Back to the Roots Organic Oyster Mushroom Grow Kit, Harvest Gourmet Mushrooms In 10 Days

It works! Be patient. In my case, the mushrooms appeared on day 7. Oyster mushrooms, in my opinion, have the best taste, very potent and clean flavor. They are perfect for soups, sauces, and sauté well with other veggies and meats. There's no earthy taste to them at all. A word of caution, when ready to harvest, collect the entire batch. I made a mistake of cutting three mushrooms only, leaving the rest until the next day. Unfortunately, the bunch dried out completely over night. They were bone dry and hard. When I tried to get them going again by using the back of the package, I had no luck. Overall, a decent product,my it it does need more clear instructions. *** Sept 13, 2015 Update Well, I decided to give Back to the Roots Organic Mushroom Farm another chance. I'm glad I did. First off, to my surprise it took this second mushroom farm almost two weeks (12-13 days) to start producing. Patience is a key here. I almost gave up on it and actually stopped watering the soil for two days, thinking I must have made a mistake somewhere. However, when I got home one night, I was excited to see tiny mushroom heads which made their way through to the soil top. The tiny farm works, no doubt about it. You will love the taste and the texture of these oyster mushrooms. Here's where this product shines the most. The company that created this product stands behind their work 100%. The community happiness team (*I absolutely love the term) is exceptional when it comes to customer service and they will make sure you are absolutely satisfied with the product. You don't see that very often these days. For example, they contacted me directly based on my less-than-excellent experience with the product the first time I tried it. Naturally, I had quite a few questions about my experience with the farm. Here's the conversation below. Make sure to read it, it will help you with your farm as well. 1. Can you please let me know if both sides of the box can be used to grow mushrooms simultaneously, or is it designed to have the harvest from one side of the box only? How many times can the process be repeated? Response: You can use both sides of the box but we recommend just growing one side at a time. We guarantee two harvests from each box, but it's possible to get more so we always encourage folks to keep trying! I am currently growing a box and on my second harvest, using the same side that I grew my first on. It doesn't matter which side you grow on, though. Just note -- once you open the second side (cut the '+' and such) then your kit will be exposed to more oxygen, meaning it can dry out faster. So you will need to give it more water (you really can't overwater the mushrooms so be generous!). That's why I always grow the first two harvests from the same side and then I might open up the second side and try to grow from there. The mushrooms can still grow from any side, though, so be sure to water both and keep it really hydrated. Also, I always give the kit a break by letting it rest for a few weeks in between grows. 2. I kept my box on the counter, even after the mushrooms died, but kept spraying it with water. After a few days, the white substance began growing rapidly and covered the "soil" again. Are these spores? The white, dust-like substance also covered a substantial portion of the kitchen counter and I had to wipe it every morning. It was interesting to see.. Response: The white 'dust' is spores. Actually that is a great sign. That means your mushroom kit is full of spores and will most definitely grow again! So if you still have this kit I recommend you try to grow it once more. The white layer is mushroom by-product. If it grows back, try scoring the surface with a knife or fork and then re-soak the bag for 1 day. Afterwards, you’ll want to give your kit lots of water. You can even try using a humidity tent to increase moisture. Re-soak your kit overnight fully submerged in water. Cover the kit with a Ziploc or other plastic bag and cut some holes in it for airflow. Spray/drizzle water underneath it everyday. The additional moisture should help boost your kit out of the dormant state and you should see growth in approx. 7 days. Additional information about mushroom growth: Mushrooms love fresh air, so placing your kit next to an open window can really encourage the mushrooms to grow. Oyster mushrooms like light. Place your mushroom kit in a bright area-- filtered light is best. Moisture is extremely important. You can tell if your kit is getting enough water because you will be able to see visible drops of moisture trapped beneath the plastic flaps. The more water the better; don't be afraid of over-watering your mushroom kit. Keep the plastic in-tact. Again, this has to do with moisture. The plastic helps trap in moisture so you don't want to remove it. *** As you see, the team is committed to making your experience with this little mushroom farm excellent. You will fall in love with the product, I guarantee it. Also, let me know if this review was helpful to you. Your opinion mattes!

