Top 3 Mushrooms to Grow in Summer

Imagine finding stunning pink edible mushrooms on logs in the forest?!  Pink Oysters are a commonly harvested from the wild in Mexico and other tropical countries.

Lucky for us they are super easy to grow in hot Canadian summers.  Simply cut open a Pink Oyster mushroom kit, keep humid by misting several times daily, and voila – hot pink mushrooms for dinner.

Summer heat can be drying, and hand misting with a spray bottle is sometimes not enough (or too much of a bother).  A small humidifier blowing into your mushroom tent is a low-maintenance way to keep humidity high and ensure a good crop.

Elm Oysters is one of the few varieties that will thrive in the summer heat, producing clusters of  gorgeous fleshy white mushrooms.

You can fruit them directly from a kit, or transplant the kit into buckets or garden beds of straw and hardwood chips.  In fact, they have a voracious appetite and you can experiment with feeding them other agricultural waste products like leaves, shredded paper, or coffee grounds.

There are many creative ways to increase humidity for successful mushrooms crops.  For instance, you can make a simple humidity tent by draping clear plastic over a tomato cage then periodically watering the inside walls.  Make sure to leave some openings or poke holes to allow good air exchange.

Wine caps are excellent companions in summer vegetable gardens.  Planted into straw mulch among your perennials or fruit trees, they help your garden retain water and, over time, add nutrients to the soil. They can also be planted into containers and raised beds.

Humidity is essential for mushrooms to form, and Wine Caps flourish in a garden that is watered daily.  The giant burgandy mushrooms will often pop up in the humid micro-climate right near the base of plants.

These beauties are perennial, so plant your beds now, add mulch every fall, and enjoy the fruits of your labour for years to come.