For optimal mushroom growth, follow the directions that are provided with every kit or watch our video tutorial. If they are followed, you will get a great harvest from your mushroom kit.

The mushroom kit will stay fresh in the box for a few weeks before you start growing your mushrooms. Make sure you keep your farm in a cool area/room that doesn't receive any direct sunlight (i.e., closet, bedroom). Once opened you just need oxygen, water, and light to start growing your mushroom farm.

Your Mushroom Farm comes with everything you need to get started! Your farm should include a bag of organic substrate, an instruction card, and a spray bottle. 

Our substrate is specially formulated to provide the best environment for mushroom growth. All of our kits are made from a blend of locally sourced, all-natural, organic, and non-GMO agricultural materials like sawdust and wheat bran from North America.

The 'X' shape is perfect for letting in water from daily misting, while the flaps formed by the cut maintain moisture inside to provide the best growing conditions for your mushrooms.

Your kit includes substrate block fully colonized with mushroom mycelium. It may appear covered with a soft, white or pink, mold-like substance - that's the mushroom mycelium! It is completely normal. The mycelium of some species is more prominent than others.

Do not worry! Those flaps are there to help keep your substrate moist, but there are other ways to accomplish this. For example, pierce a few holes in a piece of plastic wrap or large ziploc bag and set it on top of the mushroom log where the 'x' cut is located. Lift the plastic to water your substrate each day, and you can remove it completely once mushrooms start to appear!

Your kit includes an amended sawdust block fully colonized with mushroom mycelium. It may appear covered with a soft, white or pink, mold-like substance - that's the mushroom mycelium! It is completely normal. The mycelium of some species is more prominent than others.

Using a fork, gently scrape away the top white layer of mycelium. By scraping mycelium on the surface of your substrate, you are stimulating the organism and kickstarting mushroom growth.

Your Mushroom kit will do best in a warm place with indirect sunlight. Place your mushroom kit facing away from a window that doesn't get too much sun. The kitchen counter is usually a great spot.

Your mushrooms will grow in normal room temperature (65-68 °F, 18-20 °C), but do not mind slightly warmer spaces. Additionally, if temperatures are below 60 °F (15 °C) most of the day, your mushrooms may grow at a slower rate.

Twice each day, lift the plastic flaps on your bag and use the spray bottle to spray the substrate with water 10-12 times. Continue this until baby mushrooms have begun to peek out. General rule of thumb is to check to ensure that the surface exposed is moist. Mushrooms grow best in wet environments, so don't be afraid to add more water if things look dry.

We recommend that you continue to water daily. Try to find a mushroom farm babysitter to continue the misting. If you cannot find one, re-soak your mushroom farm over night when you return for an extra boost.

Your mushrooms will emerge from the kit over the course of the next 10-12 days. The first 6-7 days you might not see mushrooms, but once baby mushrooms start to appear, they should double in size until maturity. It may look something like this:

It is normal to not see mushrooms sprouting within the first week. Continue to give it water daily and be patient. You will start to see visible caps forming, which are dark in color, and will double in size each day afterwards.

The main factors affecting mushroom growth are humidity and temperature. If you live in an arid or very dry climate, your mushrooms may need more frequent waterings to keep them nice and wet. Placing a humidifier in the same room may also help better regulate the surrounding moisture for the mushrooms. In addition, our oyster mushrooms will grow best when temperatures are between 65-68 °F (18-20 °C). If it is a tad cooler they will grow more slowly, as the temperature your kit is growing in also affects how much water is being absorbed by your mushrooms.

Twice each day, lift the plastic flaps on your bag and use the spray bottle to spray the substrate with water 10-12 times. Continue this until baby mushrooms have begun to peek out. General rule of thumb is to check to ensure that the surface exposed is moist. Mushrooms grow best in wet environments, so don't be afraid to add more water if things look dry.

