How to grow oyster mushrooms at home

Blue oyster mushrooms are the easiest gourmet mushroom to grow at home. Start with an already-colonized grow kit, cut an X in the bag, mist it twice a day, and keep it out of direct sun at 70–75°F — you'll see pinhead mushrooms in 5–7 days and harvest full clusters in about 10–14 days. Most kits then fruit two or three more times.

What you need

• A colonized blue oyster grow kit
• A spray bottle of clean water
• A spot out of direct sun at 70–75°F

Step by step

1. 01Open and cut the bagSlice an X about 2–3 inches across in the bag's window. Set the block on a counter out of direct sunlight. Room temperature of 70–75°F is ideal.
2. 02Mist twice a daySpray the cut opening morning and night, about 10 seconds each time. Keep the surface damp but never soaked. Tiny pinhead mushrooms appear within 5–7 days.
3. 03Let the cluster growOnce pins form they can double overnight. Keep misting and don't touch them. If the edges look dry or cracked, mist more often — oysters love humidity.
4. 04Harvest the clusterHarvest when the caps have flattened out and just start to turn up at the edges. Twist off the whole cluster at the base, then cut away any block substrate before cooking.
5. 05Get a second flushKeep misting the block after harvest. A second — and often a third — flush usually follows within one to two weeks before the block is spent.

Common questions