Oyster Mushroom Problems

[Tamara]

Hi everyone,

I recently had a go at growing my own oyster mushrooms. I opted to grow them out of phonebooks in plastic bags, because although this method may not have a great success rate, I liked the novelty factor.

They grew beautifully to begin with, and several mushrooms formed but they suddenly shrivelled and dried up. There was no change in circumstance: I maintained the same temperature, didn't move them and misted them gently once a day (although I stopped doing this so much when they seemed too wet). Perhaps I should have harvested them as they grew, but they didn't seem large enough (the photos make them seem misleadingly large - they were actually roughly the size of tiny orange segments), so I left them alone.

I have no idea what went wrong, and wondered if anyone could enlighten me: any advise would be much appreciated!

[doofaloofa]

Look in the phone book under...

[diggernotdreamer]

I think picture two was probably the time you should have picked them

[donegalwildman]

Although small, they looked ready for picking/eating. Fungal fruitbodies (mushrooms) have a finite life, and will rot and die if not picked.

[Flo]

Mushrooms are also a difficult crop.