Crop Failure

Way back at Christmastime (it seems so long ago!) someone gave me one of those shiitake mushroom farms that gives you the chance to "grow your own" at home.  The concept is pretty simple:  You get a block of sawdust impregnated with mushroom spores; you chill it for a while, soak it, put it in a low-lit spot, keep it damp, and presto, mushrooms appear.  You're told the mushrooms will come in successive waves, so once you harvest a batch and new ones stop appearing, you can re-soak the block and go at it again.

This works.  I know it does because the company that made it says it does. And I did obtain three pretty large mushrooms from the first "crop."  But a second lengthy try resulted in nothing.  The instructions say that 90% of the ones that people return to them turn out to be prolific little factories of mushroom production.  In other words, if you can't grow shiitakes out of this thing, it's your fault.  I find that completely believable, so I didn't send mine back.  For all I know, it's growing lots of mushrooms right now out at the city landfill.

So you too can grow mushrooms at home, but before buying one of these, ask yourself these questions:  Are you obsessive-compulsive?  Are you home all day every day?   Do you always remember routine repetitive tasks?  Is the life of Sisyphus one that you had always imagined as perfect for yourself?  Do you have time on your hands?  If your answers to all these questions are "yes," the shiitake kit may be for you.

The devil is in the details.  Here is your list of chores:

Obtain spring water or other non-chlorinated water.
Spray the block 3-4 times daily.
To do so, you'll need to remove/replace the plastic tent that supposedly helps keep moisture in.
When mushrooms start to appear, remove the tent and spray even more often.
Depending on where you place your mushroom block, you'll likely also have to wipe up drips each time; as time goes on, these drips will be brownish, like weak coffee.
Once you harvest mushrooms, you need to repeat the setup process again: Two weeks to allow the block to dry out fully; a day of soaking (getting a thorough, even soaking is "interesting" since the block, being sawdust, floats - you have to weigh it down).
Start all the spraying again, from the top. If (as in my case) a "crop" doesn't produce anything, you can always go through the process again.

Along the way, I found that even with the best intentions, a miss (a half-day away from home?) could let the thing dry out; and even though I normally did remember to spray it, doing so four to six times a day became a serious nuisance.  Ultimately, I found the entire procedure was ridiculously time-consuming; the effort expended didn't produce much and certainly didn't justify my time; the time expended didn't justify the cost of the shiitake "farm."  I don't question that under ideal conditions, a carefully watched and tended block can produce a nice crop of mushrooms.  But know what you're getting into, if you want to try it. 

Comments

[Mark Delman]

I'd add one more criteria....If the mushrooms you grow taste the same as, or only marginally better, the ones you can buy at the store, there's no advantage to growing them at home.

[JHawk23]

Amen to that!

[Karen Watkins]

Ah, another failed gift!