A Shortcut to the Mushrooms

Are you looking for a fun DIY project to start as the winter winds down? Do you like cooking or eating mushrooms? Then have I got an Ask IFAS article for you!

Oyster Mushrooms

Pinkish-orange mushrooms and yellowish-white mushrooms growing from plastic bags filled with some sort of planting mix or substrate. — Two colorful oyster mushroom species sprouting from plastic bags: Pleurotus djamor and P. cornucopiae. Credit: Van T. Cotter

In “D.I.Y. Funguide: Grow Your Own Oyster Mushrooms at Home,” the authors provide detailed, step-by-step instructions for cultivating oyster mushrooms. If you are not already familiar with oyster mushrooms, they taste a little like anise or black licorice and go well in East Asian foods like stir-fries or soups, as well as other cuisine from around the world.

The article provides a list of ingredients to start growing oyster mushrooms—spawn, substrate, and containers such as plastic bags—and where to purchase them. It also includes plenty of photos to help walk the first-time mushroom grower through the process!

More Pearls

For the more experienced grower looking for a new challenge, the companion document “Isolation of Mother Cultures and Preparation of Spawn for Oyster Mushroom Cultivation” provides instructions for producing your own spawn.

For a basic introduction to mushrooms, check out various articles on our topic page for mushrooms. Or, if you’ve been getting into truffle oil recently, Ask IFAS also has an article on the pecan truffle, a North American truffle.

And as always, for anything else, just Ask IFAS!