We guarantee one harvest from our Mushroom Mini-Farm and Mushroom Farm. That said, each kit is unique and can grow multiple times! We encourage you to keep experimenting and growing your kit. There are a few different ways you can grow your kit for a 2nd time.
The first way is by growing your kit in the original box just like you did the first time. Tips for this method are:
- Be patient: Each subsequent crop will take several weeks to begin growing. We recommend letting your kit rest for a few weeks after your first harvest to help it build up the energy to grow again. You can store it in a cool, dry, dark place while waiting. When you are ready to grow again, simply re-scrape some white mycelium away and re-soak overnight fully submerged in water.
- Mind temperature: After the first harvest, your Mushroom Farm is more sensitive to temperature. Try to keep the kit in an area around 70 degrees if possible.
- Water, water, water!: Re-soak your Mushroom Farm and don't let it dry out. Water it like crazy! You can even grow your farm using a humidity tent. To do this, take a plastic bag, poke some holes in it, and cover the kit. Spray/drizzle water directly on to the mushroom kit everyday. The humidity tent helps trap in moisture and you will notice some moisture present on the surface of the mycelium. Mushrooms need oxygen so it's important to remove the additional plastic bag as soon as they start growing. Then water the farm as instructed on our box. The more water you give your mushrooms the bigger and faster they grow so don't ever be afraid of over-watering!
With every subsequent harvest, the mushrooms will take longer to grow back and fewer will grow so don't be discouraged if the second crop isn't as impressive as your first! While it's not necessary to open the opposite side of your kit to grow it again, if you do so please note that mushrooms can grow from either opening so it's important to water both sides.
The other way to grow your 2nd crop is a little more experimental and out of the box -- literally! You can mix your mushroom kit substrate into sawdust, coffee grounds, straw bale, or other cellulose rich material in a large bucket or pot. Make sure the substrate (new) is moist but not mud like.
Additionally, local students inoculated straw bale with our mushroom kit and you can check out their blog to see how the mushroom are growing.