Mushrooms

A guide to successfully growing mushrooms, using our very own mushroom kit!

OYSTER MUSHROOMS:

The mushroom of choice for beginners and new mushroom growers

Start growing quickly with the freshest spawn bred over decades to suit our unique NZ conditions.

Fruiting year round from straw and autumn to spring on logs.

Tasty and fast to grow anywhere out of direct sun and wind.

Oyster Mushrooms are the best beginners mushroom.

Grow on straw, sawdust, tea bags or logs and pick in 2-3 weeks.

HOW TO GROW OYSTER MUSHROOMS:

BEGINNERS- Easy Grow kit with everything provided... Soak, drain, shake and it's just about ready to grow! Buy one for a friend and save- Use this kit as a starter to grow more- instructions on how to do this are included.

Grow on logs using dowel spawn...
This is the long term way of getting food from fresh cut logs and quietly decomposing them to garden humus.

Or grab a bale of straw and get growing! Call in the friends to help eat the harvest or save some by drying or freezing.

Soak the straw, drain and mix in the spawn. The kit contains natural ingredients for 3 or more flushes and can also be used to inoculate more straw of your own. It is clean and tidy, no soil is necessary and it grows anywhere out of direct sun and wind.

These delicious mushrooms grow in clusters and are amazing to watch as they burst from the fruiting bag. Besides eating oyster mushrooms, you can enjoy watching spores drift like smoke from the gills, or you can set up the growing bag to produce hanging chains of spores from the edges of the cap.
Savoury or delicate depending on how you cook it. Recipes are included in the pack with information on health benefits and guidelines on seeing the spore displays and amazing spore strings caused by static electricity.

And a superb recipe from Brenda at Kings Silverdale:

Fusilli Pasta with Venison in a Pesto Cream Sauce with Woodland Mushrooms.

Ingredients (serves 4)
400g venison leg (cut into 2-3 cm pieces)
1 packet fusilli pasta
200g mushrooms, sliced (I use half oyster and the rest a combination of
button, portobello or shitake)
4 shallots or 1/2 medium onion, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
300ml cream
1 tbsp pesto
4 tomatoes (skinned, deseeded and diced)
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fresh basil, plus extra for garnish
salt and pepper
porcini powder (optional)
paprika
parmesan cheese, grated

Method

Cook the pasta until al dente', drain and set aside.

Dust the venison well with the paprika, salt and pepper and porcini powder.
Sear in a hot pan with a little olive oil until browned (but still medium
rare). Remove to a warm place.

In the same pan add the shallots and garlic with the mushrooms and cook until
lightly coloured. Add the pesto and the cream and cook until the sauce
thickens.

Add the tomatoes, chopped basil, pasta and venison, heat through for 2-3
minutes and serve immediately, topped with freshly grated parmesan and chopped
fresh basil.

This is really nice with toasted ciabatta to soak up the sauce.