My husband seems to be developing a side hobby...mycology. For Christmas, after watching him geek out about how amazing the fungi kingdom is (it's pretty incredible), I bought him a "grow your own mushrooms" kit from Back to the Roots.
Growing mushrooms is so fun! Join with us in our fungal geekdom.
Soaking the interior plastic bag in water for 24 hours.
After a few days of spritzing the box twice a day, we saw some white, bubbly growth. Notice how disgusting this kit looks? Growing mushrooms is nasty business. But, what else should we expect from fungi?
Day two of growth.
Day three. Starting to look a bit mushroomy!
Day four. By this point, we stopped to look at the mushrooms a few times a day. Every time we looked, we could see visible change!
Day five.
Day 6. They grow so fast! Is that why they're called "magic"? Just kidding. These are totally legal oyster mushrooms.
Day 7. Beautiful! And all that leftover white stuff in the box just indicates that it's still got mycelia for future mushroom crops.
Day 8. The final harvest.
Pizza! Oops. I overcooked the mushrooms. No problem though, because we've flipped the box to start our second crop on the other side!
Michael saved the very bottoms of the mushrooms that were touching that disgusting material that they grew out of and put them in a clean jar. He then added sterilized coffee grounds (i.e. straight out of the espresso machine after making lattes). About once a day, he checks the moisture levels and unscrews the lid so they can breath. The mushroom butts have started growing mycelia (aka mushroom roots)!
When I said my "I do's," I had no idea that I was committing my life to a future amateur mycologist. Marriage is fun. Mushrooms are fun.
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