All of these varieties are edible (and delicious!) with the exception of Reishi. Reishi has a very woody texture and is best used as a tea for medicinal purposes.

You can find all of these varieties on the menus of high end eateries all across the country. They are rarely sold in grocery stores due to their fragile nature and short shelf life, so its a real treat to have them super fresh and grown Nearby. 

There are loads of awesome recipes you can find online by google searching the names of specific varieties, but they are also super delicious after just a simple sauté with salt and butter!

All of our grow kit varieties are selected with beginner growers in mind. The strains are selected for fruiting speed, yield, and reliability. You can't go wrong!

There are no odors associated with this process. This is a misconception about gourmet mushroom farming. (The smelly farms are button mushroom farms, which are grown on poop and not considered “gourmet”)

Our substrate does NOT include any animal products like manure or blood meal. 

We use a pressure sterilized, USDA organic blend of wood, legume hulls, grains and water as “mushroom food”— no poo, no bad smells!

Typically you can get 3-6 harvests from each kit with no additional work, but the record so far is 11 harvests from one kit. The harvests decrease in size each time until the kit runs out of nutrients. After 3-6 harvests it may take some soaking or scratching to stimulate additional growth.

We can also teach you to use your “spent” grow kit to spawn larger grows outdoor. (This works particularly well with the oyster varieties.)

Each variety is slightly different.

Pink oyster is typically the quickest, sometimes ready to harvest within 7 days of opening the kit. Lion’s Mane and Gold oyster can be a bit slower, harvesting about 2 weeks after opening.

After you’ve harvested the first cluster of mushrooms from your kit, you can expect the first signs of your next harvest in about 10 days. 

Mushrooms do need humidity to grow, but this is taken care of by a built-in humidity barrier in the box. 

The humidity is most important during the primordia formation. Once the baby mushrooms have formed you can open up the humidity tent, mist them with the included misting bottle a couple times a day, and watch them grow. 

If the directions are followed, there are no spores involved in the process. There are no spores within the bag, only isolated mushroom mycelium. 

The mushrooms themselves only produce spores at full maturity. 

For best shelf life, appearance, flavor, and texture, it is best to harvest before full maturity as it describes in the instructions. 

Allowing the mushrooms to sporulate isn’t the end of the world, however the tiny particles can cause respiratory irritation or allergies for some people. Harvesting on time is important for many reasons and we strongly suggest doing so

The varieties we offer are the easiest, most reliable, highest yielding, tastiest, and coolest looking varieties available. Other varieties such as Morel, Chanterelle, Black Trumpet, Porcini, Enoki, Beech, Maitake, etc. are either impossible or very difficult to cultivate, especially for a home grower. We wouldn’t be able to guarantee success or satisfaction, so we won’t offer them! We will, however, be changing up our oyster varieties periodically to keep things fun, and the lab-team is always on the hunt for even better strains that are being developed.

Yes, contrary to popular belief, these mushrooms do need light to grow. Nothing special, normal indoor lighting or indirect sunlight is plenty. And you don’t have to worry about light cycles— you can turn off the lights at night or keep them on, up to you!