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Mushrooms do not need you to do much. They need humidity, fresh air, and a reason to fruit. Give them that and they will produce more than you expect.


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65 to 75 F
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80 to 90 Percent

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Choosing a Substrate
Oyster mushrooms grow on lignocellulosic materials: straw, cardboard, coffee grounds, or hardwood sawdust. For beginners, pasteurized wheat straw is the most forgiving and widely available. Coffee grounds work well in small batches but colonize more slowly. Cardboard is nearly free and surprisingly productive once you understand layering. Avoid softwood sawdust (pine, cedar) as the natural oils are antifungal and inhibit mycelium growth.


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Pasteurize Your Substrate
For straw: chop into 2 to 4 inch pieces and submerge in 160 to 180 degree F
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Pasteurize Your Substrate
For straw: chop into 2 to 4 inch pieces and submerge in 160 to 180 degree F water for 60 to 90 minutes. Do not boil. Drain thoroughly and spread to cool. The goal is to kill competing molds without sterilizing, which would require pressure cooking and a


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Inoculate with Grain Spawn
Layer pasteurized substrate and grain spawn in a clean bucket or bag.
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Inoculate with Grain Spawn
Layer pasteurized substrate and grain spawn in a clean bucket or bag. Use roughly 10 to 20 percent spawn by weight (100 g spawn per 500 to 1000 g dry substrate). Alternate layers starting and ending with substrate. Punch 6 to 10 quarter-inch holes in the


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Trigger Fruiting
Once substrate is fully colonized (white throughout, usually 10 to 20 days),
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Trigger Fruiting
Once substrate is fully colonized (white throughout, usually 10 to 20 days), move to a fruiting chamber or hang in a humid spot. Mist the outside of the bag two to three times per day and fan briefly to refresh CO2. Pins appear within 5 to 7 days.


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Harvest and Flush Management
Cut or twist the whole cluster at the base when caps are still cupped.
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Harvest and Flush Management
Cut or twist the whole cluster at the base when caps are still cupped. Leave the substrate to rest 5 to 10 days between flushes. A healthy block produces 3 to 4 flushes before exhaustion. After the final flush, the spent block can go into a garden bed or


:NOTE
Contamination Signals
Green or black patches in the colonizing block mean trichoderma or aspergillus mold contamination. Isolate immediately. Orange or pink discoloration can signal bacterial wet rot, usually caused by substrate that was too wet at inoculation. A healthy colonizing block smells like fresh mushrooms, not sour or ammonia-like. When in doubt, remove the suspect block from your grow space entirely.