Oyster mushrooms are usually one of the first fruiting blocks that home growers begin with as they are reliable and straightforward to flush. They also produce reliably for multiple flushes, so that you can enjoy your fresh mushrooms up to three times. Oyster mushrooms are well known in the literature to contain significant amounts of protein and B-Vitamins that are essential for health. Le 400 Pieds de Champignon currently offers four different kinds of true oyster mushrooms for cultivation including blue, golden, black pearl and Marie-Anne oyster. For mushroom enthusiasts that are new to growing mushrooms, we highly recommend starting with oyster mushrooms.
Blue Oyster - Pleurotus Ostreatus
Difficulty: Beginner
Cold shock: 1 day @ 4°C
Fruiting temperature: 17-21°C
Duration until pin sets: 5-7 days
Duration until harvest:2-5 days
Humidity: 90%
Fruiting directions
1)When ready to fruit, place the fruiting block in a refrigerator for 24 hours at 4°C. This will send signals to the mycelium fruiting block that it is time to reproduce by forming mushrooms
Using a sharp knife, cut a 15 cm sized “X” into the side of the mushroom block and remove any extra air that may be trapped inside the back by folding the bag onto itself.
2)Spray the surface of the exposed mushroom block 2-3 times a day to maintain a high humidity until small ‘pins’ start to form.
3)When you observe small tiny mushrooms growing, they will be ready to harvest within 2-5 days. It is important to maintain a good relative humidity while the mushrooms are developing to ensure soft caps and to prevent the cluster of mushrooms from aborting.
Special notes:
Blue oyster mushrooms enjoy plenty of humidity as well as fresh air. If your place your mushrooms in a glass enclosure, your mushrooms may grow long stems as they are not receiving enough fresh air. If grown at a cooler temperature the colour of the mushroom cap will be a more vibrant dark blue compared to growing at warmer temperatures where the cap may become light grey. Make sure to harvest all of your oyster mushrooms at the same time as one large cluster. Picking only a few mushrooms at a time may cause the remaining mushrooms to abort.
