Cardboard egg cartons would also work well for growing the mushrooms. You can sanitize your bucket with a diluted bleach solution.
Push the cardboard down to compact it if you want to use less water. The boiled water will kill any microorganisms on the cardboard in a process called pasteurization.
Wash your hands with antibacterial soap or use hand sanitizer before handling the cardboard so you don’t bring in foreign contaminants.
Check your local gardening store to see if they have spawn for king oyster. Otherwise, king oyster mushroom spawn can be purchased online.
You’ll need about 100 mushroom spawn total to grow on 10 layers of cardboard, but you don’t have to be precise with your count.
Place the garbage bag in a cardboard box if you want to keep it safer. The mushrooms do not need light as they establish.
The bag can be stored in a dark cabinet or even under your bed.
This should only have to be done once since the water is excess that has drained from the cardboard.
Set a reminder on your phone or in a planner so you know when to return to your mushrooms.
Opening the bag exposes the mycelia to oxygen and will stimulate it to start producing mushrooms.
Mushrooms may not tolerate water sprayed directly on them. If you live in a dry climate, spray 3 times per day.
Pin mushrooms are part of the first flush of growth and will become full size within 3 to 4 days.
As an alternative, you can cut the base of the mushrooms with a pair of sanitized scissors.
Mushrooms can return for multiple flushes every 2 or 3 weeks, but they will grow smaller each time.
Clean your mushrooms before adding them to any dish. King oyster mushrooms can be eaten raw or cooked.
