Hi Jonny,

we’ve yet to experience a bag not fruiting due to high temperatures…usually it just speeds everything up and they tend to fruit really quickly over just 5 days or so with the caps being thinner than when grown at lower temps.

It is possible though that some strains are more sensitive to having the right temperature – I’ve definitely had this before with King Oysters for example, which often won’t fruit if it’s above 20C. Do you know anything about the strain you are using?
You could try putting a bag in the fridge overnight if you have space to see if this will kickstart it into pinning?

The other possibility is that moisture levels are too low in the area around the holes in the bags and so the mushrooms are holding off from pinning. Try misting around the holes a bit more if you haven’t been already. Let us know how it goes 😉

• This reply was modified 9 years, 9 months ago by Adam.

Hi Leisha,

we trim and then supply our mushrooms in trays lined with brown paper Kraft bags on the top and bottom:

Spraying the paper a little helps keep them fresh in the fridge for 3-6 days depending on the strain and point at which you harvest.

If taking to farmers markets you may be better off doing them in individual punnets.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 10 months ago by Adam.

Jonny – yes incubation in the dark is not super important, but it means you can hold your bags off from fruiting a little longer as the light is a trigger to start pinning. However, some strains will still fruit in the dark as soon as the substrate is fully colonised so it’s not a way to prevent fruiting for sure, and certainly not for any length of time.
The fruiting from the holes depends a bit on the strain used, but most strains will fruit from around where you cut the holes as they sense higher oxygen levels there and grow out into the space..it’s similar to how a mushroom would grow out of a crack in the wood of a log in the wild.

Leisha – yes we started spawning in layers like this in ouir bigger column bags and it works really well. We still mix the spawn in evenly when using smaller bags as it’s easier to do in bulk, but the layering is certainly worth it when inoculating larger amounts of substrate.

sounds like a nice simple technique Cully – keep us posted on how it goes and add the odd photo if you can 🙂

Thanks for your kind feedback Antony, really nice to hear that the course was of great benefit for you 🙂

With regards to the compost process, it is similar to any normal composting process, with the key thing being to make sure you get the right mix of additional materials added and to create good airflow.

Although you will get a good quality soil improver simply by breaking/crumbling up your spent substrate and leaving it outside to break down for a couple of months, you can make it better by adding some bulkier material like straw or woodchips, as well as some other nitrogen-rich materials and greens….and then aerate it regularly by turning. Here’s a useful article from the Eden Project on producing good compost:
http://www.edenproject.com/learn/for-everyone/how-to-make-a-compost-heap-10-top-tips

Best wishes, Adam

Hi Nathan,

my first thoughts are either that:

1) it just looks uncolonised near to the holes because the substrate is drying out at these points

2) the mix may be a little too dense and is preventing good airflow and growth for the mycelium. A 10 litre bucket will hold quite alot of substrate and to ensure good air exchange right to the core of the mix, it may require more pastuerised straw than what is used in a smaller grow bag. If you try adding around 25-30% pastuerised straw, this will help to break the mix up when using a larger amount of substrate.

If you send a couple of photos to support@growmushroomsoncoffee.com I’d be happy to take a look and offer any additional advice.

Best wishes, Adam

Hi Leisha, the links you have there are all for garden lime (Calcium Carbonate, CaCO3) which is no longer neccessary to add to the growing mix. In recent experiments we’ve found that adding agricultural lime (as mentioend in module 3 at present) to the coffee/straw mix is uneccessary, and that you can have perfectly good results without it. We are due to update the course information in the weeks ahead, and the recipe we will recommend to people will simply be:

for every 1kg of fresh coffee grounds, add:

150g pasteurised straw (either lime bath or hot water pasteurised)
150g oyster mushroom spawn

The lime needed for the lime bath pasteurisation is Hydrated Lime – which is sometimes also called Builders Lime. It usually has less than 10% magnesium content (which is good), but worth checking this with the supplier if possible.

Hope this helps a bit – all the different types of Lime out there does make it pretty confusing!