How to Grow Oyster Mushrooms

Easy simple steps on how to grow your own oyster mushrooms using plant scraps! Learn from our experts here in Mexico!

This post is all about how to grow mushrooms. We have simple steps with no tough technicality to grow oyster mushrooms.

Mushroom growing can sound intimidating, but following a few simple rules can get you started and growing mushrooms in no time!

There are some essential key points and equipment needed for this project. I am no specialist at this, but we got the experts here in Mexico who is part of the ____ government of Mexico.

I am tagging along on this six-week journey with them in an off-grid little town called San Mateo Coatepec, Puebla to learn how to grow oyster mushrooms. 

I am condensing the main key points on how to easily grow your own mushrooms at home, and the steps on how to grow oyster mushrooms. I've followed experts in a remote countryside teaching villagers there how to grow their own mushrooms for consumption.

Benefits of Mushrooms

• Decrease the risk of Cancer
• Helps keep cholesterol low
• Source of Vitamin D
• Feeds the good bacteria in the gut
• Supports the immune system

What is an oyster mushroom?

Oyster mushrooms are the second healthiest mushrooms to eat right after the shitake mushroom. They are a huge bonnet of mushrooms that is beautifully white with hints of champagne colour. In the culinary kitchen, oyster mushrooms are very versatile and immensely tasty. There's a reason why oyster mushrooms are more expensive than white button mushrooms. 

What are the benefits of growing your own Oyster mushrooms?

Besides the fact that it is FUN and mesmerizing to watch these fungi grow before your eyes, it is also highly nutritional and might be one of our answers to climate change for the 21st century!

Growing your own mushroom has many health benefits. Mushrooms provide many nutrients that other vegetables don't provide. Mushrooms are high in B vitamins, while other vegetables are high in vitamin C. 

In fact, growing your own mushroom might potentially help climate change. It's been shown mushrooms are agents of "carbon sequestration" meaning mycelium stores carbon from trees and plants in the soil, which helps keep our planet alive!

Is it easy to grow your own mushroom?

Growing mushrooms require a bit more sanitary practices, but it can be easy! Here are some of the main things to keep in mind before you start on this project.

• Sourcing mushroom seeds (spawns) - you can buy mushroom spawns on Amazon, but if you know a reputable seller, I would highly recommend the latter. 
• Find nutritional plant scraps - substrate (the growing medium) needs to be nutritional for the succession of growing mushrooms.
• Sanitary work station - we need to sterilize all substrate and bags to create a friendly environment to grow good bacteria. We will be using corn husks and amaranth stems to grow oyster mushrooms.
• Grow bags: a clear and translucent plastic bag is needed for this project. We are testing both mushroom special bags and a regular clear plastic bag.
• A place to keep the mushroom - you need a place to store mushroom bags in a cool place.

How to get Mushroom Spawns

If you know a reputable commercial mushroom seller, it's always highly recommended. Because this is their specialty, they can sell you high-quality spawns that will guarantee you a higher chance of success rate from their reputable spawns. 

Mushroom commercial spawn sellers are not exactly everywhere, and most likely you need to order it online and get the spawns shipped to your house.

Substrate

Normally mushroom spawns are grown in sawdust. Sawdust is inexpensive and a great medium for mushrooms to grow from. This is where the mushroom's mycelium colonizes. This medium needs to be nutritional for the spawns to grow and produce mushrooms. 

Each mushroom variety has its own preferred substrate so do your research on which one works best for your mushroom spawns. 

The best substrate for oyster mushrooms is cereal straws like cottonseed hulls, corn husks, corn cobs, office paper, wheat and oat straws. 

Since I am following a program here in Mexico and there are many corn and amaranth scrapes we are testing to use of these materials as the medium for the oyster mushrooms.

Grow Bags

The purpose of the grow bags is to allow the medium to have high CO2 and humidity for the mycelium to grow and colonize. 

Clear white bags are ideal vessels to grow mushrooms for a few of reasons (especially for beginners on growing mushrooms) and they are:

1. Transparent bags allow you to watch the mycelium colonize the bag and also find out what when wrong. For example, it is easier to spot contaminations earlier on. 
2. Easy to store plastic clear bags. You can put them on a shelf or hang them up.
3. Bigger harvest when you can cut holes around the bag for the mushroom to grow out. A container vessel will only allow the mushroom to grow upwards with a smaller harvest. 

Can you re-use the bag?

We highly recommend you not to reuse them because they need to be cut and sealed at various stages of the growing process.

Special Mushroom Bags VS Regular plastic transparent bags for growing mushrooms

For our project, we tried two different bags. The first bag we tried was the mushroom grow bag that comes with a filter. These bags are made specifically for growing mushrooms. The second bag is a slightly heavy-duty clear plastic bag you can find for parties and gardening.

Because this program is catering more towards towns with not a lot of income, a special mushroom bag is an issue, which is why we are testing the results of also using an ordinary clear bag.

When we talk about ordinary clear bags, it just means heavier-duty clear white bags with no filter at the top. It is not the thin plastic bags you get at grocery stores to put your apples in. We are talking about clear plastic bags with a strong seal, and waterproof. Try the 18 x 23" Large Thick 4 Mil Clear Zip Seal Lock Poly Bags

Location

Once the mushroom spawns and substrate are locked and sealed in the bag, finding a location is a big factor. You need a place that is off the ground, cooling temperature, with good airflow.

