Back to the Roots Organic Oyster Mushroom Grow Kit, Harvest Gourmet Mushrooms In 10 Days

The media could not be loaded. I may now be obsessed with growing mushrooms because of this kit. It took me a while to actually get started with it, but once I did, they grew so fast! I made dinner with half of the harvest and gifted the other half to coworkers. I'm currently waiting for the second batch to start, but if it doesn't, I learned how to take spore samples now. This kit sent me down a rabbit hole. Dinner was delicious and I'm having a great time! 🙌 If anyone is curious about it, I think they'd make a great meat alternative for vegans. They smelled like I was cooking meat and honestly tasted meaty. I'm excited for more healthy meals. These were super easy to grow and they grow so big so fast! I made a short video of the process and I think I'd love to do a Timelapse next time.

It works! Be patient. In my case, the mushrooms appeared on day 7. Oyster mushrooms, in my opinion, have the best taste, very potent and clean flavor. They are perfect for soups, sauces, and sauté well with other veggies and meats. There's no earthy taste to them at all. A word of caution, when ready to harvest, collect the entire batch. I made a mistake of cutting three mushrooms only, leaving the rest until the next day. Unfortunately, the bunch dried out completely over night. They were bone dry and hard. When I tried to get them going again by using the back of the package, I had no luck. Overall, a decent product,my it it does need more clear instructions.***Sept 13, 2015 UpdateWell, I decided to give Back to the Roots Organic Mushroom Farm another chance. I'm glad I did. First off, to my surprise it took this second mushroom farm almost two weeks (12-13 days) to start producing. Patience is a key here. I almost gave up on it and actually stopped watering the soil for two days, thinking I must have made a mistake somewhere. However, when I got home one night, I was excited to see tiny mushroom heads which made their way through to the soil top. The tiny farm works, no doubt about it. You will love the taste and the texture of these oyster mushrooms.Here's where this product shines the most.The company that created this product stands behind their work 100%. The community happiness team (*I absolutely love the term) is exceptional when it comes to customer service and they will make sure you are absolutely satisfied with the product. You don't see that very often these days. For example, they contacted me directly based on my less-than-excellent experience with the product the first time I tried it. Naturally, I had quite a few questions about my experience with the farm. Here's the conversation below. Make sure to read it, it will help you with your farm as well.1. Can you please let me know if both sides of the box can be used to grow mushrooms simultaneously, or is it designed to have the harvest from one side of the box only? How many times can the process be repeated?Response: You can use both sides of the box but we recommend just growing one side at a time. We guarantee two harvests from each box, but it's possible to get more so we always encourage folks to keep trying! I am currently growing a box and on my second harvest, using the same side that I grew my first on. It doesn't matter which side you grow on, though. Just note -- once you open the second side (cut the '+' and such) then your kit will be exposed to more oxygen, meaning it can dry out faster. So you will need to give it more water (you really can't overwater the mushrooms so be generous!). That's why I always grow the first two harvests from the same side and then I might open up the second side and try to grow from there. The mushrooms can still grow from any side, though, so be sure to water both and keep it really hydrated. Also, I always give the kit a break by letting it rest for a few weeks in between grows.2. I kept my box on the counter, even after the mushrooms died, but kept spraying it with water. After a few days, the white substance began growing rapidly and covered the "soil" again. Are these spores? The white, dust-like substance also covered a substantial portion of the kitchen counter and I had to wipe it every morning. It was interesting to see..Response: The white 'dust' is spores. Actually that is a great sign. That means your mushroom kit is full of spores and will most definitely grow again! So if you still have this kit I recommend you try to grow it once more. The white layer is mushroom by-product. If it grows back, try scoring the surface with a knife or fork and then re-soak the bag for 1 day. Afterwards, you’ll want to give your kit lots of water.You can even try using a humidity tent to increase moisture.Re-soak your kit overnight fully submerged in water.Cover the kit with a Ziploc or other plastic bag and cut some holes in it for airflow.Spray/drizzle water underneath it everyday.The additional moisture should help boost your kit out of the dormant state and you should see growth in approx. 7 days.Additional information about mushroom growth:Mushrooms love fresh air, so placing your kit next to an open window can really encourage the mushrooms to grow.Oyster mushrooms like light. Place your mushroom kit in a bright area-- filtered light is best.Moisture is extremely important. You can tell if your kit is getting enough water because you will be able to see visible drops of moisture trapped beneath the plastic flaps. The more water the better; don't be afraid of over-watering your mushroom kit.Keep the plastic in-tact. Again, this has to do with moisture. The plastic helps trap in moisture so you don't want to remove it.***As you see, the team is committed to making your experience with this little mushroom farm excellent. You will fall in love with the product, I guarantee it. Also, let me know if this review was helpful to you. Your opinion mattes!

