Learn to Grow
Chestnut Mushroom Mist & Grow Kit
Learn to Grow
Chestnut Mushrooms Mist & Grow Kit
Chestnut Mushrooms
Pholiota adiposa
Simple to grow from our Mist & Grow Mushroom Kits, both indoors and out.
The white fungal mycelium inside your kit is growing through pure hardwood sawdust and Canadian wheat bran. Chestnuts take a bit longer to reach maturity than oyster mushrooms or lion’s mane, so we recommend leaving your block to mature for another 1-3 weeks at room temperature before starting the fruiting process.
Over time, the fungal mycelium will fill in thickly consuming the sawdust, and patches of orange tones start to appear. That’s when you know it’s ready to start growing mushrooms!
Select a Location
Choose an area in your house where you will pass by daily to monitor your kit’s progress. Chestnut Mushrooms prefer temperatures ranging between temperatures of 15 – 25C, but prefer it on the cooler side. Avoid direct sunlight but indirect light is necessary for mushrooms to form (enough light to read by).
Prepare Your Kit
Like many wild mushrooms, Chestnut mushrooms are stimulated to grow by cool rainy fall nights. To imitate natural conditions, give your kit a “cold shock” by putting it outside for a few nights, or even in the fridge. Then cut your kit open.
To Side Fruit – With a sharp knife, cut a slit or an “X” from 5 to 10 cm long on the top or side of the kit.
To Top Fruit – Untape and unroll the top of the bag, and then cut off the bag about 10 cm above the surface of the block, leaving a large rim of plastic at the top to help retain humidity.
Place the kit on a plate or cookie tray to catch any dripping water.
Keep It Humid
Mushrooms need very high humidity to form. To increase humidity, roll up the bottom of the humidity tent and place it over the kit. (See the video for a demonstration of preparing humidity tent for use.) If you did not purchase a tent, you can use a clear plastic bag with a dozen dime-size holes. Make sure to arrange the tent to allow space for mushrooms to form at the X.
It’s crucial to keep humidity very very high at this stage. If relying on hand misting inside a humidity tent, plan to mist many times a day. It can help to place a tray of water or wet perlite underneath your tent to help bolster the humidity.
Mist 2-4 times daily with *non-chlorinated water, or more often if needed, to maintain condensation on the inside of the humidity tent. *Note: Chlorine can be removed from tap water by letting it sit in an open pot for 24 hours or boiling 10 minutes and letting cool.
Small room humidifiers are great to set up inside a mini-greenhouse or even under a shelf draped with plastic. You can also use a simple mist maker that floats in a bucket of water. Just remember to allow some holes or gaps for air exchange or the mushrooms will turn out gangly with small caps.
Harvesting
Once baby mushrooms (pins) start to form, the mushrooms grow very quickly. Expect to be harvesting in as early as five days! With care, you could enjoy two or three flushes from a kit by cutting a fresh opening elsewhere on the kit. Afterwards if you can bury the spent kit in your garden, you may be delighted with a bonus crop.
If you have questions, please contact us. We love to see pictures of your mushroom growing adventures too!
