Mushroom kits are back.

 

This week we received our first batch of mushroom kits for the year. There is something weird about fungi. I can remember seeing shitake mushrooms growing in Vietnam. They were under a house and growing on hard wooden beams. The kits we have are a lot more practical than that !

Mycelium is the vegetative part of the fungi. It is like frosty white flattened cotton wool. This comes embedded in the organically certified compost which has been through a sterilisation and pastuerisation process. The trick is to suffocate the mycelium by covering it with the bag of coconut fibre peat. This peat has been PH adjusted with ground limestone, so the entire process is 100% natural and organic. So once the suffocant goes on, the mushroom thinks it's going to die and begins to flower, which is the bit we eat. Sometimes the mycelium creeps up the corners of the box, but scratch it with a fork. Swear at it ! We don't want it to be happy so treat it mean to keep it keen with mushrooms. It needs to be threatened to produce mushrooms and thats why we keep it in a dark place and give it nothing but misty water !

The kits come from a guy called Paul who has a small family business based in Geelong. He said the last few years have seen a big growth in the number of kits being sold which ties in to the whole 'grow your own' movement we are experiencing. Paul has simplified the whole process into 3 easy steps which are printed on the side of the box. He has a more detailed 9 step process on his website (see link below). He has dedicated years of research to ensure you will get a good result.

These would have to be one of the best education and entertainment tools that you could buy for children who will have fun learning about how to grow them. Its also cheaper than many toys which have long been dispensed with. They results are quick, and kids love to see a quick result or thay can lose interest. There is also a better chance that a child will eat a vegetable that that they have grown themselves. (As with any gardening activity we do recommend supervision and the washing of hands afterwards).

There are 3 kits available: white, portabello and a combination of the 2. Without giving away our prices to our competitors, I can tell you they are WELL under $25. Portabello is a also known as Swiss brown (Fruit shops tend to sell Swiss Brown as the smaller mushrooms and Portabello as the large mushrooms). Keep in mind that in the fruit shops, organic white mushrooms usually sell for $19 Kg and Portabello's can be as high as $25 Kg for organic ones, and that is if you can find them.

Mushrooms.........ever thought of growing your own edible fungi ?

Related Link: The Mushroom Kit

Comments

[Melinda Cook]

I love the idea of the combination kits you have available for under $25 despite my having purchased my own 'white' kit recently for almost $30 from a larger nursery chain here in NSW, though was just wondering if it were possible to buy kits of say wild mushrooms with 3 or more different variety's in them.

I know exactly where I will buying my next kit, and it wont be from the nursery I purchased mine from recently.

Thank you, and I love the idea of your combination kits.

[bahçe]

Thanks a good idea