Grow-Your-Own Mushroom Kits – FAQ

Where do I get a Grow-Your-Own mushroom kit?

How do I care for my Gourmays GYO mushroom kit?

  • wait until the block inside the box is fully colonized (it should be 90-100% white)
  • cut out the designated rectangle on the box
  • cut an “X” shape into the plastic bag
  • keep the box in moderate lighting, room temperature (60-70°F), clean conditions
  • mist a few times a day (keep it moist, but not soaking)
  • watch as your mushrooms pin, then explode into existence, doubling in size each day!

When do I harvest the mushrooms?

  • Lion’s Mane – when the teeth (the white, hairy-looking bits) are about a quarter of an inch long, it is time to harvest.
  • Pink Oyster – when the cap begins to flatten out or turn upwards, snap or cut those mushies off. If they begin turning a white color, harvest them ASAP.
  • Chestnut – Harvest these when there is a cluster of caps that are golden on the edges and slightly brown on top with small white “warts” over most of the cap. If the top is covered in a fine, brown powder and there is very little golden edge, you may have waited too long to harvest. These are still viable, but won’t be quite as good as peak harvest.

Why are there mushrooms that you offer, but you don’t offer as grow kits?

  • We cultivate mushrooms for a living. As such, we have chosen fast-fruiting, high-yielding varieties for you. Other varieties either take longer, have increased risk for contamination, or just don’t do well outside of very specific conditions. If you’re super interested in other varieties, come see us at the market.

I am a business owner and think that these would be pretty neat to have in my store. How do I make this happen?

  • They would be so neat, you’re right. Please reach out to us here.

My mushroom kit is taking soooo long. Is something wrong?

  • Patience, young padawan. Sometimes lighting, moisture, or temperature conditions aren’t optimal and the mushrooms take a little longer than expected to develop. Keep on misting and make sure that you’re doing your best to keep them in a space as described above. If it takes longer than 6 weeks from when you’ve cut the bag, there is likely an issue and we encourage you to message us.

The mushrooms are popping out, but there are tiny cracks in the cap. What is going on?

  • Your mushrooms are telling you that they need more water, mist them more frequently. They are still great mushrooms and viable even with the cracks, though if you choose to take on this mushroom growing endeavor again, you might want to mist more heavily or more frequently.

My mushrooms are great, they’re big and have been growing for a few days, but there is now a fine powder on the surface beneath them and/or they are losing their color. Did I do something wrong?

  • No, but also yes. This is the natural cycle of a mushroom and they have dropped their spores or are preparing to drop their spores if they lose all of their color. (Pink oysters lose a little color as they grow, but if they become white, it’s a bit late). Harvest them IMMEDIATELY. If this was within a day, the mushrooms may still be viable, but we cannot officially endorse using them for anything other than display at this point.

The bag behind the mushrooms or the mushrooms themselves have green/black/yellow discolorations. What is happening?

  • This is a sign of contamination. Those discolorations are spots where molds have colonized. If the spot is smaller than a nickel AND contained in the bag, there’s nothing to worry about. If the spot is larger than that or directly on the mushrooms, you can still watch the mushrooms grow if you’d like, but we recommend throwing them out.
  • Did you know that the average mold spore count in a room is generally between 200-500 at any given time and that the average human inhales 1-10 fungal spores every breath? Blame it on nature if contamination happens, because we know you were following the directions for mushroom care. Even in good conditions, contamination can occur.
  • If the discoloration is an orangey-yellow and is liquid, that’s just water and it’s fine.

I got a Lion’s Mane GYO Kit and it looks branched, not in one big mass. Is this Lion’s Mane?

  • This is indeed Lion’s Mane. It likely is not getting enough fresh air if this is happening to you, so a small fan could help maintain a dense, familiar Lion’s Mane cluster. However, with the addition of a fan, we also encourage additional misting to make sure that your lovely little myco-babies don’t dry out.

My mushroom kit didn’t turn out how I expected and I am unhappy.

  • Please reach out to us on our contact page. We would love to hear more about your situation and remedy anything that could have gone wrong. Also, we apologize that nature was mean to you and caused bad things to happen to your brand-new mushroom children.

BONUS for reading this far.

  • First, give yourself a pat on the back. You read the whole thing. We like you. We might even love you, but we certainly appreciate you. Read one last point below for your bonus. Unless you skipped to the end. Then you should probably re-read the above info.
  • After your first harvest, if you continue misting and daily care, you’ll likely get a second, smaller harvest. You read the whole FAQ, you deserve it, you myco-loving, mushroom-growing, small-printing-reading being!