Mushroom grow kits provide an easy way to grow gourmet mushrooms at home. But most kits will only produce a few flushes of mushrooms before running out of nutrients and going dormant. Luckily there are several techniques you can use to prolong the life of your mushroom kit and keep the mushrooms coming!
Why Mushroom Kits Stop Producing
Mushroom grow kits consist of a block of substrated colonized with mushroom mycelium. This is usually sawdust, straw, or a wood-based composite. As the mycelium grows, it digests and consumes the nutrients in the substrate. Once it has used up all the available nutrients, the mycelium becomes inactive and stops producing mushrooms.
Some kits may fruit only once or twice before going dormant But with a little extra care and effort, you can often get many more flushes out of a kit before it is fully spent
Keep Your Kit Hydrated
The number one thing you need to do to keep your mushroom kit active is to keep it properly hydrated. Mushroom mycelium requires moisture to grow. If the substrate dries out too much between flushes, it can cause the mycelium to go dormant or even die off.
- Mist or lightly water kits daily to maintain moisture.
- Try soaking kits for 1-2 hours between flushes to rehydrate.
- Keep kits away from heat sources that can cause drying.
Don’t oversaturate kits, as excess water can lead to bacteria growth. But consistent light moisture is key for longevity.
Provide More Nutrients
To stimulate more flushes, you need to give the mycelium a fresh source of nutrients. This can be done by:
- Making compost tea – Mix compost with water and use as a nutrient drench.
- Layering in new substrate material like straw or sawdust.
- Burying kits in outdoor soil so mycelium can access nutrients.
- Crushing up kits and using as spawn to inoculate bulk substrates.
With new food sources available, the mycelium will be re-energized to colonize the material and produce mushrooms
Allow Fresh Air Exchange
Stagnant air can prevent mushrooms from forming properly. To promote fruiting, kits need adequate fresh air exchange.
- Take kits out of boxes and fruit in open air.
- Elevate kits off surfaces to improve airflow from below.
- Fan or gently blow air over kits daily.
- Turn kits occasionally to expose all sides.
Increased FAE provides the oxygen and triggers the environmental shift that prompts pinning and mushroom formation.
Alter Environmental Conditions
Mycelium loves change! Altering temperature, humidity, and light exposure can help shock kits into another fruiting cycle.
- Move kits to a cooler or warmer area.
- Take kits outside for a day or two.
- Remove lids or cut slots to adjust humidity.
- Place kits in indirect sunlight for several hours.
Slight environmental changes mimic the fruiting cues found outdoors in nature. Even if conditions revert back, it may be just what your kit needs to flush again.
Avoid Contamination
With repeated handling and flushing, kits become prone to mold and bacterial contams. Take care to:
- Sanitize any tools before handling kits.
- Remove any mushy or discolored spots on kits.
- Don’t re-use spent substrate if it smells bad or looks overrun.
- Isolate and dispose of kits if contamination takes over.
While a little mold won’t necessarily stop mushroom production, serious contamination can be detrimental. Be proactive in preventing and controlling it.
Know When To Say When
No matter what you do, mushroom kits won’t last and produce forever. At a certain point, the mycelium fully consumes all available nutrients and will go dormant. Signs a kit is spent:
- Substrate becomes very light and breaks down into powder.
- Mushroom formation slows down or stops.
- Mycelium looks sparse, receded or dies back.
- Contamination becomes difficult to control.
While you can stretch the lifespan with supplemental feeding and care, the substrate itself has a finite life. If you’ve grown several flushes and the kit looks depleted, it’s ok to call it quits!
Alternative Uses for Exhausted Kits
Once your kit has given all it has to give, there are still some useful things you can do with the spent substrate:
- Bury kits in your garden as a soil amendment.
- Crush up kits and add to compost piles.
- Use as spawn to inoculate logs or bulk substrates.
- Repurpose plastic kit containers to start seedlings.
Make the most of every last bit of these beneficial fungi!
With some extra attention and TLC, you can double or triple the mushroom production of your grow kits. Implement these methods, and you’ll be rewarded with an abundant ongoing harvest!
