The Greening of Gavin

Growing Oyster Mushroom Kits – Results

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About two weeks ago I started growing oyster mushroom kits that I was given by Mr Fothergill’s to trial.  I was hoping to report back that I now have two boxes full of mushrooms, but it looks like the fickle finger of fungi fate struck again!  Only one of the two kits actually grew some mushrooms.

I was hoping to report back that I now have two boxes full of mushrooms, but it looks like the fickle finger of fungi fate struck again!  Only one of the two kits actually grew some mushrooms.

They both started out looking promising, however at about day 7 the Golden Oyster Mushrooms shrivelled and stopped growing.

But the good news is that the Pearl Oyster mushrooms grew rapidly and are ready to pick!

Have a look at the video I produced during the growing process; https://youtu.be/5n5gx9B8kTo



I think it may have had something to do with the way the Golden Oyster mushroom substrate floated on Day 1.  It may not have been soaked with water enough, but this wasn’t specified in the instructions.

Tomorrow, I am going to resoak the Golden Oyster Mushroom substrate again, this time placing a weight on top to hold it down for the first 24 hours.  This should kick it back into action.  I will take a few more photos over coming days to see if it works.  I would hate to throw away a perfectly good mushroom kit.

Then I will take a few more photos over coming days to see if it works.  I would hate to throw away a perfectly good mushroom kit.

So there you go.  My first success growing oyster mushroom kits!  Once the Pearl Oysters have finished growing, I am going to resoak that substrate as well to see if I can get another flush.  The instructions suggest that this is possible, so I might get two flushes of mushrooms for the price of one.

Have any of you tried this type of kit?  What were your results?

Quest for some Easy Oyster Mushroom Kits

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It seems to be one of those quests that every gardener has.  A specific plant, or in my case fungus, that eludes them.  In particular, I would like to have another attempt at growing Oyster Mushrooms using a kit.  Something easy that even the worst fungi grower could excel at!

Thankfully, after taking my feedback on board the last time I attempted to grow mushrooms using their kits, Mr Fothergill’s kindly sent me two new sample oyster mushroom kits to test.

This time, they have partnered with Sylvan Australia to produce an easy-to-use range of oyster mushroom kits for the avid fungi grower.  Each kit is available for a recommended retail price of AUD$24.95.

As I’m always up for a challenge, so I will be documenting the progress of growing the Pearl Oyster and Golden Oyster Mushroom kits via this blog and on the Greening of Gavin YouTube channel.

Mr Fothergill's Oyster Mushroom Kits

Mr Fothergill’s Oyster Mushroom Kits

Tomorrow, I will be opening them up and following the instructions to the letter.  Apparently, all I have to do is soak the kit overnight then drain.  Each day I will have to keep the surface sprayed with water to keep it moist.

In 7 to 10 days the pins should appear and I stop watering.  A few days later I simply harvest the mushrooms.  In a couple of weeks, I should have a nice crop of fungi to feast upon!  Fingers crossed.

Let’s see if it’s really that easy.

How to Plant Garlic

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Planting garlic is also easy that it’s criminal if you don’t give it a go.  So in this post let’s learn how to plant garlic!

In my climate zone, (heat zone 4, cold zone 10), I plant just after the first full moon in May or June.  I find that the soil is still just cool enough so that the garlic shoots quickly and gets a good start.

When I plant garlic, I source the bulbs from a good seed supplier, in my case, the Diggers Club.  This year I bought a variety pack of three types of garlic;  Tassie Purple, Dunganski, and Lokalen.

When preparing the bed for planting, don’t add any fertiliser to the bed if you did so in the summer. You will get more leaves and smaller bulbs. Plant the garlic in a bed that you had a very hungry crop before hand, like Brassica or tomatoes.  But make sure that you add some organic fertilizer as a top-dressing in spring to give them a boost.

Check out the video I made to show you how to plant garlic; https://youtu.be/-Oe3-ABuD6M


Make a hole with your dibber (I use a bit of old sawn off broom handle or my index finger) about 2″ deep (5 cm) and then place each clove in the hold pointy end facing upwards. Plant them about 6″ (15 cm) apart, so that you get good-sized bulbs. The closer they are to each other the smaller the bulbs.

How to plant garlic; Planting Australian Purple Garlic

Don’t backfill until all your garlic cloves are in the soil. You will lose sight of where you planted them otherwise!

Backfill the holes and water well. Within about 4-6 days they will send up the first green shoots through the soil. All you need to do is keep the soil moist for the rest of the season, and keep the bed weed free.

Easy peasy!  If you haven’t grown garlic before, why not try it this year.  It’s not too late!