The Beauty of Oyster Mushrooms

Oyster Mushrooms

The largest cap in this image does measure 1 inch or more.

Oyster Mushrooms

The gills are on the underside of the cap.  It is between them that the spores form.

Oyster Mushrooms

Oyster Mushrooms

Tomorrow, I will show the camera setups for these shots.

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Developing Oyster Mushrooms

Oyster Mushrooms

The instructions said the mushroom is mature when the cap in 1 inch in diameter.  There are no caps that large in these images.

Oyster Mushrooms

There are a lot of mushrooms in the opening of the module.  They seem crowed.

Oyster Mushrooms

I think they are rather attractive as I will show tomorrow.

I have used terms in this blog and will in the next related to the anatomy of the mushroom.  I think the Gourmet Mushroom, Inc. handout may be helpfull.

 It should be noted that not all mushrooms have all these parts.

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Mushroom Development

Oyster Mushrooms

I was not sure whether to call these primordia or mushrooms at the time but now I think they should be called mushrooms.  This question is addressed in a non specific way in the Mushroom Lifecycle handout by Gourmet Mushrooms, Inc.

We are, at this point, looking forward to mushroom growth and spore production.

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Completing Primordia Production

Oyster Mushrooms

I don't know when they officially change from primordia to mushrooms but one morning I looked in and decided it was time to replace the clear plastic cup with the mist tent.  They were too crowed in the cup.

Oyster Mushrooms Forming

I think that I might have a double crop because I scooped out the center.

Mist Tent

The mist tent has small regularly spaced perforations for air circulation.  The module is wrapped at the neck with wet paper towels to support humid air.

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Oyster Mushroom Primordia

Oyster Mushroom Module

The directions said to scoop out 1/2 inch of the top which I did.  Can you see my line?

Oyster Mushroom Primordia

I think I should have tamped down the loose media after the excavation.

Oyster Mushroom Module in Primordia Formation

The misted (inside) plastic cup was inverted over the module to insure humid conditions for Primordia formation.  There was a 1/2 inch hole drilled in the bottom of the clear plastic cup to allow for air circulation.

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Shiitake Mushroom

Shiitake Mushroom

I seem obsessed with mushrooms to the extent that I buy them at the supermarket to photograph.  This is the Shiitake.  It is an Asian mushroom being cultivated in the USA for consumption.  The spores are being sold to private growers and it is only a matter of time until it escapes into the wild.  It grows on rotting wood.

Shiitake Mushroom

The lower edge of the gills is ragged.  They attach evenly to the stalk.

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Growing Mushrooms

Mushroom Module with Primordia

While seeking the spore print I found myself wondering when sporing occurred.  I did not want to camp out beside the mushroom in the woods.  I found a company, Gourmet Mushrooms, Inc. which sells classroom kits.  Thank you home schoolers.  You can visit their website.  They have four modules with standards based lesson plans.  I ordered the first module only.  You can save money by purchasing multiple modules.  The module I purchased grows Oyster Mushrooms.  It includes, as you can see above, the module, black paper for spore printing, cups for spore printing, the cup for primordia development, and a tent to be installed for mushroom development.

Oyster Mushroom Primordia

This is how the primordia looked when I removed the paper cover.  I have since decided that I should have left it in place.  I did not because the instructions said to take off 1/2 inch and I did so.

Mushroom Module With Top 1/2 Inch Removed

I removed the top 1/2 of the primordia and media.   I placed the primordia development cup on top after adding 1 Teaspoon of distilled water and misting the inside of the top.  The smell of the primordia was delightful!

More later.

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