Once the mushroom starts to sprout, you will need a higher humidity room. You also will need to spray the mushrooms with a spray bottle a couple of times per day to stop the mushrooms from drying out. 

Steps on How to Grow oyster mushrooms

In a small town of 2000 in San Mateo Coatepec, Puebla, the project on how to grow mushrooms is a huge test for the Government of Mexico. This project I am following has the objective to measure the success of the town's young people in growing mushrooms for consumption, to see if growing their food will help obesity and general health and if growing mushrooms for sale can increase household income. 

Part of the program is to teach young villagers the essential points of how to grow mushrooms without the technicality. They don't have the resources to buy special equipment or rent a special facility to grow it. We need to use what they have. 

The steps I provided below is a crash course guide without going into the science and technicality of how to grow mushrooms. Imagine trying to explain the importance CO2 to a group of young villagers who unfortunately do not have the luxury of a better education.

Therefore, what I provide is a quick tutorial that this program is providing through Mexico on teaching villages the essential steps on how to grow mushrooms. 

Here is my journey following a 6 week program with ______ learning my eyes and ears.

1. Sterilize the Substrate 

The substrates we are using to grow oyster mushrooms are amaranth stems and corn husks. We go through the scrapes to look for large and sharp stems that will puncture the bags, and take them out. We only want the softer stems.

In a large pot filled with fresh water, we light a fire under it. Once the water starts to boil, we add a woven plastic bag filled with the substrate. 

We boil and steralize the medium for 40 minutes.

2. Cooling Off the sterilized substrate

After 40 minutes of rapid boiling of the substrate, we take it out to drain out the excess water. After 15 minutes of draining, we open the bag onto a clean table, and lay the substrate in the open to cool. We move and toss the medium around so it cools faster. We also take the time to looks for additional large stems and throw it out.

3. Mushroom Bags

We tested out two different bags which are special mushroom bag, geared for only mushroom growing, and a regular clear plastic bag.

How to Sterilise regular plastic bags

Now, we will need to puncture holes in the bag, so they can withstand high temperatures while keeping it breathable and contamination out of the sterile substrate.

First, wash your hands with soap. We will be using sewing needs to puncture the bag. Then dip the needle in some alcohol and without touching the ends of the needle puncture holes about half an inch between each hole.

Fold the plastic bags a few times so and puncture holes. This way it will save you lots of work.

How to put mushroom spawns in the bag

For both versions of the bag, we open the bag and we first take a handful of mushroom pawns and place it evenly at the bottom of the bag. Then we take the cooling medium and firmly press the medium into the bag. at least 1 inch of firmly packed substrate. Repeat until we get 3 inches of the bag left at the top. Remember to spread the mushroom spawns at the end of the bag as well.

We fold the top twice to seal it and then fold the edges. Duck tape the top.

4. Mycelium Colonization

It will take about 2 weeks for the mycelium to colonize the bag. We look around the bag as this white fluffy substance starts to overtake the bag.

We are looking for knot-like bundles and that's how we know mushrooms are ready to make their first appearance outside the bag.

air exchange in the bag

After two to three weeks and we see the knots forming inside the bag that is already covered with bright white mycelium.

You will need to puncture holes in the bag to allow the mushroom to grow out. We suggest cutting a small (5 cm) hole on the side of your bag rather than the top. If you cut the top of the bag or open the entire top, the substrate dries out faster and you get a lot of little mushrooms instead of a few large groupings.

We cut only two holes in the bag, so that way it pushes the mushroom to produce bigger oyster mushrooms. Having too many holes in a bag will only produce small-sized oyster mushrooms.

5. harvest oyster mushrooms

About 7-14 days after casing, you should begin to notice hyphae poking up through the casing layer. Make sure to allow minimal to moderate light to reach the tub to encourage these pins to grow in the proper direction, but do not expose the tub to excess light or heat.

Eventually, you will notice your hyphae pins will begin fruiting or turning into mushrooms that are ready for harvest. You can harvest your mushrooms according to your own preferences, but for most edible capped species, the best time to harvest will be just before the mushroom caps have flattened.

Fruiting only happens if a few environmental conditions are present. The temperature of the tub should remain between 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit for the best quality mushroom formation. Additionally, it is imperative that you check your monotub daily and maintain hydration, as decreased CO2 and moisture evaporation from the surface of the substrate are key to fruiting conditions.

How to twist your mushrooms off the bag

To cause the least damage while harvesting your mushrooms, grab each one by the base of its stem and gently but firmly twist each direction until you feel it separate from the substrate and casing. Do not just rip out your mushrooms. Bring a flat receptacle to place the mushrooms upon, such as a clean plate or lid.

Social Program

The program I volunteered to follow is called Comunidades Unidas. The purpose of this program is to help small towns grow their own food for profit and eventually sell it. An interesting fact is that many of these small towns in Mexico don't make enough to buy things, so they essentially grow their own food or trade with other neighbors.

This program aims to assist the younger generation in growing their own food that is not only very healthy but also helps them financially.

Fun fact: blood tests have been conducted in a few local villages, and over the years, this program will monitor the health and success of their mushroom farms to see if there's any correlation between healthy mushroom growth for consumption and their health.