Grow Mushrooms ​Using Grow Bags

Grey dove oysters growing on wheat straw

HARD WOOD FUEL PELLETS

Hard wood fuel pellets (HWFP) are probably the choice of most mushroom growers. They also can be used for almost every mushroom culture that we sell, including Oyster Mushrooms.

The benefit of using HWFP is that, especially with supplementation. They can produce more abundant fruits and possibly multiple fruits.

Hard wood fuel pellets are basically compressed hardwood sawdust used in pellet burning stoves for heat. 
When exposed to water they absorb the water and expand to many times their original size.

To make these cultures you will need your colonized grain cultures, pressure cooker, water, autoclavable mushroom bags and HWFP.

1. Hydrate your pellets.
2. Fill autoclavable mushroom bags with your hydrated pellets.
3. Compress your sawdust until your bag is a nice brick shape and neatly fold down the opening of the bag on top.
4. Fill your pressure cooker with the appropriate amount of water, at least an inch. Load your cooker with as many bags as will safely fit.
5. pressure cook at 15 to 20 psi for 2 hours.
6. let pressure cooker cool completely.
7. Using sanitizing techniques, washing hands, grain cultures, spraying disinfectant around you in the air. Pour your broken up grain culture into the bag. You might be able to use 1 grain culture for 2 bags of sterilized HWFP. Make sure to let bags cool completely before pouring live grain culture into the bag.
8. Close bag and Seal with tape or whatever method you think appropriate. I sometimes use zip ties.
9. Mix the grain through the wood substrate as thorough as possible. Compress and tape down top.
10. Let sit in a dark place, at room temperature until fully colonized. 

The formula I use to hydrate my pellets with water is relatively basic. Add water until when squeezing it in your fist, you can barely force a drip of water out of it.

Growing Oyster Mushrooms

PASTURIZED WHEAT STRAW

There are some species of mushrooms that not only can be cultivated on wood but also can be cultivated on wheat straw. One of these straw eaters being the Oyster Mushroom. One advantage of growing on wheat straw (as opposed to HWFP) is that wheat straw can be pasteurized in a hot water bath, where HWFP's needs to be sterilized in a pressure cooker.

You will need your colonized grain jar cultures, wheat straw (cut to 1-3 inches long), a large pot, water, a meat thermometer and bags to put the pasteurized straw in. These bags will be what you fruit your mushrooms from. I recommend Unicorn Style 14A Mushroom Grow Bags with the air exchange filter patch.

1. Put your cut wheat straw in the pot and fill with water. You might need to use a weight to hold your straw from floating up.
2. Put pot on stove and turn burner to high, put your lid on the pot. Test pot frequently regulating the temperature to 160 to 170 deg F.
3. Pasteurize at around 170 f. for 45 minutes and then drain when cool enough to do so.
4. Once drained and cool (under 100 F.) with sanitized hands and arms. Fill in layers a large hand full of straw and a good sprinkle of inoculated grain until the bag is full.
5. If your not using a bag with a filter patch you will need to poke holes in the bags for fresh air exchange. You may even want to poke a few holes in the bags with a filter patches for better air exchange.
6. Let it grow through the bag in the dark at room temperature until the bag turns completely white with fungus.

Bears head tooth growing on hard wood fuel pellets

As mentioned above, you can supplement your fuel pellets with other nutritious things like wheat or soybean hulls to increase yield. For more information please look up  Mushroom Growing Masters Mix.