Mushrooms are delicious and thought to have health benefits. More people are venturing beyond white button mushrooms to try other more flavorful species. Before the pandemic it was common to find a farmer's market stall selling shitaki, lion's mane, enoki, oyster, and other species. While stuck at home many people started growing mushrooms (and everything else) on their kitchen counters. It has become so mainstream I found mushroom kits online at Costco from Back To The Roots. If Costco sold them, I had to try.
This is not a frugal venture. You will not save money growing mushrooms from kits. The kits are fungal mycelium that has grown in sawdust, straw, or similar substrate. Mycelium, made up of hyphae, is the main 'body' of fungus that spreads and digests organic matter. Mushrooms are the organs that produce spores for reproduction, like plants produce flowers that make pollen. Since spores need moist conditions, fungi produce mushrooms and thus spores after rain. The kits arrive dry in suspended animation (mycelium is never very animated). You soak the mushroom kit to wake the mycelium so mushrooms burst forth.
Although mushroom kits are not a frugal way to get mushrooms, they provide pretty inexpensive fun and even a bit of education. Your kids are still 'learning' at home instead of school, right? I'll spare you detailed mushroom biology. You can look at Wikipedia as easily as I can. Instead I'll just share a pictorial timeline of my oyster mushroom pets.
The first sign of mushrooms resembles cauliflower or decomposing brains more than mushrooms. Its called the pin stage and shows up about a week after starting your kit.
A day or so later you have a crop of baby mushrooms the size of pencil erasers that get bigger...
....and bigger.
Ten days after soaking the kit I had beautiful mushrooms to harvest. I harvested 225 grams or just under 8 ounces. The kit was $15 so you pay up for the experience but we all enjoyed watching them and spritzing them with water each day. And, you get to eat them. I made mushroom and jalapeño pizza and egg sandwich with mushrooms, spinach, and parmesan.
As for a frugal twist: I mentioned the kits are fungal mycelium growing in straw. Mycelium naturally grows and spreads to new fresh substrate. So there must be ways to use an old mushroom kit to create new mushroom kits and have mushrooms in perpetuity. That would be frugal! When I figure it out I will let you know. I have straw on the way.
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