January
The Stone Mushroom Patch™
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Known by Italians as 'Pietra Fungaia', this remarkable mushroom (Polyporus tuberaster) produces velvet-like antlers which unfold into large, funnel-shaped mushrooms. Mild in flavor, superior in texture, sauteing these mushrooms combines well with most foods. Like many of our mushroom kits, there is enough life-force in this kit once it stops producing indoors to use as spawn for outdoor cultivation. A 60-80° F environment is ideal.
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February
The Pearl Oyster Mushroom Patch™
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Bouquets of Pearl Oyster Mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) will flourish within two weeks of arrival. A 55-75° F environment is needed. This kit produces a surprisingly abundant crop of tasty mushrooms. We recommend inoculating your garden compost pile with this kit after use. Often gardeners can enjoy continued harvests of Oyster Mushrooms outdoors in the following months. (Please note that freezing is not harmful to this kit.)
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March
Mushroom Plug Spawn (Reishi,Shiitake and Phoenix Oyster)
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The Reishi Mushroom Patch™
Ganoderma lucidum, known as Reishi by the Japanese and Ling Chi by the Chinese, has long been sought after for its beneficial properties. Ling Chi is perhaps the most well renowned of all the medicinal fungi, represented in Oriental Art for thousands of years. Reputed to have many health stimulating properties, Western studies are increasingly authenticating what Eastern cultures have known for thousands of years—that this mushroom stimulates the body's immune system. A 70-80° F environment is ideal. Once grown, this mushroom is generally broken up, powdered and steeped in simple teas. Its flavor is strong, distinctive, and pleasant to most people.
The Shiitake Mushroom Patch™
Our most popular Mushroom Patch! Composed of a unique blend of sterilized, enriched sawdust fully colonized with a select Chinese strain of Shiitake (Lentinula edodes). Esteemed for both its health-stimulating properties and its culinary value, our newest generation of Shiitake kits are super-boosted to give the most prolific harvests yet. Shiitake mushrooms can be harvested at 2 week intervals for up to 16 weeks. A 50-80° F environment is ideal.
The Phoenix Fir Oyster
This member of the Tree Oyster family thrives on conifer stumps and logs, especially spruces and fir. Mycelium is whitish in color, producing white-beige mushrooms.
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Reishi
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Shiitake | |
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April
The Garden Giant Mushroom Patch™
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The Garden Giant™ (Stropharia rugoso-annulata) grows equally well in beds of hardwood chips and on straw within the garden, especially between rows of corn and amongst leafy vegetables. In the process, your garden will flourish from nutrients released by this monster mushroom. These giant, burgundy-colored mushrooms are low-maintenance and fruit in temperatures as low as 40° F and as high as 90° F. Once inoculated, beds of the Garden Giant™ (also known as King Stropharia) take 4-12 months to fruit. Flushes span 6 months to 2 years depending on care, location and mass of colonized material. These mushrooms are delicious when cut like steaks, basted with teriyaki and barbecued on a grill.
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May
The Maitake Mushroom Patch™
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This succulent, edible and choice mushroom may prove to be the medicinal mushroom of the next century. This kit can be grown in a 3-5 gallon container indoors or out, provided that temperatures hover within the 55-70° F range. Simply unwrap, surround with sawdust and water once or twice a day. Clusters of Maitake (Grifola frondosa) mushrooms will spring forth in 2-3 weeks. The Patch must then be transferred to a bed outdoors and allowed to grow for 6-12 months for further fruitings to occur.
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June
The King Tuber Mushroom Patch™ |
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. A 70-85° F environment is ideal.
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July
The Pink Oyster Mushroom Patch™
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Also known as the Flamingo Oyster, The Pink Oyster Mushroom Patch™ (Pleurotus djamor) requires sustained temperatures over 70° F for best results. Available March through October
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August
The Almond Portobello Mushroom Patch™
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Riding a wave of popularity, this deliciously edible mushroom (Agaricus blazei) imparts a strong almond flavor upon cooking. Known as Himematsutake ("God's Mushroom") and heralded in Brazil and Japan for its health-giving properties, our unique strain produces delicious mushrooms with an unusually strong flavor. Once you harvest a crop indoors, the kit can be used as spawn for outdoor cultivation. A 70-85° F environment is ideal. (Cannot be shipped to Hawaii or internationally.)
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September
The Shaggy Mane Mushroom Patch™
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Shaggy Manes (Coprinus comatus) are delicious and widespread throughout the northern hemisphere. This particular strain comes from wild specimens collected in the San Juan Islands in Washington State. Shaggy Manes can be grown in a wide variety of composted materials, and favor rich soils, especially those of newly created lawns. Simply mix the mushroom spawn provided into a soil bed or compost pile, follow the watering instructions, and wait. Fruitings occur primarily in the Fall.
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October
The Reishi Mushroom Patch™
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Ganoderma lucidum, known as Reishi by the Japanese and Ling Chi by the Chinese, has long been sought after for its beneficial properties. Ling Chi is perhaps the most well renowned of all the medicinal fungi, represented in Oriental Art for thousands of years. Reputed to have many health stimulating properties, Western studies are increasingly authenticating what Eastern cultures have known for thousands of years—that this mushroom stimulates the body's immune system. A 70-80° F environment is ideal. Once grown, this mushroom is generally broken up, powdered and steeped in simple teas. Its flavor is strong, distinctive, and pleasant to most people.
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NovemberThe Shiitake Mushroom Patch™
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Our most popular Mushroom Patch! Composed of a unique blend of sterilized, enriched sawdust fully colonized with a select Chinese strain of Shiitake (Lentinula edodes). Esteemed for both its health-stimulating properties and its culinary value, our newest generation of Shiitake kits are super-boosted to give the most prolific harvests yet. Shiitake mushrooms can be harvested at 2 week intervals for up to 16 weeks. A 50-80° F environment is ideal.
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December
The Enokitake Mushroom Patch™
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A veritable forest of small capped, long stemmed Enokitake mushrooms (Flammulina populicola)—often too numerous to count—will emerge from this mushroom kit. Long favored by the Japanese and known by North Americans as The Winter Mushroom, this species is delightful to grow and eat. A 40-60° F environment is recommended. (To activate, simply place it in your refrigerator.) Like the Pearl Oyster Mushroom Patch, freezing does not harm this mushroom.
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