After a couple of expensive fails at growing oyster mushrooms from a local supplier whose only instructions were: Keep them out of direct sunlight, mist a couple times a day, and if you're comfortable with the temperature of your home, they'll be comfortable. Not true and I was feeling like a total failure but decided to take a chance on this kit--which btw was 1/2 the cost of the other two I'd had. After reading online the growing instructions at Back to the Roots, I realized my home was too cool and dry (heat running in winter) for success the way I was told to grow them. I grew these in a "still air" chamber purchased from Amazon and boy did they take off! Started them March 4, first pic shows growth after only 5 days, second one after 9 days and the third one was on the tenth day when we harvested and consumed. YUMMY! They proably won't grow as quickly without the enclosed chamber but I feel certain they'll grow just fine most anywhere. I reached out to the company re when to harvest and received a really quick response and detailed directions for getting a second flush. GREAT company, awesome product. You won't get enough mushrooms to devour tons like I would love to do but you'll get plenty for use in recipes of choice.

I was a little disappointed with my mushroom kit only because as you can see in the photo mine only grew out of one very small section of the growing medium. I didn’t get very many marshmallows and I don’t know if that is my fault and something I did incorrect or if it just happened to not grow as much as others I’ve seen. Either way I found it very interesting and I would do it again If I had the opportunity. I don’t know if I’d spend almost 30$ on it again but I’d consider growing my own mushrooms over that just so I could grow more. I think it’s a great learning tool for kids and teaches them responsibility and in return they get to grow there own mushroom garden harvest them and eat them! I still have my block and am going to attempt growing on the backside as I’ve read is possible. Maybe I will have more luck the second time around. Mine also got soft as I didn’t pick them in the right time frame so I didn’t even eat mine and can’t comment on the taste.

This little kit is a fun and educational escape from grocery store button mushrooms (at least for a while). I had my initial doubts over the soundness of my purchase when I first opened the kit. You are greeted by a compressed log of plant matter covered in a white mat of mycelia. At first glance it resembles a moldy piece of bread. However, I quickly got disregarded my prejudice (the majority of fungi are harmless) and soaked and misted the kit as was instructed. On day 3 (after having soaked), little dark-brown spots began to appear on the surface of the mycelia. These were the primordia and their growth was explosive. The package details are not exaggerating when they explain that the mushrooms double in size every day. As promised, I harvested my mushrooms 8 days after soaking. It is important to note that you have to pull on the entire stalk so that it may come off clean upon harvesting. If you choose to harvest by cutting the stalk with a knife you risk infecting the stump that would remain. Because I had never cooked anything other than grocery store button mushrooms, I went the safe route and only cooked the parts of the mushroom that had gills on them. The first taste was enough to convince me that I had made a very, very good buy. I'm a fan of white button mushrooms, but these oyster mushrooms are orders of magnitude more flavorful.These mushrooms have a bit of the savory essence of button mushrooms. However, what really amazed me was how much they tasted like nuts. It was like eating pecans and they were even sweet, too! The educational part of the kit came when I became obsessed with learning everything there was to know about these mushrooms. After all, the more you know about something, the easier it becomes to manipulate it to do what you want. My kit has not gone into a second flush and it has been about two weeks since the first. However, it looks very healthy (the mycelia have covered all of the bare spots) and I'm pretty sure that it will go back into reproduction mode soon. I'll try to update on this. Overall, this kit is fun to watch and learn from. I recommend it to anyone who loves mushrooms and knowing where their food comes from. It is fascinating to know that you are indirectly consuming the energy stored in useless plant matter (useless because we can't digest it directly). If you choose to purchase this kit, be aware that this is a living organism and does require a bit of your attention for its water needs. Also, be patient with our fungus friends. They will not always fruit when you want them to (as I have learned), but the manipulation of their environment can lead to better and more frequent fruiting (also part of the caring process).

