You can harvest a mushroom grow kit with a sharp pair of scissors or a knife, cutting close to the substrate. Each kind of mushroom has different signs to tell you when it is ready to be harvested.
Do you want to know how to harvest some of your favorite mushrooms from a mushroom grow kit? Read on!
How do you harvest oyster mushrooms?
According to Bellevue University, oyster mushrooms come in different colors such as pink, yellow, and white. They can be anywhere from 1 to 6 inches wide. They are soft and chewy. Oyster mushrooms are very easy to grow.
Oyster mushrooms should be harvested about 3-5 days after you see the first mushroom forming. Once you see the cap of the biggest mushroom in the group convert from turning down to turning up or flattening out on the edges, it is time to harvest.
How do you harvest shiitake mushrooms?
Shiitake mushrooms should be picked once the gills are exposed. If you can’t feel the gills, let your shiitake mushrooms keep growing.
The gills have different stages. Field Forest states that the best time to harvest shiitake mushrooms is when the gills are 80% open.
Mushrooms with gills that are more closed will last longer, so if you don’t plan on eating them right away or you want to ship them to a friend, harvest your shiitake mushrooms when the gills are slightly open but not all the way.
How do you harvest portobello mushrooms?
Portobello mushrooms are large and dark brown with a wide cap. They are a popular meat substitute.
They are edible at any size, although different sizes have a different taste and name. They are the largest, fully formed Agaricus bisporus mushroom, while cremini and button mushrooms are just younger versions.
It takes portobello mushrooms roughly 3-4 weeks to grow fully.
Fully grown portobellos will only form during your second or third harvest, not your first one.
How do you harvest cremini mushrooms?
When you harvest a cremini mushroom, cut it at the stem with a knife. If you just pull it, you can damage the mycelium and mushrooms that are still forming.
Fresh creminis have gills that are completely sheathed.
Cremini mushrooms are at the stage between portobello mushrooms and button mushrooms. If you harvest them early they will be buttons, and if you harvest them late they will be portobellos.
You can tell when the mushrooms have matured from buttons into creminis when they have turned from white to brown but haven’t grown too large.
Button mushroom kits can produce 4 pounds of mushrooms over a 4-6 week growing cycle.
Button mushrooms are the youngest out of creminis and portobellos. They are white.
They take about 3 weeks to grow. When their caps open fully and separate from the stems, that is a sign that they are ready to be harvested.
If you wait too long, they will turn brown and turn into cremini mushrooms.
How do you harvest reishi mushrooms?
You can harvest reishi mushrooms at any stage of growth. Cut them at the base with sharp scissors.
It is hard to get reishi antlers to conch. Conching means forming a mature mushroom cap. You need light and air flow but you also need to keep your mushrooms from drying out.
Once the mushrooms are conched, they will release a lot of spores, which look like dust that is rust colored. You ideally want to harvest the mushrooms right before this starts to happen.
Reishi kits will only fruit once, so you can compost your block after your harvest.
You can store your reishi mushrooms in the fridge for up to a month in a breathable container. You can also dry them.
How do you harvest lion’s mane mushrooms?
You can harvest your lion’s mane by cutting the ball close to the kit with a sharp knife.
You have to be very careful with the fruit so you don’t damage the spines. The mushroom will last much longer if it’s handled correctly.
You can leave your kit the way it is and new flushes will occur. The new fruits will develop where the old ones were harvested from.
What is a mushroom grow kit?
Mushroom grow kits are the easiest way to grow mushrooms at home. They are beginner-friendly and require no extra tools.
Mushroom grow kits consist of a pre-colonized fruiting block. The fruiting block is usually inside of a mushroom grow bag.
You can grow many different kinds of mushrooms with grow kits.
Most kits don’t require much maintenance and only have a few steps. However, your chance of success and the size of your harvest will increase if you prepare the kit correctly and put it in the best growing conditions possible.
Why should I grow mushrooms from a kit?
One perk of growing mushrooms from a kit is that it doesn’t take much effort. You don’t have to drill holes in logs or pasteurize things the way you do if you grow mushrooms without a kit. All you need is patience, water, and a good location.
It also costs less to grow mushrooms from a kit than it does to buy them at a store.
Growing mushrooms from a kit is a great learning experience. It can also be a good science lesson if you have children.
It is safer to grow mushrooms from a kit than it is to forage them. It can even be safer than buying them at the store if you are growing from an organic kit.
What is the life cycle of a mushroom?
There are 8 steps to the mushroom life cycle.
- Spores germinate in a substrate.
- Hyphae grow from the spores.
- Mycelium starts to grow exponentially.
- Mycelium form baby mushrooms.
- Baby mushrooms start to create enzymes.
- The most promising primordia are selected to fruit.
- All of the energy is channeled into developing fruitbodies.
- Spores are released for propagation.
