Summer Oyster Mushroom Mycelium, 10 g

Summer Oyster Mushroom (Kuehneromyces mutabilis)

Cap. 3–6 cm in diameter, initially convex, becoming flat as the mushroom ages, with a well-defined, broad bump. In rainy weather, translucent and brownish; in dry weather, matte and honey-yellow; often lighter in the center and darker at the edges. The skin is smooth and slimy.

Stem. Up to 7 cm tall, 0.4–1 cm in diameter, dense, lighter in color at the top than the cap, smooth; small dark scales appear below the ring.

Cultivation of the Openka on a substrate.

Straw, hay, corn cobs, and sunflower seed husks are used as substrate.
In any case, the raw materials must be free of mold. It is advisable to add 1% superphosphate to the substrate. The prepared substrate is heat-treated to prevent mold. It is placed in a container and doused with boiling water. Once it has cooled, the substrate is squeezed out and placed in 30x40 cm plastic bags or in glass jars with a capacity of 0.5 to 3 liters, where the mushrooms will be grown.

Summer oyster mushroom spawn is added to the prepared containers with the substrate in an amount equal to 0.4% of the substrate’s weight. It is placed in the center of the jar or bag, where a hole has been made through the entire thickness of the substrate using a wooden stick with a diameter of 1.5–2 cm.

Inoculation of the substrate with mycelium lasts 30–40 days, depending on the volume, at a temperature of 15–25 °C. The substrate must not dry out, so the container is covered with damp burlap or paper or periodically moistened. Light is essential. As soon as the substrate is colonized, the containers are moved to a location with artificial or natural light and a temperature of -7 °C to +10 °C—such as a veranda, loggia, balcony, backyard, etc. Mushroom primordia appear on the 10th day after the containers are placed in their permanent location. And after another 10 days, the buds will develop into full-fledged mushroom bodies. Thus, the first mushrooms appear 2 months after planting.

Harvest the mushrooms by carefully cutting the clusters at the base of the stems, and remove the remaining stems from the substrate. After 1.5–2 weeks, a second wave of mushrooms appears, and so on. Over the entire cultivation period, which lasts 3.5–4 months, 0.5 kg of mushrooms are harvested from a single substrate.

In other words, a single 3-liter jar can yield up to 2 kg of mushrooms that are comparable in quality to wild honey mushrooms but superior in terms of environmental purity. The yield from 1 packet of mycelium planted in 50 kg of moistened substrate is up to 27 kg of high-quality, marketable mushrooms.