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Male monarch oyster mushrooms are the largest of the oyster mushroom species and have been described as having the taste and texture of abalone.[ane] Ane of the best parts about oyster mushrooms is that they're like shooting fish in a barrel for you to grow at home! With a little time and effort, you can grow your own mushrooms to include in a diversity of dishes!

  1. 1

    Cutting cardboard into 4 by 4 in (10 by 10 cm) squares and put them in a bucket. Utilize a box cutter or utility knife to cut the cardboard down to size. Aim to have well-nigh 10 pieces of cardboard in the end, only it'south okay if you accept more or less. Place the cardboard pieces in a sanitized v Us gal (xix 50) bucket.[two]

    • Paper-thin egg cartons would too work well for growing the mushrooms.
    • You tin sanitize your saucepan with a diluted bleach solution.

  2. two

    Boil water and pour it over the cardboard until it is completely saturated. Place a large pot or kettle on the stove until the water boils. Pour the hot water onto the paper-thin until it's completely wet through and submerged. This helps kill whatsoever organisms that may contaminate your mushrooms subsequently on.[3]

    • Push button the cardboard down to compact it if you lot want to use less water.
    • The boiled water will kill any microorganisms on the cardboard in a process called pasteurization.

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  3. 3

    Comprehend the bucket and let it cool for 8 hours. Put a chapeau on top of the saucepan and allow it soak overnight. The estrus from the water would kill any mushroom spawn, so it needs to rest until it is cool to the touch.[iv]

  4. four

    Clasp the cardboard to drain any excess water. Pour the water out of the bucket and drain the rest of the h2o from the paper-thin squares. Start squeezing on one side of the foursquare and work your mode beyond. In the end, they should be damp to the touch on, simply not completely saturated.[v]

    • Launder your hands with antibacterial soap or apply hand sanitizer before treatment the cardboard so you don't bring in foreign contaminants.

  5. 5

    Place ten mushroom spawn on 1 slice of cardboard. Sprinkle the spawn evenly near the edges of the cardboard foursquare. The king oyster mushrooms adopt to grow from the sides of the cardboard rather than on top of the cardboard.[6]

    • Bank check your local gardening shop to see if they accept spawn for rex oyster. Otherwise, king oyster mushroom spawn tin be purchased online.

  6. 6

    Stack the squares on top of one another, placing spawn on each layer. Go along edifice layers of the cardboard and spawn until you're out of cardboard. Don't place any of the spawn on top of the last piece of cardboard since it will not be covered and may not grow as effectively.[vii]

    • You lot'll demand nigh 100 mushroom spawn total to abound on 10 layers of cardboard, only you don't have to be precise with your count.

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  1. ane

    Identify the cardboard squares and spawn into a garbage purse and close information technology. Use a garbage bag with a sure-fire for the easiest way to close it. Closing the bag builds upwards the concentration of carbon dioxide inside and stimulates the mushroom spawn to abound faster.[8]

    • Identify the garbage bag in a cardboard box if you desire to go along it safer.
    • The mushrooms do not need light as they establish.

  2. 2

    Continue the handbag in an area between 50–65 °F (10–18 °C). Keep the bag in a warm dark place, like a cabinet, to assistance the spawn colonize more quickly. The warmth mixed with the moisture in the cardboard pieces creates a humid environment that's perfect for mushrooms.[9]

    • The purse tin exist stored in a dark cabinet or fifty-fifty under your bed.

  3. 3

    Open the purse subsequently 2 days to check for pools of h2o. While the bag should stay humid and moist, it should non have pools of continuing h2o at the bottom. If you find excess h2o, drain the pocketbook into a sink earlier putting it back.[10]

    • This should only have to be done one time since the water is backlog that has drained from the cardboard.

  4. iv

    Exit the bag alone for iii-6 weeks. Don't disturb the handbag during this time since the mushroom spawn is starting to produce mycelium, which looks like white strands, and volition eventually fruit. The cardboard will be completely colonized by the mushroom after this time.[11]

    • Set a reminder on your telephone or in a planner and so you lot know when to return to your mushrooms.

  5. 5

    Open up the plastic bag once you see white strands covering the paper-thin. Afterward the tertiary week, cheque every 2 weeks to see if the mycelia have formed. It volition look similar the cardboard is covered in white strands if information technology's ready. If information technology isn't, close the bag and leave it lone for some other week or two before checking it again.[12]

    • Opening the pocketbook exposes the mycelia to oxygen and will stimulate it to start producing mushrooms.

  6. six

    Motility the bag to a sunny area when the mycelia is nowadays. Make sure there is enough light getting to your mushrooms. A good rule of pollex is to have it bright enough so y'all could easily read a book. During this fourth dimension, you may run across pocket-size mushrooms starting to form.[13]

  7. 7

    Spray the inner walls of the handbag with water twice daily. Maintain a humid environs for the mushrooms past using a spray bottle with tap h2o. Moisture the walls of the bag to go along the mushrooms moist.[fourteen]

    • Mushrooms may not tolerate water sprayed directly on them.
    • If you live in a dry out climate, spray 3 times per day.

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  1. 1

    Collect the mushrooms before they develop a wavy edge. The mushrooms should only take 1 to 2 weeks to fully grow, but they will develop a wavy edge effectually their cap when they are starting to get past their prime. They tin can still be eaten, merely for best results, choice full-sized mushrooms only every bit they finish growing.[15]

    • Pin mushrooms are part of the first flush of growth and volition go total size within 3 to 4 days.

  2. 2

    Twist the mushrooms off of their base. Avoid pulling the mushroom straight off since this could harm the mycelia underneath. A gentle twist and pull should be all it takes to remove the mushrooms.[16]

    • As an alternative, yous can cut the base of the mushrooms with a pair of sanitized pair of scissors.

  3. 3

    Spray the bag with water twice a twenty-four hour period to get more flushes of mushrooms. After 10 to xv days, you may encounter another growth of mushrooms if you lot keep the bag moist and in a calorie-free place. They will tend to be just as large, if non larger, than the offset mushrooms you collected.[17]

    • Mushrooms can return for multiple flushes every two or three weeks, simply they will grow smaller each time.

  4. 4

    Leave the stems on the mushrooms, if you lot'd like. Unlike with other mushroom varieties, yous can eat the stems of king oyster mushrooms. Exit them on for an like shooting fish in a barrel, succulent repast.[18]

    • Make clean your mushrooms before adding them to whatever dish.
    • Rex oyster mushrooms can be eaten raw or cooked.

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  • Oyster mushrooms can be grown at whatever fourth dimension of the year inside as long as you keep temperatures between 50–77 °F (10–25 °C) and provide light.

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Things You'll Demand

  • Cardboard
  • Box cutter
  • Saucepan
  • Pot or kettle
  • Mushroom spawn
  • Garbage handbag
  • Spray bottle

References

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