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Leolynx


Registered: 06/09/10
Posts: 39
Loc: ON, Canada
Last seen: 12 years, 9 months
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Requesting assistance: Oyster Mushroom
#14352948 - 04/26/11 12:26 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Greetings!
I was given an Oyster Mushroom kit as a gift. It came with fairly vague instructions, in comparison to what I've read on the forums here just now. My problem seems to be a lack of O2 in the growing tent/bag that was supplied. But no instructions were given as to how much air exchange the mushrooms required, it only listed that there were perforations in the supplied,"tent bag" to handle gas exchange. Which amounts to 6 pencil sized holes in the top of the tent. The tray is an aluminum roasting tray, the tent is held away from the block by 6 bamboo skewers, and to keep the humidity up the kit instructions mentions to mist the walls of the tent after the mushrooms start fruiting.
I'm wondering if the stunted growth is past recovery at this point, or if opening the tent often and cycling the air inside would help(if so how often/much). I have a weather station in the tent to monitor temperature and the humidity levels, which I've been keeping as close as possible to what the kit says. However I've also noticed that the kits instructions of 18-24 Celsius is a bit higher than whats recommended by most of what I've read here. Humidity for the kit lists 85-95% and stresses its importance to keep it there, which also seems a little excessive?




The kit does mention that it should be able to fruit 2-3 times before exhausting the nutrients in the block, if I was wanting to continue growing Oysters from this kit after the block is exhausted is there a beginner friendly method to do this with cardboard, I have a very steady supply of it available to me.
Typically I've been most interested in going out for a walk in the woods and taking pictures of the mushrooms I find, but I've wanted to try growing my own for some time. I searched for entries regarding cardboard and found something about cloning and that might be what I need to do? But I'm uncertain, there is so much information here that its overwhelming!
I appreciate anyone taking the time to posting here, and I apologize for such a long post with so many questions!
Edit: I forgot to mention the block started fruiting 3 days ago.
Edited by Leolynx (04/26/11 12:29 AM)
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deadmandave
Slime


Registered: 02/16/10
Posts: 3,355
Loc:
Last seen: 7 hours, 27 minutes
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Re: Requesting assistance: Oyster Mushroom [Re: Leolynx]
#14353025 - 04/26/11 12:45 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Well it looks like they're not getting either enough fresh air exchange or enough light. either of those will cause long stems and small caps. I'm not sure if its too late for the oysters that are growing but you can change the parameters for the second flush. if the temps are nice i would put the fruiting block by a window and open it when the weather permits. You could also poke some more holes in the bag for better fae.
Another option would be to build a simple shotgun fruiting chamber which imo would be much better than what the kit provided. check out rr's videos if you have ?'s on how to build one.
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EvilMushroom666
Heretic




Registered: 11/18/09
Posts: 10,289
Loc: Canada
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Re: Requesting assistance: Oyster Mushroom [Re: Leolynx]
#14353044 - 04/26/11 12:52 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Hello,
I am by no means an expert on growing oysters but I will try to answer your questions to the best of my abilities.
First thing about oysters as you have already started to realize is they need LOTS of fresh air. The only time I have had success this far with fruiting oysters is when I place them outside. I have tried using both a martha/greenhouse setup as well as a shotgun fruiting chamber, (SGFC) with poor results due to insufficient light and FAE(Fresh Air Exchange).
It very well might be to late for the current flush to develop properly, but you can always pick all the fruits off when they are ready , dunk the block and then try to keep the parameters more ideal for fruiting for the second flush.
High humidity is important as well, BUT not as important as providing FAE. I personally would suggest after picking the first flush dunk and then place the entire block outside in a shaded area that you pass by each day. Mist the block and fruits a few times a day so they do not dry out and they will love all that fresh air and sunlight.
Here is a picture of some Blue Oysters fruiting from pasteurized fuel pellets outside. I also live in Ontario, and even with the cooler temperatures and rain things are looking OK.

https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/14326794
As for growing your own from scratch that can be a little more difficult, but rewarding none the less.
Growing Oysters: -Sterilize grain spawn -Inoculate grain spawn with Oyster mycelium(Liquid culture syringe,agar wedges, grain 2 grain) -Let grain spawn colonize -Spawn grain to pasteurized bulk substrate(Straw, sawdust,wood chips, cardboard, coffee grounds etc) -Let bulk substrate colonize in bags -Fruit bags
I would suggest purchasing the book "Mycelium Running" By Paul Stamets. This book explains a lot about mushrooms, including a few ways to easily grow your own mushrooms at home without having to purchase a pressure cooker.
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Leolynx


Registered: 06/09/10
Posts: 39
Loc: ON, Canada
Last seen: 12 years, 9 months
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Re: Requesting assistance: Oyster Mushroom [Re: Leolynx]
#14355025 - 04/26/11 12:34 PM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Thank you both for the replies. I don't have time today to go out and get the supplies required to make that fruiting chamber, but I will probably tomorrow. So I've gone and put the kit outside to see if it will behave a little better.
The instructions on the kit mentions to leave the block alone in its tent for a week or so after harvesting the first flush. It then states to use non-chlorinated water for dunking the block, but it says to leave it in the water for only an hour.
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EvilMushroom666
Heretic




Registered: 11/18/09
Posts: 10,289
Loc: Canada
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Re: Requesting assistance: Oyster Mushroom [Re: Leolynx]
#14355139 - 04/26/11 12:57 PM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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You can build the chamber if you like, but keep the top lid ajar if on at all to provide the large amounts of fresh air your oysters need.
You can leave the block for a few days after you pick the first flush, as well a 1 hour dunk for sawdust blocks is about standard.
Here is my block today, I have had the best results with oysters growing them outside.

Cant mess with mother nature.
Something like shiitake is better suited to fruit inside in a humidity tent as they are more C02 tolerant.
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jwand6
crazy guy


Registered: 03/30/11
Posts: 10
Loc: Utah
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Re: Requesting assistance: Oyster Mushroom [Re: EvilMushroom666] 1
#14361246 - 04/27/11 01:54 PM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Ya you got a skimpy kit. I would let them know what you learned so that others may get a better product from wherever you got that. I dislike when people put together a kit and leave out some of the most important instructions or materials. I love letting people know that the "kit" they sent me was far from ideal and that they should include "this or that" and specify to do "this or that" in the instructions. Makes me feel like I'm not a complete idiot (which I actually am) lol Good luck. Keep reading, this hobby can be absolutely fantastic and delicious. This is the place to be for the mushroom hobbyist! No better people on the planet
-------------------- Imagine, or just pretend to imagine.
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