Your mushroom kit is a living organism and it’s keen to grow! Ideally you should begin growing your mushroom grow kit as soon as you receive it, but we understand sometimes this isn't possible (if you're giving a kit as a gift or going away).

For Pink Oyster grow kits: We recommend starting these kits as soon as you have received them as they do not store well and can't be stored in the fridge.

Thankfully gold oyster, blue oyster, white oyster, pearl oyster, chocolate oyster and lion’s mane mushroom kits can be stored in the fridge until you're ready to grow it or gift it. These kits will store for a few months in the fridge if necessary.

To store your kit, keep it in the fridge. This puts the mycelium into hibernation and will prevent it escaping the box early. Don't keep it somewhere it could exceed 30°C.

All kits will perform best if started as soon as you receive them.

The best before date is an indication of the storage life of your grow kit. We highly recommend starting them before the best before date for best results!

If you've been keeping your kit in the fridge the whole time, it's OK to start the kit after the best before date - it won't have "expired" or gone bad - it just might not perform to it's full potential as it's been sleeping for a long time. Think of it as trying to be your most productive after a long daytime nap 😴

We’ve selected a range of mushroom types for our mushroom kits which will grow easily in most Australian households, however you do need to pay attention to your current weather conditions and choose the kit that suits your climate for the best results.

If you can control your room temperature we would recommend a stable 18-21°C.

The growing temperature range for each kit is on the side of the kit box - but here’s a quick overview below listed from coolest to warmest growing temperature range.

Chocolate Oyster Grow Kit - 10°C to 21°C

Like their namesake, Chocolate Oysters don’t like it too warm. They won’t melt, but they won’t grow either. Be sure to keep these kits under 24°C. The cooler the better for these little sweeties.

Blue Oyster Grow Kit - 10°C to 21°C

Blue Oysters like to chill out, man. They enjoy a cool climate and the cooler the temperature, the darker and richer their blue colour will be. Once they have matured, they turn a stunning pearlescent steel-grey colour. Sooo cool.

Lion's Mane Grow Kit - 16°C to 24°C

This roar-some variety likes a moderate climate but isn't too fussy when it comes to temperature. They do not like it breezy so please keep the lil fusspots out of draughts. If you see your Lion's Mane yellow-ing a little it's a sign of dryness.

Pearl Oyster Grow Kit - 15°C to 30°C

These absolute pearlers are your classic all-rounder - they fruit in a broad temperature range meaning they’ll be comfy in most Australian climates. They start out white but as they grow develop an incredible blue tinge, which then fades into the prettiest pearl colour!

White Oyster Grow Kit - 10°C to 30°C

This kit is a versatile all-rounder, growing glorious White Oysters anywhere in this broad temperature range. If you’re not sure what Grow Kit to get, may we humbly suggest you lock this one in!

Gold Oyster Grow Kit - 18°C to 30°C

The glorious yellow hues of the Gold Oyster remind us of a warm tropical holiday, and you could take this kit with you! It doesn’t mind the warmer weather, just keep your eye on it. It grows super fast!

Pink Oyster Grow Kit - 18°C to 30°C

The Pink Oyster Mushroom Grow Kit loves warm weather - they really cannot stand the cold one little bit! If it’s gonna be chilly, our Blue or White Oyster Grow Kit may be the go. This kit will not grow under 16°C.

In nature, mushrooms grow in the cool, moist areas of the forest where they are sheltered from the weather and wind, so it's best to find a place like this in or around your house.

Many people say to grow your mushrooms in the bathroom as it's an area that often has humidity from showers. While this can be good, airflow is also important and small enclosed spaces can cause your mushrooms to suffer from a lack of oxygen.

We recommend placing your grow kit on your kitchen bench, out of direct sunlight. This will allow you to check on them daily and serve as a reminder to spray your grow kit regularly to keep humidity high.

Keep it out of wind or away from heaters which can cause it to dry out. Air conditioning can also dry out your mushrooms so you may need to mist your kit more regularly if it's going to sit in an air conditioned room.

It's also a good idea not to place your grow kit next to potted plants, household bins, compost bins, or soil as these can harbour other fungi, moulds and insects such as fungus gnats which can spread mould to your kit.

Cutting an 'X' into the bag helps to control humidity, which is a key factor when growing mushrooms. Your grow kit loves high humidity and by cutting an 'X' and spraying within that area, the plastic flaps hold the moisture close to the substrate. This mini micro-climate is perfect for inducing mushrooms to fruit.

Make sure to follow the instruction card that comes with the grow kit. The X size depends on which kit you're growing. Lion's Mane only needs a small x in the centre of the window. Cutting a large x for Lion's Mane will spread the growth out too much and you will grow a few small Lion's Mane instead of one big one!

The white stuff on the block is called mycelium and this is normal. Mycelium is the fungal organism that produces mushrooms, you can think of mycelium as a root-like network of the mushroom.

If you don't see any white stuff on your block when you remove the recipe card panel please send us a photo to hello@littleacre.com.au - please note Lion's Mane mycelium is very faint compared to oyster mushroom mycelium...and pink oyster mycelium is pink!

To mist your kit, spray the cut area from a distance of about 10-15cm away from the surface of the block. A good indication that you are providing enough moisture is if you see droplets of condensation on the inside of the plastic flaps of the cut area. Too much water on the surface of the block can cause problems and prevent your mushrooms growing.

A rough ballpark is to mist your grow kit whenever you have a chance, at least 2-3 times a day. If it's looking a little dry, increase your frequency of misting. Remember that high humidity is crucial for your mushrooms to produce a great crop.

