Growing Mushrooms from a kit.

A few weeks ago, we tried out a Back to the Roots Mushroom growing kit. These kits allow anyone to grow their own gourmet Oyster mushrooms at home from recycled coffee grounds. The kits contain everything you need to get started.

Inside the box you'll find a bag containing re-cycled coffee grounds with the mushroom spores/roots. The bag is a bit funky looking, as you can see in the picture above. i was kind of expecting something that looked more like coffee grounds...but it didn't. Don't worry, it's supposed to look like that! The kit also comes with a mister, and detailed instructions. The instructions are very simple. You cut a + in the front of the bag and then soak it in a bucket of water for about 24 hours. Then you place the bag back into the cardboard box, punch out the front of the box and place away from direct sunlight. Mist with water twice a day and in a few days you'll see your mushrooms begin to sprout. We started out kit around Sept. 26th.


This photo was taken Oct 2. If you click on it, you'll see a few white patches where they are just beginning to sprout.

Oct. 3rd. It looks a little gross, but you can really see some of the little mushrooms now.

Oct. 4th. They are really starting to pop now!

The kids were totally fascinated with these! They were responsible for misting them each day.
Oct. 5th. Wow! They doubled in size overnight!! They are almost ready to pick. Once the tops turn white and the largest ones measure about 2-3 inches across, you'll want to harvest them.

Oct. 6. Our mushrooms are ready to harvest! These can be stored in the fridge in a plastic bag, for up to 2 weeks. We sliced ours and saute'd them in a bit of butter. We enjoyed some of them on homemade pizza, and then cooked up the rest for an omelet the next morning. They were delicious!!

Once you've harvested your first batch of mushrooms, you can flip your bag over and repeat the process. The Back to the Roots Mushroom kit can grow up to 1 1/2lbs of pearl oyster mushrooms, and will grow multiple crops. Each bag will grow at least two crops, but some have grown 3-4! So you can keep repeating the process until you no longer get mushrooms.

We really enjoyed watching the mushrooms grow. We've started our second batch and they kids are just as excited the second time as they were with the first.

You can purchase your own mushroom kit at Back to the Roots.
They are also now offering replacement kits. So you can grow more mushrooms once your bag is done.
You can also keep up with them and all their latest news here on facebook.

Also, right now...if you post a picture of your mushroom kit on their facebook wall, they will donate a kit to your child's classroom! Very cool!!