Grow Mushrooms In Three Easy Steps

Straw Pellets

Wheat straw is an excellent substrate for low tech mushroom growing such as with lime pasteurization. Wheat straw provides the necessary nutrients for mushrooms to grow but not enough to promote competitive organisms and contamination. Wheat straw pellets are convenient and easy to use without the mess of preparing your wheat straw.

Straw pellets are a much easier way to use straw for many needs. For our mushroom growing clients who like to use straw as a base substrate ingredient, these pellets can make life easier. They are easier to weight, manage, move, and incorporate them into your process. If you prefer to use straw as a key ingredient you will find these pellets an excellent choice. Many report hours of labor saved, and a great reduction in the dust and mess of dealing with bail straw.

Saw Dust

Hardwood sawdust is used to grow wood loving mushrooms such as Shitake, King Oyster, Wine Cap, Chicken of the woods, Turkey Tail, Lions Mane, Maitake and Reishi mushrooms.

Our hardwood sawdust is from meranti.
 
Paul Stamets Sawdust Recipe:
73 % Hardwood Sawdust
24.6 % Bran
2.4 % Gypsum

Mushroom Growing Guidelines

GROW ON STRAW MIX:

  • Blue Oysters
  • Yellow Oysters
  • Pink Oysters
  • Pearl Oysters
  • Elm Oysters

STRAW MIX:

  • Straw Pellets

GROW ON SAWDUST MIX:

  • Reishi
  • Lions Mane
  • Shiitake
  • King Oysters

SAWDUST MIX:

  • 73% Hardwood sawdust
  • 24.6% Bran
  • 2.4% Gypsum
  • 65% Water is added
  • Thoroughly sanitise all equipment and work surfaces with alcohol before you work with any spawn.
  • Always add Hydrated Lime to water.
  • Clean up afterwards to prevent any contamination.

Choose your Substrate Mix and follow the steps below.

Step 1

Straw Pellets

Substrate Preparation

  • 3g Hydrated Lime to 1L Water 
  • 720g Dry Straw pellets
  • 1080L Boiling Water

Re-hydration & Sterilization Method

  • Add straw pellets to bucket.
  • Dilute the hydrated lime by adding it to the water. Mix into straw pellets
  • Cover the bucket and leave to cool to room temperature.
  • The mixture should not be too dry or wet. Squeeze the substrate in one hand and it should release a few drops of water.
  • You are aiming for a 60% hydration.

Hardwood Saw Dust

Sterilization Method / Heat Method

Substrate Preparation
  • 73% Hardwood sawdust
  • 24.6% Bran
  • 2.4% Gypsum
  • 65% Water is added
  • Add the water to the dry ingredients and mix.
  • This mixture is added to a mushroom grow bag and sterilized at 15psi for at least 2 hours ( depending on the size and amount of bags/jars being sterilized. Once cooled grain spawn is added, the bag is sealed for sterile colonization.

Sterilization Method / Cold Method

Substrate Preparation
  • 73% Hardwood sawdust
  • 24.6% Bran
  • 2.4% Gypsum
  • 65% Water is added
  • 3% Hydrated Lime ***(use  3g of hydrated lime per liter of water)***
  • Soak for 17 hours. Drain.
  • The mixture should not be too dry or wet. Squeeze the substrate in one hand and it should release a few drops of water.

Step 2

Inoculation

  • Add 1kg of hydrated straw pellets to bags
  • Crumble 350g spawn into the bag.
  • If you are not using bags with filter patches, poke a few holes in with a sterilized pin to allow air exchange.
  • Close the bags and mix the spawn and substrate by rolling it around.

Incubation Process

  • Place your grow bag in a dark area.
  • Keep the humidity at 80% and the temperature between 18-22 degrees celsius.
Mushroom grow kit
Mycelium growing out of holes in the bag.

Step 3

Fruiting

  • After 2-3 weeks, your grow bag should now look completely white. If you see any areas of green, this is a competitor mold. If it is just a small patch, you can try adding a little salt to the area which should kill it off and still allow the mushroom mycelium to prosper.
  • Room temperature should be at 16-24 degrees celsius
  • Humidity at 85-90%.
  • Allow fresh air exchange 4-8 times per hour. Mushrooms love fresh air!
  • Place your grow bag in a well lit and bright area out of direct sunlight.
  • If you are using lights, ensure you are obtaining at least 750-1500lux. 
  • The Osram T8 16watt/14 watt LED tube lights work well.
  • You can also include a blue spectrum LED light to increase your yield.

Harvesting & Re-Innoculation

  • After a week or so, you will start to see tiny little mushrooms bursting into life. Over the following 5-7 days they will double in size every day. This is a really fascinating time! Each day you wake up to find them larger; looking more and more meaty and ready for the eating. When the edge of the caps begin to turn upwards, it’s time to harvest and enjoy the fruits of your labour.

 

  • Harvest your mushrooms by pulling them out of the holes they grow out of, then wet down the outside of the bucket and put it back in the outer bucket, with the lid on loosely, for a few days, then take it out again and set it up for a second fruiting.