King Tuber Indoor Mushroom Patchâ„¢: F

The King Tuber Indoor Mushroom Patchâ„¢ Growing Temperature: 70"“85° F Weird Science! Here is a great mushroom for biology teachers and students. This mushroom (Pleurotus tuberregium) produces a large potato-like sclerotium, which can be planted into sand, and soon germinates with a spike-like protuberance which metamorphoses into a fruitbody similar in appearance to an Oyster mushroom. Originating from Nigeria, this unique mushroom is edible when young but not when mature due to its toughness. Not necessarily a culinary mushroom, this kit is a great species for demonstrating the mushroom life cycle. Each kit comes with illustrated instructions and is guaranteed to produce. Our indoor Mushroom Patchesâ„¢ couldn't be easier to care for; all you do is place the humidity tent we provide over the Patch and water it according to the instructions (in some cases, an overnight soak in cold water might be needed to encourage the Patch to fruit). Be sure to use water that is neither chlorinated nor distilled: chlorinated water can kill the mushroom mycelium, and distilled or heavily filtered water lacks vital nutrients that your mushrooms need to grow. Spring, rain or well water work best, although boiled tap water will also work well. All of Fungi Perfecti's indoor and outdoor Mushroom Patchesâ„¢ are Certified Organic by the Washington State Department of Agriculture. The amount of mushrooms you will get will vary from species to species, and to some extent, from Patch to Patch. For example, the Shiitake Mushroom Patchâ„¢ will produce 2-3 pounds of mushrooms over a 12-16 week period, in crops or flushes that will spring forth in approximately two week intervals. Fungi Perfecti's indoor and outdoor Mushroom Patchesâ„¢ consist of pure mushroom mycelium growing on a sterilized medium, or substrate. The substrate used will vary, depending on the mushroom being grown; for example, the Shiitake Mushroom Patchâ„¢ grows on a mixture of enriched hardwood sawdust and wood chips, while the Pearl Oyster Mushroom Patchâ„¢ grows in a bag of pasteurized wheat straw. All of our indoor Mushroom Patchesâ„¢ are 'disposable', eventually running out of the nutrients needed to produce mushrooms. At that point, there is no practical way to re-infuse the Patch with more nutrients. However, many of them can be broken up and subsequently launched outdoors, in compost piles, bales of straw, or on hardwood chips or logs. Maximizing Your 'Mycelial Mileage' After they have finished producing indoors, many of our indoor Mushroom Patchesâ„¢ can be brought 'back to life' through outdoor cultivation. When your Shiitake, Reishi or Oyster Mushroom Patchâ„¢ has run itself out indoors, the material that makes up the Patch (called 'spawn') can be broken up and used to inoculate hardwood logs. Non-aromatic hardwoods such as oak, poplar (cottonwood), elm, maple and similar woods are very good candidates for log cultivation. Alder is a good wood for the cultivation