http://www.thompson-morgan.com/potatoes1/product/bww3157/1.html/?OC=WSE211&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WSE211&Last%20Order%20Date=

....will I get continous mushrooms or will it get just 1 or 2 'flushes'?

???

[Sparkly]

[manicscousers]

not sure about that one, sparkly..we bought one, got lots of little flies in(kept it too damp), threw it in the poly border and got 1 lovely crop of mushrooms, then a few smaller ones  ;D
sorry, didn't realise it was oysters..Ray's not too keen on them ???

[Baccy Man]

That style & size kit should produce 3-4 flushes you can get the same kits slightly cheaper from:
http://www.annforfungi.co.uk

In the case of oysters I wouldn't waste money on a kit, supermarkets often have oyster mushrooms reduced. If you buy some oyster mushrooms & wait a few days until they start to grow white fuzz then you have your own mycelium. The fuzzy mushrooms can be added to a bag of damp chopped straw & you have made your own kit. You can sterilise  the chopped straw in a pressure cooker if you want to guarantee good results but oysters are one of the few mushrooms you can cultivate on a non sterile substrate so it's not that important.

[PurpleHeather]

It is nice to learn that some one gets any thing from mushroom kits. I have spoken to a lot of people who report getting nothing or very little. Sufficient to say that they have proved more expensive than shop bought ones.

Seems the conditions have to be perfect, moisture, temperature and light.


Good luck to you. Treat it as a new adventure and enjoy the experience.  Do lte us know how you get on.

[cleo]

That style & size kit should produce 3-4 flushes you can get the same kits slightly cheaper from:
http://www.annforfungi.co.uk

In the case of oysters I wouldn't waste money on a kit, supermarkets often have oyster mushrooms reduced. If you buy some oyster mushrooms & wait a few days until they start to grow white fuzz then you have your own mycelium. The fuzzy mushrooms can be added to a bag of damp chopped straw & you have made your own kit. You can sterilise  the chopped straw in a pressure cooker if you want to guarantee good results but oysters are one of the few mushrooms you can cultivate on a non sterile substrate so it's not that important.

That must be one of the most useful posts (for me anyway) that I have read in ages-thank you.

[thifasmom]

That style & size kit should produce 3-4 flushes you can get the same kits slightly cheaper from:
http://www.annforfungi.co.uk

In the case of oysters I wouldn't waste money on a kit, supermarkets often have oyster mushrooms reduced. If you buy some oyster mushrooms & wait a few days until they start to grow white fuzz then you have your own mycelium. The fuzzy mushrooms can be added to a bag of damp chopped straw & you have made your own kit. You can sterilise  the chopped straw in a pressure cooker if you want to guarantee good results but oysters are one of the few mushrooms you can cultivate on a non sterile substrate so it's not that important.

That must be one of the most useful posts (for me anyway) that I have read in ages-thank you.

ditto, think I'll give it ago but on a roll of toilet paper as described here: http://www.ncbe.reading.ac.uk/NCBE/MATERIALS/MICROBIOLOGY/PDF/oyster.pdf do you think the cupboard where the boiler is would provide the growing heat it needs without over heating it? ???

[Baccy Man]

Yes the temperature in an airing cupboard is fine for oyster mushrooms.

[thifasmom]

thanks for confirming Baccy Man

[Sparkly]

Thanks for that link.

[bupster]

I got a couple of kits from Dobies - the Golden Pearl I think and the Portobello. They're different kits, or at least have different strata on which they grow. I'm on the second small crop of the Golden Pearl and the second larger crop of Portobello - the latter are great, really meaty, I'd definitely get them again.