Mushrooms are not like plants, they don't need watering, just humidity. Over-saturating your grow kit can kill the mushroom mycelium so please don't go crazy with the misting either. Just think Goldilocks...not too much but not too little, just right!

Continue to mist the air around your mushrooms as they grow to prevent them from drying out.

It's best not to miss a day of misting, however we understand this may be unavoidable. If you know you will be unable to mist your kit, create a mini micro-climate around your grow kit to keep up the humidity. You can do this by creating a humidity chamber. We have a simple method to create a DIY humidity chamber -watch our tutorial video on YouTube.

Average growing times are listed on the box of the Grow Kit and vary between species. Oyster mushrooms are the fastest growing, in just 7-10 days, while Lion's Mane mushrooms may take 14-21 days. If you grow multiple varieties you will notice that the Pink Oyster Kit produces mushrooms a lot faster. This is completely normal and your other mushroom kits won't be too far behind.

It is completely normal to not see much action with your Lion's Mane kit for the first 7-10 days. Keep up your humidity and you should notice the surface of the kit getting whiter and whiter as the mycelium thickens. Around the 10 day mark you should see a thickening of the mycelium where you've cut the x and this is the start of the Lion's Mane growth.

Once you see baby mushrooms appear you'll be surprised how quickly they grow - doubling in size every day!

If your mushrooms have stopped growing or changing this could be an indication that your mushrooms have dried out or gotten stressed. If this happens send us a photo to hello@littleacre.com.au and we'll help you out.

The colour of a mushroom is greatly affected by how much light they are exposed to. The more light the darker the mushroom, if you are noticing that your white oyster mushrooms are a shade of beige or brown this is completely normal. If you would like them to be as white as possible grow them in a very dark position. Temperature can also affect colouration. Oyster mushrooms grown in cooler temperatures will produce darker colouration.

Gold Oyster mushrooms grow a little differently to other oyster varieties. Once the pin set emerges it will kind of look like a baby Lion's Mane - like a knobbly ball. However, within 1-2 days you will see this separate into the individual caps of the oyster mushroom and the yellow colour will get brighter. If you want to grow really yellow/gold oysters place your kit under a bright LED light for the duration of it's growth.

Unfortunately the ideal growing conditions for mushrooms are also inviting to other fungi, including moulds - yuck!

Some common moulds that you may encounter include green trichoderma mould, cobweb mould and pinhead mould commonly found on rotting fruit. For help identifying competitor mould please read our help article - How to Identify Mould Contamination

We hope you don't encounter any of these moulds on your mushroom growing adventures but if you do, don't stress! Fungi is all around us and they play vital roles in the interconnected systems we live in. Admire their ingenuity while you shake your fist at them and try again.

If you're growing a Mushroom Grow Kit purchased from us and it has developed some mould please send us a message and we'll help you out in no time!

From your first harvest, you should receive enough to cook a meal for 1-2 people. Every bonus crop (see below) after your first will yield slightly less. If you don't think you're seeing this amount of growth, contact us with a picture and we'll be happy to help!

These boxed, ready-to-grow mushroom kits are designed for first-time growers or to give as gifts. If you want to grow lots more mushrooms for the whole family and are a confident mushroom grower our Big Block Box of commercial sized mushroom blocks may be a better option for you.

You should harvest your mushrooms before the caps start to flatten out. You have to be quick, before you know it the caps will curl upwards to release their spores. If this happens, pick immediately as the caps will start to dry out.

To harvest your mushrooms pull them off the block. If they're ready they should pull away from the substrate quite easily. After you've picked them you can trim any substrate off the base.

Never cut your mushrooms off the block. If you cut them off you will leave the stem base attached to the substrate and this will create a 'plug' which will prevent a second flush forming.

Store your harvested mushrooms in a closed container in the fridge. You can put some paper towel in the container to help absorb any condensation. If you keep these mushrooms in a paper bag they will dry out!

It's best to eat your mushrooms relatively soon after harvesting them. These gourmet varieties don't store as long as button mushrooms. We recommend cooking your mushrooms within 3-5 days after you harvest them (Pink Oysters will only last a couple of days in the fridge so cook them quick!).

Oyster Mushrooms:

Once you've harvested your first crop, remove any mushroom debris left on the block and let it rest for a week. You don’t need to mist your kit every day during this stage unless it looks like it is dry. You may see a second crop start by itself, in that case start from step 2 on your instruction card. If not, remove the bag from the box and float the bag overnight in a bowl of water, cut side down. The next morning drain any excess water out of the bag and wait for pins to emerge and repeat the growing process. This can take a week or two. For a quicker second crop, flip the block around after your first harvest and grow from the other side.

Lion's Mane:

Once you’ve harvested your first crop, take the block out of the box and turn it around so the other large face of the block is now facing out of the open panel. Cut a small ‘X’ in the centre on the new side and start the process again. It will take another couple of weeks for the second crop to form. You can keep trying to cut new holes in the block and grow more Lion’s Mane after each harvest.

You may be lucky and try for a third crop, to do this follow the same steps you did for a second crop. Once your kit refuses to grow anymore use the spent substrate on your garden as mulch.

You should always cook your mushrooms! Why? Well it's kinda a long answer...

The cell walls of fungi are made of Chitin (the same structural polysaccharide as crustacean shells) and our digestive system can't break it down very well. To break down Chitin you need to use heat. Cooking your mushrooms breaks down these Chitin cell walls, releasing the beneficial nutrients in the mushrooms, making them taste better and helping you to more easily digest them!

Raw mushrooms can upset your tummy and you're missing out on the delicious flavours of the mushroom!

Try the delicious recipe on the pull out card on your grow kit box! We've developed some quick and tasty recipes featuring the mushrooms you can grow from our mushroom kits. Check them out here.