Shift the kit outdoors
Moving your substrate block outside is the best way to try to get it to fruit again. By moving it outside, you may be changing the temperature and humidity, which could tell the fungi to make more mushrooms.
To begin follow the instructions as mentioned below-
- Remove the substrate block from the cardboard box.
- Don’t remove the plastic and let it stay as is.
- Set the substrate block down in a shady spot so that the cut side faces up. It will get wet from the rain.
- Check the block every so often, especially after it rains or when it’s humid, to see if they have started to pin again.
Spray the kit with water again, just like you did when it was inside, if the block looks dry. Leaving the plastic on your substrate block helps prevent it from drying out by keeping the moisture in. Outdoor mushroom growing kit use may even help contaminated blocks recover and start fruiting again.
We recommend that you keep your block in the vicinity or under the cover of some potted plants. The added vegetation helps to create a favorable microclimate that is oxygen-rich and humid. Your kit should start fruiting in a couple of weeks if the conditions are favorable.
NOTE: The Hypsizygus Ulmarius, or Elm Oyster, mushroom grows best in places with temperatures between 20 and 26 degrees Celsius and more than 80% relative humidity.
For people who like being outside and don’t mind getting their hands dirty, here are the steps you need to take to show off the mushrooms growing in your garden:
- Remove the substrate block from the cardboard box.
- Tear the plastic to separate it from the block.
- In your garden, find a shady spot and dig a hole big enough for your substrate block.
- Gently place your substrate block in the hole.
- Cover the hole with soil or mulch that is 1 inch thick.
- Like you would for plants in your garden, water the area every day.
- Check the block every so often, especially after it rains or when it’s humid, to see if they have started to pin again.
Because the substrate block from the mushroom grow kit is buried in soil, it is protected from sunlight and the mycelium gets the water it needs from the nearby soil. Adding a layer of mulch on top can act as an additional barrier to sunlight.
You could even try burying your used kit in an unused pot with soil in it. When mushrooms start to grow on your lawn or in the pot in your garden, this method will have been well worth it.
Prepping the kit for a second harvest
However, your kit is slowly running out of water after the first harvest. There is still food in the substrate for another flush. To try again to get it to fruit inside, do the steps below again, but this time on the other side of your grow kit:
- The substrate block with the plastic needs to be taken out of the cardboard box.
- On the side of the plastic that isn’t being used, cut an “X”-shaped slit.
- You can either let the substrate block soak in filtered water for six hours or keep spraying water into the new hole like you did for the first flush. Keep in mind that you will need to keep something heavy on top of your substrate block in order for it to stay submerged in the water. ).
- Like you did for the first flush, keep spraying the new opening twice or three times a day.
Given the right conditions, your kit should start fruiting again in another week. Get ready for your oyster mushroom second flush!.
How to Get More Mushrooms From Your Indoor Grow Kit
FAQ
How do you keep a mushroom grow kit going?
How long will a mushroom growing kit last?
Should mushroom kits be kept in dark?
How do you maintain a mushroom bed?
Can a mushroom kit be regrown?
Regrowing your mushroom kit is possible, but you will need a fresh substrate to nourish the mycelium. Should I Throw Away My Mushroom Kit when It’s Done? No! You can see if the mycelium is still alive and would grow on a fresh substrate, or reuse the block as valuable mushroom compost.
What is a mushroom grow kit?
A mushroom grow kit is a pre-filled box or block with a growing medium and contains the mushroom’s spores. To grow mushrooms, you mainly need to mist the kit with water a few times a day and keep the environment humid.
Can mushroom grow kits be refrigerated?
Some mushroom grow kits can be refrigerated. However, many kits are time-sensitive and cannot be stored at room temperature for even a few days without starting to fruit. Only order the mushroom grow kits when you have the time to commit to tending them immediately or plan on refrigerating the kit.
Can you use a spray and grow kit to grow mushrooms?
Using your Spray and Grow Kit to inoculate containers or mulch is just like using grain spawn or sawdust spawn for those methods. If you’re curious about some other ways to get started growing outside, check out our articles on gardening with mushrooms, building mushroom beds, or log inoculation.