Growing oyster mushrooms

Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) is the best first species: you grow it on a kit, coffee grounds, straw or wood. A ready-to-fruit kit gives a first harvest after about 10 to 14 days. The right temperature depends on the product: follow the range printed on your own kit.

Mushroom Mania (BE) · BS-20 La Mycosphère (BE) · BS-37

Oyster mushroom breaks down dead plant material and colonises quickly. A Belgian supplier calls it the most efficient species with little risk of contamination, and the RHS calls it a good species for beginners.

Mushroom Mania (BE) · BS-27 Royal Horticultural Society (VK) · BS-70

Which temperature does your kit need?

Each supplier gives its own range for fruiting. The Mushroom Mania kit: 15–24 °C. The La Mycosphère kit: 10–20 °C. The Mushroom Mania grow pack: 15–18 °C. The Grey Dove strain from Field & Forest: about 12.8–20 °C. UF/IFAS gives about 20 °C. All these products contain the same species, P. ostreatus. A cool range is therefore a property of that product or strain, not a separate species.

Mushroom Mania (BE) · BS-20 La Mycosphère (BE) · BS-37 Mushroom Mania (BE) · BS-27 Field & Forest Products (VS) · BS-05 University of Florida / IFAS Extension · BS-01

One species, different ranges

Put the ranges side by side and you get 10 to 24 °C. That is a sum of product ranges, not a fixed property of the species. If you measure 12 °C, for example, a kit with a cool range fits, but not every kit does. So always look at the range of the exact product.

Mushroom Mania (BE) · BS-20 La Mycosphère (BE) · BS-37 Field & Forest Products (VS) · BS-05 University of Florida / IFAS Extension · BS-01 Mushroom Mania (BE) · BS-27

Making your own substrate: colonisation

If you make your own substrate, UF/IFAS says the mycelium colonises best at 24–25 °C and 80–90 % humidity, in 2 to 3 weeks. Field & Forest gives about the same temperature for straw and counts 3 to 5 weeks until fruiting. The 10 to 14 days until the first harvest therefore apply to a ready-to-fruit kit, not to straw or pellets.

University of Florida / IFAS Extension · BS-01 Field & Forest Products (VS) · BS-06

When and how to harvest?

Harvest the whole cluster as soon as the edges of the largest caps start to flatten. Twist the cluster off or cut it. A kit gives up to 3 flushes. Home-made substrate then gives another 2 to 4, each one smaller. The grow pack gives 3 to 4 flushes, with 10 to 14 days of rest in between.

Mushroom Mania (BE) · BS-20 University of Florida / IFAS Extension · BS-01 La Mycosphère (BE) · BS-37 Mushroom Mania (BE) · BS-27

How much will you harvest?

According to La Mycosphère, a ready-to-fruit kit of about 5 kg gives up to 2 kg over 3 flushes, the first being the largest. The Mushroom Mania DIY pack with 5 kg of substrate gives 1.5–2.5 kg of fresh oyster mushrooms.

La Mycosphère (BE) · BS-37 Mushroom Mania (BE) · BS-27

Common mistakes

Spray the inside walls of the box, not the young mushrooms themselves. Do not put the kit in full sun, in a draught or next to a radiator. Harvest on time: caps picked too late curl up and release white spore dust.

Mushroom Mania (BE) · BS-20 GroCycle (VK) · BS-43

Growing and eating safely

An allergic lung reaction to inhaled spores has been described in professional oyster mushroom growers. Symptoms usually disappear once exposure stops. No risk measure is known for a single hobby kit. So harvest on time, do not keep the culture in a bedroom or living space and ventilate well. If you see blue, green, black or yellow patches, eat nothing from that culture. Always eat oyster mushrooms cooked.

PubMed PMID 3169217 · BS-61 PubMed PMID 10024747 · BS-62 NCBI Bookshelf · BS-60 GroCycle (VK) · BS-43 University of Florida / IFAS Extension · BS-01 Voedingscentrum · BO-02

Source

Kan je champignons/paddenstoelen rauw eten? — Voedingscentrum
Grow Your Own Oyster Mushrooms at Home (SS662) — University of Florida / IFAS Extension
Grey Dove Oyster Grain Spawn (Pleurotus ostreatus) — Field & Forest Products (VS)
Growing Oyster Mushrooms on Straw — Field & Forest Products (VS)
Grijze oesterzwam – Growkit — Mushroom Mania (BE)
Grijze oesterzwam – Kweekpakket (5 kg) — Mushroom Mania (BE)
Kit pleurote prêt à pousser — La Mycosphère (BE)
How to harvest mushrooms — GroCycle (VK)
Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis (StatPearls, Chandra & Cherian, bijgewerkt 10-07-2023) — NCBI Bookshelf
Extrinsic allergic alveolitis in oyster mushroom growers (Eur Respir J 1988) — PubMed PMID 3169217
Hypersensitivity pneumonitis outbreak in oyster mushroom indoor cultivation (Occup Med 1998) — PubMed PMID 10024747
How to grow mushrooms — Royal Horticultural Society (VK)

Checked on: 2026-09-24

This is general growing information from the sources listed. Always follow the instructions of your kit or supplier. Only eat what demonstrably grows from your own culture of the bought, named species; if in doubt about colour, smell or shape, do not eat it.

This is not medical advice. If you repeatedly get a fever, a cough or shortness of breath while growing indoors, remove the culture and see your doctor.

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