I like to brag about all the weird stuff that I do. I really do. So when I tell people that I’m growing mushrooms in my dorm room, they give me a weird concerned look and say “Mushrooms?!” No...not mushrooms you guys, just mushrooms that you just cook with and eat.
The mushrooms are called grey dove oyster mushrooms, and they're the recommended mushrooms for beginners by Field & Forest Products. When purchasing mushrooms there are many different kinds of spawn that you can order from. The spawn is the carrier that holds the specific mushroom until you transfer it onto your substrate. Usually, you hammer the plug spawn into holes on man made holes, but for your house, I'm sure people don't want several logs in their room. Today we are using plug spawn and the substrate is fresh coffee grounds.
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Here are what the plug spawn look like:
Here is what they looked like in the bag:
Set up:
The mushroom spawn plugs
Rubbing alcohol
Coffee filters
Fresh coffee grounds (I'm talking you make your coffee and then immediately use those coffee grounds. Your mushrooms deserve the best.)
Mason jar (size depends on how many mushrooms you're growing)
Metal lid (You really just need anything you can find to hold the coffee filter on the jar)
Step One:
This is an easy one. Take the rubbing alcohol and wipe down everything. I had already done this step so that's why it isn't pictured above. Wipe down your hands, the lid, the coffee filter (be careful), the outside and the inside of the jar, and the counter space you're using. Then let it all dry out.
Step Two:
Put the coffee grounds into the jar. If the coffee filter that you used to brew your coffee gets in the jar with your coffee grounds, that's totally okay!
Step Three:
Wipe down your hands. Place the plug spawn into the coffee grounds.
Step Four:
Place the unused, sterilized coffee filter on the top and screw the metal lid ring (or whatever you're using to hold down the coffee filter) over the lid. The coffee filter allows the oxygen in and carbon dioxide out.
Make sure to put your mushroom jar in indirect sunlight! Below I have included pictures of what they look like as they've been growing.
Day One:
My phone doesn't want to focus on anything but the coffee grounds, but you can see the white fungus already surrounding the coffee grounds on one of them.
Day Two:
Day Three:
Day Four:
(Not the best photo sorry)
Day Five:
So yeah! Stay tuned for part two next week! We have to wait eight days. Also here is the link to Field & Forest to maybe order your own mushrooms. Also because of the way that positioned the plugs, you can't see the way they basically infiltrate the coffee grounds. Here is a picture from the other jar I did.
Stay tuned for part two...
