Apr 9, 2025
When it comes to growing vegetables at home, Oyster mushrooms are the first choice for many. They are easy to grow, low-maintenance, and not very expensive on the wallet. And if you fancy mushrooms, here are 10 perfect steps to grow Oyster mushrooms at home.
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To grow Oyster mushrooms, you will need mushroom spawn, which are kind of like mushroom seeds. Buy good-quality mushroom spawn from the nursery or the gardening store near you, and make sure it is fresh.
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Oyster mushrooms do not necessarily need soil or cocopeat or perlite to grow. Instead, their growing mediums are straw, cardboard, and even sugarcane leftovers. But straw remains the best growing medium, cheap and easy to use.
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If you are using the straws as a growing medium, chop them into small pieces, and then soak them in hot water for about an hour. This will kill any bacteria inside the straws and make it a healthy medium. Then drain the excess water and let it cool enough to be touched.
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Once the straw is cool and still slightly damp, layer it in a container. You can take a plastic container, or a grow bag, or even buckets with holes. Then between the layers of damp straw, sprinkle the mushroom spawn.
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In whichever container you add the straw and spawn, make sure to make enough holes through the container. If growing in a plastic container or a bucket, heat a knife and cut through it in circles or squares.
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Oyster mushrooms do not need direct sunlight like most plants do, so store the bags in a dark, warm room for 2 to 3 weeks. The mushroom spawn will spread and cover the straw with white growth which is called mycelium.
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Once the straw is covered with white fuzz, shift the bags to a place with some indirect sunlight, and keep misting or spraying the container with water, especially in the holes that you make.
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In about a week from when you shift them to indirect sunlight, tiny mushroom pins will start to grow out of the holes. Keep misting them with water once a day and make sure the straw does not turn dry.
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Then in about 7-10 days, you will see mushrooms growing out of the holes and the top layer of the mushroom will start to flatten. Harvest the mushrooms at this point and just gently twist them to harvest.
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After the first harvest, if the spawn was good quality and the straws remained damp, there might be one or two more rounds of mushrooms growing from the same medium.
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