Very disappointed. I purchased two mushroom growing kits through Amazon on Black Friday, with the intention of growing whichever one had arrived first and gifting the later arrival to a friend. The brown oyster mushroom kit arrived first with a large white patch on the inside of the substrate block. Hoping that this was just part of the organism I proceeded with the instructions. Upon cutting the slits in the substrate package I was greeted with the most putrid rotten banana stench. Again, giving the product the benefit of the doubt I hoped they had just used some weird flavored coffee as a growing medium and proceeded to soak the substrate block overnight. I followed all the directions to the t and misted my stinky kit a few times each day. Every day the smell intensified. Honestly a great covid test would just to walk into my kitchen. On day 4 the smell became unbearable and I removed the substrate bag from the box and noticed white, green and blue mold all over the substrate block. I wish I would have got better pictures but honestly I was so disgusted I threw it away after two quick snaps. The worst part is the other kit is wrapped and under the tree and now I’m worried I bought another dud. Here’s the gift of Christmas mold! It is worth nothing that I have successfully grown a back to roots kit before and was able to get two mushroom harvests out of my kit. I did however purchase that one from Home Depot. Maybe the problem lies with the way Amazon is storing them? Either way all I want is a replacement for this clearly defective kit, but that was denied. Amazon has always been pretty good about refunds and returns so I don’t was pretty shocked that NOTHING could be done. Will update when the second kit is opened Thank you for ruining bananas for me.

I have purchased a total of 2 oyster grow kits from Back to the Roots. The first time the mushrooms had been growing in the bag when I received it. I contacted the company via email from their website. It was not easy to locate their contact information from Amazon. Back to the Roots quickly sent me another kit. The second kit showed growth of mushrooms inside the bag. I followed the instructions to grow the kit but I believe the bag became contaminated from soaking it overnight. A few days later there were noticeable red spots. The mushrooms that tried to grow in the bag (from day one) were also decomposing. I threw away the kit and bought a third kit. This kit also showed signs of the mushrooms growing inside the bag. These grow kits are salvageable but they will require work beyond the skill level of this product's target audience. The blue oysters that grow inside the bag upon arrival must be chopped or scratched off. If not, they will decompose similar to an old banana. All troubled areas must be removed to ensure a healthy grow. The block can then be incubated to allow the white area (mycelium) to grow back. Otherwise, this product is cheap and shipping is within 24 hours. I think the reason for this is the products are spawned and kept in storage for long periods. Other companies cycle their grow kits and send them out in batches as they are made. It costs an average of 25-35 dollars for a decent grow kit.

(Using my fiance account) (Update on 9/21/20) I was not successful with a second crop on the other side of the block as most people have reported they are able to do. With that being said. It could have been my fault. I lost track of time and it was 14 days after I harvested the first crop that I began to try for a second harvest. The block was super dry even after soaking for 10 hrs on second side per directions. Or maybe it could have not worked because the first crop on side one was super duper large! We had a fantastic 1st crop....it seemed as if the second side did not want to absorb water. From the soaking to the daily waterings...it always just puddled on top....not a deal breaker for me because the first side was amazing and fun. However, not being able to get a second crop out of the other side of the block made them extremely expensive mushrooms...lol Hands down the 100% Guarantee to grow given by Back To The Roots is legit. The customer service was great! They're very responsive, knowledgeable and helpful. I purchased my kit off Amazon. Recieved it and following directions to the T began the process. Several days in my block just didn't look right. I knew something was wrong but wasn't sure what because I've never grown mushrooms before. I don't have a green thumb but I love mushrooms! I reached out to Back To The Roots customer service. We chatted, I sent them some requested pictures so they could get a better understanding of the issue. Immediately they said something was wrong and that it could have been an old kit Amazon sent me. They asked me to send them a picture of the lot number sticker on my kit so they could check the age of Amazons stock. The customer service representative said she would ship me out a new kit and that I should receive it in a couple days. A few days later it came. I followed the enclosed directions to the T (soaked my block for 10 hrs) and in just 4 days I noticed these little white clumps appeared out of nowhere. They looked like little cauliflower heads (ref to one of my pics.)Morning of day 5 I woke up to an amazing transformation overnight. They changed to very large looking white sea crustaceans...lol and I could see tiny little mushroom pins starting to form on the heads of the spikes....each day, sometimes in just a few hours time, the transformation of these mushrooms were amazing. These mushrooms grow fast when they start. Wow! Be prepared for major changes within hours of eachother. I would've given anything to be able to do a time lapse video of my mushrooms from start to finish. It would been awesome to see on video. Whether kid or adult this was such a fun process to do and rewarding. I felt like a kid at heart the entire process. I have already recommended this kit to several people....Back To The Roots and other reviewers have also said most times you can get another harvest out of the other side of the block....So with that being said, I am going to give it a shot and will update my review to reflect if successful or not. ..a few little tips that I think were extremly helpful in my bountiful harvest. 1. Watering is key. Keeping them moist is so important. I often times watered more than the required twice a day. Every time I walked past them, I would give them a few squirts. 2. I believe the humidity they got by me moving them during the day to my screened in patio (indirect sunlight) helped a lot as well too considering our humidity levels were in the 90% most days. I will be getting more. This was so much fun. I recommend anyone who likes to eat mushrooms get themselves a kit. Even if you don't have a green thumb! It is rewarding. Happy Growing! 🍄

