Growin' 'Shrooms

Since I first started working at the organic produce delivery service that was kind enough to employ me, I’ve had the opportunity to try a variety of locally-grown organic produce, free range, chemical-free chicken and eggs, and a number of delicious prepared foods (my favorite being Aronia Berry Hot Pepper Preserves). 

I have also had the opportunity to grow my own food from the comfort of home. No, I do not live on a local farm or raise chickens in my backyard, but a couple weeks ago I took home a Ready-To-Grow Fresh Mushroom Kit from River Valley Ranch in Burlington, Wisconsin.

Here we "grow"! (rimshot)

When I first brought the box home, I was skeptical about the presumably daunting task of growing my own mushrooms. I regularly forget to water the plants (and, on a couple of occasions in the past, the cat), and the only fungus I’ve previously grown was a scorching case of Athlete’s Foot back in college. Naturally, you might understand my concern at being responsible for nurturing an entire colony of white button mushrooms. 

With some trepidation, I opened the box and was relieved to find that its contents consisted of only three items: a large bag of pasteurized ‘shroom compost, a small bag of “casing soil” (a mixture of sphagnum peat moss, water, and crushed limestone), and a one page set of directions. How hard could this be?

Casing soil sits atop compost.

To my great relief, not hard at all. The initial steps involved removing the bag of casing soil, opening the bag of compost, then pouring the casing soil onto the surface of the compost, followed by loosely closing the bag (to allow moisture to vent) and placing the kit in a warm area (70-76 degrees). My hard work complete, it was time to sit back, relax, and wait for the ‘shrooms to grow. 

While I waited, I studied the directions a bit further (along with the doing the usual stuff like eating, sleeping, doing laundry, etc.). I learned that the compost is grown through with mycelium, a white, threadlike growth, which then works it way through the casing soil to the surface, where it eventually forms into tiny mushroom “pinheads”. As one who has been called a “pinhead” on more than one occasion, my allegiance to my gestating crop was now fully fortified. I would wait on them hand and foot to ensure that they grew up to be the tastiest, most self-confident mushrooms they could be. 

Nearly two weeks passed before I realized they may need to be watered. 

Let me back up a minute. I followed the directions to a tee, checking the surface soil after four days for growing mycelium (there was none). The directions instructed me not to worry, as it may take up to fourteen days to see the white, threadlike growth. On Day  8, the mycelium began to show itself:

Close-up of Mycelium growth

The directions noted that once the mycelium was covering 30-40% of the surface, open the bag completely by rolling down the sides, then move the kit to a cooler area (62-65 degrees). On Day 15, this finally occured:

Mycelium taking over surface of casing soil. Next: World Domination!

The basement seemed like a logical place for relocation, so I carried the kit down and set it on a storage shelf, far away from the section of fiberglass insulation hanging from the ceiling that my landlord has conveniently ignored since I moved in to the building nearly a year ago. 

It was at this time that I finally read further down on the page of directions, to the section entitled “Watering”. Whoops. The basic point of watering is to maintain the same moisture level in the casing soil throughout the growing process. I frantically jabbed a finger into the soil and noted that it was still rather moist (phew!). Plus, the mycelium was growing unabated, so all seemed well. I added the recommended 4-6 ounces of water just to be safe. I prayed that the ‘shrooms wouldn’t meet the same fate as last summer’s mint plant (you’ll never guess how it died). 

The directions explained that opening the bag and placing it in a cooler area stimulates the mushrooms to form. As an example, at 65 degrees, twenty days for mushrooms to appear is normal.

Lo and behold, look what I found when I trekked down to the basement on Day 20:

We have 'shrooms!

Bless you, resilient fungi!

Pinheads, beautiful pinheads!

So, we’re now on Day 23. My little pinheads are growing quickly (up to double their size each day!) and are more and more resembling the white buttons that are their namesake.

I'll report back next week on their final stages of growth, as well as the dramatic Grand Harvesting, where I must sacrifice the very things I hold most dear. 

Also, need to figure out how to prepare them for....The Eatening!