For those looking to extend their garden adventures beyond houseplants, or would just like to bring Stardew Valley into real life, Haight’s Farm has a handy and simple mushroom kit that can get you started.
Haight’s Farm mushroom kits come with a mushroom fruiting bag composed of oyster mushroom spawn and substrate materials such as corn, rice sugar, molasses, lime and sawdust.
Using these mushroom kits is actually very easy. First off, put the kit in a dry place away from pests such as fruit flies and cockroaches. The mushroom bags undergo incubation and maturity for a month. You don’t need to water your kit, just mist it by spraying (there’s a spray kit provided) 2-3 times a week. Be careful not to overspray. Your mushrooms will start to grow within 2 weeks.
Mushrooms are good for harvesting when they develop caps, most likely on their 7th or 10th day. You don’t need any other materials aside from your hands when you pull them from the stalk. Then clean the fruiting bag to make space for new mushrooms to grow.
A kit is designed to last for 2 to 3 months during which you can harvest 50g of mushrooms each time for a maximum of 4 times. Make sure to wash your mushrooms properly before serving them. Get only the caps and remove the stalks.
You can also choose from 3 varieties:
Pink Oyster Mushroom
Can’t deny that I gravitated towards the Pink Oyster Mushroom when I first saw them. Who can resist its bright colors? It is also described to have a meaty (and fishy) taste and texture, quite like bacon when fried.
You can saute it for stir-fry (perfect with vegetables), boil it in chowder, or even roast it. Make sure to cook them thoroughly for better flavor, as it has a sour taste when raw.
White Oyster Mushroom
The white oyster mushroom is commonly used for stir-fry with soy sauce and is frequently used in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese cuisine to make sauces. It has a similar taste to anise and is best picked when young as its flavor becomes bitter and unpleasant, while its texture gets harder, the longer they stay on the stalk.
Golden oyster mushroom
This has a nutty flavor best for tempura. It also contains antioxidants and is easy to incorporate into your meals since you can pan fry or stir-fry them, or add them to your pasta.
According to Haight’s Farm, growing mushrooms prove that there are ways to grow food with less effort and less expense. It is also a way for people to recognize nature’s gift.
Photos from Haight’s Farm and Aaliyah Reodica
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