This has been so much fun! I have been wanting to get a mushroom kit since I was a teenager (ages ago!), and I finally bought one. It's been a blast to see how much they grow each day. We started seeing little teeny tiny cauliflower looking things on day 3, and from then on, they just really took off! Notice in the photos the difference in size from day 6 to day 7.....CRAZY!!! I live with my brother and elderly father, and my dad said he was almost scared to sit next to them at the table, lol. I guess he thought they might eat him or something. :) It's now day 9, and time to harvest. I'll get out my digital kitchen scale later when I harvest, and see how much they weigh. We have some guesses going in this house as to how much it'll weigh. My brother thinks only a few ounces. I am going to say 9 ounces. Dad has yet to decide....he's "mulling it over". I will say that the spray bottle that comes with it, is really tiny, but they probably couldn't fit a bigger bottle in the box. I sprayed mine A LOT. I used at least one sprayer bottle full each day, and sometimes double that. For those who had trouble with theirs......I hope they kept them and try it again. I wonder if they: *scraped some of the white like it says to *soaked it in a large bowl or bucket of water cut side down for a full 8 hours *sprayed it a minimum of 2x's each day *had it where too much light got to it *waited a reasonable amount of time to see if it was growing (minimum of 3-5 days with ample watering) *or if they really got a "dud", and if so, did they contact the company for a replacement because they DO guarantee it. I'm very curious to see just how many harvests I can get out of this kit. I am going to try for as many as I can. The current record is apparently 10! That is hard to believe, but I am going to see if I can beat it. If I do, I'll share how I did it. Those who've done multiple harvests past the 2 they claim one can get, never post how they did it. Did they do the same side over and over before going to the next side? Did they do both sides simultaneously? Did they open it all up, and put it in a long wide container? Did they do it outside? So many possible variables. Same with those that claim it didn't work for them. There is a reason.....so, what did or didn't they do? What climate was it kept in? Lighting? Humidity? Heat? What kind of water did they use? I kept this next to my Aeorogarden 7 LED the first 2 or 3 days, but not facing it. I had it to the side or turned the box away from it. Day 3, I moved it to our bay window area next to the table in our kitchen, but faced it inwards towards the kitchen so it wouldn't get direct light. I sprayed it multiple times a day a full sprayer bottle usually, sometimes more. I used water from our Berkey system that filters out 99% of contaminants with 2 charcoal filters, and 2 fluoride and arsenic filters. The water is very pure, but leaves minerals. I am curious as to how adding a drop of fulvic acid to the water from Optimally Organic might affect it. Not sure if I am going to try it just yet for this next harvest. I am going to try to grow these again on the same side I think. I'll update again with the next harvest. It's been a blast, and so very fascinating to watch these multiply so quickly. I think it's a great gift for anyone of any age. My grandparents live next door, and grandpa said he always wanted to buy a mushroom kit too, but never did. I never knew that, so it was nice to find that out when I told him I bought one. He's thoroughly enjoyed watching it grow, and he's 91. Glad I was able to provide this for him to see, since it's something he's also always wanted to do. Check this off the bucket list. Hope he's around for many more years to come! Stay tuned for more harvests I hope!