Be careful with this product. You are bringing a food source for contaminants into your home, so this product should not be purchased without a lotta research done beforehand on myco indicators and pathogens.I noticed many yellow blotches forming on the lower end of my block, what I believe to be Aspergillus flavus, a deadly mold if inhaled in large quantities. I went ahead and tossed it out due to these blotches taking over the bottom of the block. I know what mycelium piss looks like, and, those were not.I followed the instructions and read the advice on their website... Yet nature still beat nature in my case. Be careful "undoing food" with this grow kit because it may end up undoing you if you are not careful.I wish it had worked. A wonderful kit that needs a little bit of refinement, and warnings.Edit February 6 2017:My review was from last year!I have since gone through 3 mushroom kits and currently have one fruiting. I am hoping for a third harvest soon, and am just updating because I am so happy with the outcome of this kit and this company's customer service.Unfortunately, the first 3 did not work out. This company is really great though. If you are willing to put in the effort, they will work with you and send you another mushroom block, until you get a harvest! I had contamination issues up until the 4th block, which I believe is a combination of good substrate (via the company) and some methods they advised upon retrying. I'll say what I did here because I believe it makes it foolproof (as long as the substrate is good):-Make sure to put your soaked and ready block in a sterile area!-Sterility is the most imporant thing in in-home mushroom cultivation. Handy to remember when you want to harvest your mushrooms with dirty hands! Always keep it clean-Have a spray bottle handy! Make sure its clean, but these mushrooms really flourish with a good spray, especially if you are in a drier climate-Recommended by BacktotheRoots: put a big clean plastic bag around your block with plenty of holes punched in it, that is the ultimate way to keep the humidity levels at a prime 95-100% for mushroom formation-I personally soaked my block for 12 hours to give it really optimal hydration even though the box says 8. I think this is only good if you are in a drier climate, which would be any without the bag method^I hope this helps. Definitely contact the company if you have any questions or just want some general advice. And watch their video on starting the block, it shows the proper standard procedure well.UPDATE MAY 11 2017:Changing my rating back to a one star.This company is just not a good substrate provider. I have been through a couple third party companies ordering mushroom substrate and this one is the worst of the two. The other company is extraordinary though and will send you a bomb kit for around the same price as the larger farm from Back to the Roots. They're called Fungi Perfecti.I emailed them about odd growths in the kit, and they said I had to remove the block from the bag (extra instructions) and cut off the odd growths (more extra instructions) to get a flush/fruiting of mushrooms. AND they said it will take several more weeks to grow. GREAT! They lie about the instructions and the time to flush. It's not that they won't replace the kit eventually, it's just that they lie about how easy it is to get it to grow.So, this kit just is not worth your time unless you have months on months to get whatever mushroom project you want to get started, started.

Great Kit for Mushroom Cultivation! Wow, did it produce an impressive yield of mushrooms! We were initially thrilled with how quickly everything grew and couldn’t wait to harvest. However, as we were undecided about the perfect time to pick them, we ended up waiting a little too long. When we finally went to harvest, we noticed some mold on a few of the mushrooms, which was a bit disappointing. It was definitely our fault for hesitating, so I want to emphasize the importance of keeping a close eye on them and acting quickly when you think they’re ready.That said, the kit itself is fantastic and delivered excellent results. The process was easy to follow, and we were amazed at how many mushrooms it produced. The flavor was great, too! Despite our mishap, we learned a valuable lesson and are excited to try again. We will definitely be purchasing another kit to refine our timing and enjoy even more delicious mushrooms. Highly recommend this kit for anyone interested in growing their own