Oyster Mushrooms

A while ago I came across these DIY mushroom kits from a company called Home-Gro.

You order via e-mail after which they’ll post it to you since they are situated in the Karoo.

The package contains a cardboard box (much like the wine boxes you get on wine farms) with a plastic bag inside. Without going into too much fungi detail, you then cut a slit across the bag and start misting it at least twice a day. (For more detail visit their website/Facebook page – link below)

Mine took a bit of effort to get going and I had to reseal it and store it in a black bin for 2 weeks to allow the Mycelium to develop some more. Advice I got from Alida at Home-Gro, she’s like a mushroom Wikipedia when she starts talking! After this it was less than a week before a crust began to develop in the opening of the bag.

From here it is absolute magic! You literally see them grow right in front of you. When I came home in the evening the mushrooms looked totally different to what they looked like that same morning. It takes about 4/5 days before you have your first harvest of juicy oyster mushrooms!

The mushroom culture can be re-used to produce a couple of harvests. They also share a lot of information on their Facebook page on how to create your own little ongoing mushroom farm using the contents of the bag as the basis.

After I’ve tasted these beauties, button mushrooms just won’t do it anymore. It’s like comparing a McDonald’s patty to a Rib-Eye steak.

Have a look here Home-Gro-Gourmet-Mushroom-Kit

It’s a bit pricy @ R135 per kit but if you follow the instructions and re-use it a couple of times I recon you’ll get your money’s worth.