Loved it! A great Father's Day gift that we got to grow together. It sounds silly, but it's actually exhilarating to watch these mushrooms grow! They grow so fast and change colour rapidly - it was a hoot! The instructions were east to follow and we got a great harvest. They weren't quite as flavorful as I had hoped, but nicer than store bought and the experience was worth it.

Mycelium was in great shape. Fully colonized block. looked great. My block was packed with mycelium to the point you could not see any of the substrates. Very happy with the colonization. Needs more in-depth instructions and what things looks like, not a pamphlet with cartoon drawings. People can grow contaminations. At least tell them if they see discolouring to toss the brick. Fruiting was ok. Due to the lack of instructions the good mycelium layer was scraped off after using the pamphlet and reading product reviews. (No Bueno) Reducing pin sets and having me to wait for the mycelium to recolonize the block on the outside. when a smack on the ground and cold water is enough I found out via my second attempt with another product. Add other options for fruiting! such as a shotgun fruiting chamber as I have in the pictures. The fruits were ok but tasted horrid. Probably a contam or bad block. The mushrooms were very strong with a sour note at the end. I was seeing Knotts for a second flush so the mycelium was Rockin. Just bad taste and not enough info with the product to feel safe eating them. So it got tossed into the trash bin before my second flush which would have been quite good. I was pretty sad. However, it spawned a new hobby for me and am now growing some lion's mane. I would like to see the price drop a smidge as 30 for a block is a tad high due to it being sawdust and soy (masters mix) or the substrate you use. Peeps gotta make some money but i would feel a bit more ok at the 20 buck mark. However, the price is also paying for a kit for a school of your choice. Please follow the pamphlet and help kids near you learn some cool mycology.! After all that, my final thoughts...., was it was a blast. No, it didn't go to plan but it was a learning experience. It needs more info for a greater success. For those that read this DO NOT take the advise of some of the comments in here. You will just wreck your block. There needs to be more info and more info on mycelium, and its characteristics. This would greatly improve success and in itself turn a great product into a better product. I suggest a youtube video with a code to scan for easy access. I will also be taking advantage of the buy one, they give one to a school. Everyone one should. This would be great for classrooms as overnight the kids will see changes to the mushrooms. Science that reacts fast to keep kids interested. Great work guys. Hope it works. My sister is a teacher and these will go to many schools! Love this idea.

My Back to roots FB got black molds, bad for me i cannot return the product

I loved Back to the Roots when I purchased it a few years ago. It was a fun project and the mushrooms I grew tasted incredible. I bought this same product from amazon this time and was so disappointed. The packaging inside was not vaccum sealed so the growth medium was allowed oxygen ruining the farm itself. It would have been sealed tightly which was not the case. Not sure if this was because of a manufacturer's defect or a problem on Amazon's end. It reeks, is completely unusable and a disappointment for my sons who were looking forward to some science exploration. Such a shame, the company itself is a pleasure to deal with, Amazon however not so much.

I gifted these. Both recievers thought this was a really interesting gift. One of the people I gifted to is an older Polish man who is familiar with mushroom growing, has tried a few times and wasn't very successful. The box does take some effort, you have to soak the pack for several hours and then mist it daily. But easy enough, with clear instructions. Then you basically just let them sit. They started growing within a couple of days (as pictured). Not sure of the final end result. I say this is a nice gift for a mushroom lover whether they have a green thumb or not! Box comes with mini spray bottle, however one of the gifts was missing the bottle top.