Pleurotus Cornicopiae (Golden Oysters) - Produces clusters of small to medium size yellow mushrooms.
Equipment needed:
Spawn, plastic bags with twist ties, hot water bath canner, spaghetti cooker insert, weight, temperature probe, disinfecting solution of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water, labels for marking bags with essential information.
Preparing the bags of straw and spawn:
Although oyster mushrooms are grown world-wide on a variety of substrates, we chose straw as our substrate because of its accessibility and because oyster mushrooms prefer a mostly cellulose diet. We chopped the straw to break up its shiny, waxy outer coating, making it easier for mycelium to penetrate and degrade the straw which helps to minimize contamination and increase yields.
Since pasteurization of the straw will kill competing fungi, insects and etc., we heated water to nearly boiling. We placed a spaghetti cooker insert filled with straw into the heated water. A lid was placed on the insert and weighted down to keep the insert and its lid submerged. We maintained a water temperature of 150-180 degrees for 45 minutes. The spaghetti cooker insert was then removed and allowed to drain for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile the bag of spawn was massaged to break up the spawn into grain size portions.
We dipped our hands into the bleach solution, then layered the drained straw into the plastic bags, interspersing with handfuls of spawn. We ended with a layer of spawn so as to produce rapid growth at the top of the bag, which is the most common site of contamination. The bag was closed with a twist tie and labeled with essential information. In order to avoid the possibility of internal overheating, the bags were not packed tightly.
Incubation and fruiting:
The straw and spawn bags need to be kept in a place where the temperature is around 75-80 degrees for a total of 1-2 weeks. Incubation is complete when the straw is tightly knitted together with the whitish-colored mycelium.
To fruit the mushrooms, cut 1-2” holes in the plastic bag to create large clusters of mushrooms or simply cut away the front of the bag to encourage the growth of numerous, smaller mushrooms. Place a picnic cooler on its end, set the oyster bag inside the cooler, and drape a clear plastic sheet over the open side of the picnic cooler to contain humidity and let in light. Mist the bags and inside of the cooler several times daily to provide humidity. Mushrooms initially appear as small white bumps of mycelium on the surface of the straw. In a couple of days, they should become more recognizable as oyster mushrooms. Harvest the oyster mushrooms when the outer edge of the mushroom becomes wavy by grasping the mushroom at the base and gently twisting it off of the straw.
If fruiting is slow to happen, shock the mycelium by setting the bag in the refrigerator for 3-5 days, soaking in water overnight, or lightly scratching the surface. When the mushroom growth slows down, soaking the bag in water overnight can stimulate additional fruitings.
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