Your Mushroom Farm grows gourmet Oyster mushrooms. They're commonly found in Europe and Asia and are used increasingly in a variety of cuisines for their velvety texture, smooth taste, and dense nutrient content. Our company currently only sells pink, white and brown oyster mushrooms.

Oyster mushrooms have a mild flavor that is very versatile when it comes to the food they complement. They have a delicate, velvety texture that pairs well in pastas, skewers, soups, salads, and anything else you like to put mushrooms in! They taste amazing, especially when they're so fresh straight from your mushroom farm. They're best eaten fried or sautéed: we don't recommend eating them raw.

Each Mushroom kit is unique, which means the amount of growth you may see from your kit can vary depending on the growing conditions. Some kits will grow 2-3 large mushroom caps and others will have a dozen smaller caps with each harvest - mushrooms grow in such a way that it is very hard to predict exactly what you'll harvest! We guarantee you will have 1-2 servings of mushrooms from each of two harvests - if you don't think you're seeing this growth reach out to us with a picture and we'll be happy to help!

Harvesting your mushrooms at the right time is essential for optimal taste and texture. Watch our for these signs to know when it's time to harvest:

•They have stopped doubling in size daily
•They have started to slightly discolor
•They have a distinct brown ring around the edge of their cap
•They have dropped spores underneath the caps
•They have begun to dry out

You can harvest your mushrooms by pulling them off the kit - caps & stems. The whole bunch will 'snap' off the substrate naturally. The caps will be different sizes - this is normal and you want to harvest them all together. It's important to remove all mushrooms from your kit when they are done growing because if left on the substrate they will dry out within a day’s time.

After your harvest, we suggest eating your mushrooms the same day since your harvest is fresh. You should use them within a week. Store them in a dry, airtight container, in the fridge, until ready to cook!

Oyster mushrooms are very versatile! Add them as a tasty addition to any stir fry dish, or sauteé and top a burger with them. Check out more recipes here!

Our Mushroom Kits come with a guarantee to grow on your first crop. However, it is possible to grow a bonus 2nd crop from the same bag! Follow these simple steps outlined in our video tutorial.

Please note - mushrooms take longer to grow back a second time than they did the first time around. You may need to keep watering for 2-3 weeks before you see growth again. In addition, the second crop is usually fewer mushrooms than the first - don't be discouraged by slightly less growth!

Give it a try! Some mushroom farmers have harvested a third, fourth, and even fifth crop from their kit. Follow the same video tutorial that you used to get a bonus crop.

The main factors affecting mushroom growth are humidity and temperature. If you live in an arid or very dry climate, your mushrooms may need more frequent waterings to keep them nice and wet. Placing a humidifier in the same room may also help better regulate the surrounding moisture for the mushrooms. In addition, our oyster mushrooms will grow best when temperatures are between 65-68 °F (18-20 °C). If it is a tad cooler, they will grow more slowly, as the temperature your kit is growing in also affects how much water is being absorbed by your mushrooms.

Mushrooms grow best in moist environments. If you live in an area that is very hot and have the Central A/C regularly in use, this dries out the air in your home. To ensure optimum mushroom growth, you may need to water the kit more often, so it does not dry out. We recommend watering it enough so the plastic flaps are covered in beads of water. In addition, placing a humidifier in the room may assist in better controlling the humidity for the mushrooms.

Cooking with dried mushrooms is extremely popular! Just soak them in warm water or your favorite broth before you sauteé your mushrooms. 

Each Mushroom kit is unique, which means the amount of growth you may see from your farm can vary. Some kits will grow 2-3 large mushroom caps and others will have a dozen smaller caps with each harvest - mushrooms grow in such a way that it is very hard to predict exactly what you'll harvest! We guarantee you will have 1-2 servings of mushrooms from each of two harvests - if you don't think you're seeing this growth reach out to us with a picture and we'll be happy to help!

We absolutely guarantee all our mushroom kits, so if you're farm isn't growing for any reason, please reach out to us: support@forestorigins.com