Oyster Mushroom [OUTDOOR Blue & Yellow Oyster]
OUTDOOR OYSTER MUSHROOM GROWING.
Firstly thank you for your purchase! Here is a little guide to help you on your mushroom growing adventure!
Please remember to keep the Oyster culture sealed and stored in the fridge once fully colonized to prevent fruiting within the bag. If the block isn’t fully white, or a large portion of sawdust showing, allow to sit at room temp until colonized, then place in the fridge to prevent fruiting.
In a nutshell, the instructions to grow these mushrooms are to find suitable substrate, mix the culture within it, and water often. Thats literally it- anyone can do it!
Outdoor growing:
You will require a substrate of either hardwood chips (mulch) or nice yellow straw for your growing substrate. Old grey straw doesn’t work well. The waste wood from arborists works great as long as it’s not softwood. Softwoods are not suitable for growing Oyster Mushrooms.
You may wish to purchase some extra substrate during your initial purchase, as mulching over the patch will be necessary for the Oysters to survive the winter. The culture you purchased will effectively inoculate a patch of approximately 2’ x 3’ and 8-12” deep. A little bigger or smaller is fine. Note that providing adequate water to the mushroom culture is the determining factor of how well they will produce mushrooms, especially in the first year. Note that the mushroom mycelium can freeze without harm.
1. As long as the ground has thawed, clear or rake an area of the topsoil approximately 2’x3’ in a partial sun or shaded area. You may wish to build a border around the area of bricks or wood etc. Garden boxes work. You may also dig out a similar sized area of sod 8-12” deep. Placing cardboard down prior to your substrate will prevent weeds or grass from coming up and eventually become good food for your mushroom culture.
2. Once the patch is cleared, lay down approximately 2-3” of your chosen substrate. Next crush and roll the mycelium within the bag into small pieces of approx. 3-10 mm. Do not worry, this will not harm the culture. Open your bag and evenly spread half of the culture over the substrate.
3. Add 2-3” of substrate. Spread the rest of the bag of culture over the substrate. The goal is to evenly mix everything together.
4. Pile the rest of your substrate on top to a final depth of 8-12”.
5. If you wish to plant in the early spring or late fall, place clear plastic over the top of your patch with a substantial amount of 3” triangle holes cut into it. This prevents evaporation but will also allow water and air to enter the patch. This will also provide some heat to increase the rate of colonization. If your patch is in the forest, the plastic is recommended (for at least the first year) for low maintenance mushroom growing. Plastic is not necessary if you plan on watering the patch often. Remove the plastic in the heat of summer.
6. Finally and most importantly, the patch MUST be watered frequently, especially at the beginning of the growth stage if you wish to have lots of mushrooms. Watering once or twice a day is recommended for the first three weeks, however if your patch stays wet at the level of the culture, less water may be suitable. Placing your patch near a drain pipe is a clever way to keep the moisture levels high. Moving or digging down into the substate to see the moisture level will not hurt the culture, and is recommended to gauge moisture levels.
7. Harvesting. The ideal time to harvest Oysters is when the very leading 1mm edge just begins to curl up. Simply cut or rip up the cluster from the base. Oysters have a shelf of approximately five days in the fridge if stored in paper. Harvesting early is wise as to get to the mushrooms before the insects do. The patch will grow plenty more mushrooms once they start.
8. Overwintering: Oysters grow naturally in many areas of Canada and are quite hardy. However, if they dry out in cold and windy conditions, they may not survive. You prevent this by adding another extra substrate in the fall and watering heavy and deeply around the time of the first frost. Keeping the patch either wet or frozen is best. It’s recommended to pile snow on top of the patch for overwintering.
Note: There are many techniques for growing mushrooms indoors/outdoors that may suit you such as the “straw bucket technique”, “straw logs” and “Lipa’s Tek” that are available online. This kit is suitable to use as spawn to inoculate your substrate using any and all growing techniques you wish to use. Note that if inoculating other substrates, this culture must be used fresh [prior to growing mushrooms from it].
Thanks for your purchase and we hope you enjoy growing these mushrooms as much as we do!
Do not reproduce without permission