Italian Oyster Grow Block Care

 How to care for your Oyster grow block

For many people, growing mushrooms can seem like a pretty daunting task. Here at Herrera Homestead, we hope to make mushroom growing so easy anyone can do it. The point of this article is to outline the best growing methods starting with the easiest methods for the small at home grower.

First things first. The easiest variables to control are temperature & humidity. The optimal growing temperature is 60-80° F and humidity of over 90%.

Starting out there are two methods which we can suggest: 

The first and simplest method is to cut an "X" on the front of the grow kit and set it on your counter, lightly misting every 4 - 6 hours.

For the second method; Cut the same "X" as the first method. Wrap your kit in a trash bag and 2 to 3 times a day open your trash bag to air out and mist the kit. This allows you to maintain the appropriate humidity in the bag. As the mushrooms start to grow, you will need to keep the bag from touching your mushrooms, this is the biggest downside to this way of growing.

Pro tip:

We have found that for the best pin set, you can cut a "U" in the bag rather than an "X". 

If your only going to grow once or twice and don't plan on growing mushrooms much more after this, these are great methods for getting your feet wet in your mushroom growing journey. Because mushrooms will leave spores, neither of these methods are suggested for any long term growing operation. Spores can be harmful to your heath if inhaled over a long period of time.

On the farm, we wear respirators inside the mushroom growing chamber. This prevents us from developing a lung issue we call "mushroom workers lung". 

For information on when to harvest please read Here :)