Don’t Throw It Away

Wait! Keep the block

You picked your first mushrooms. Hooray! The block looks empty now. It is easy to think the fun is over.

But stop! Do not throw the block away.

That block is not rubbish. It is still full of life. Deep inside, the white threads called mycelium are still alive and well.

The block is like a plant

Think about an apple tree. You pick the apples. Then more apples grow next year. The tree keeps going!

Your mushroom block is a little like that. You picked the mushrooms. But the block can grow more mushrooms after a rest.

The mycelium ate part of the block to make your first crop. But there is food left inside. With a little care, it can wake up and grow again.

What is left inside

Inside the block are two important things:

• Mycelium — the living white threads that make mushrooms.

• Food — bits of straw, sawdust, or grain the mycelium eats.

After the first harvest, some food is used up. But not all of it. There is still enough for another try.

The mushrooms you pick are like the fruit. The mycelium is the real plant, and it stays behind, ready to go again.

A tiny bit of tidying

Before you rest the block, do one small job with a grown-up.

Look at the spot where you picked. Are there little stumps or old stem bits left behind? Gently brush or pick those away. Old bits can go mouldy, and we do not want that.

Then your block is clean and ready for the next steps.

Remember: your kit grows one safe, known kind of mushroom. Never pick or eat a wild mushroom — only expert grown-ups know which ones are safe. And a grown-up always cooks kit mushrooms before you eat them.

So keep that block! In the next lessons, you will learn how to help it grow a whole second crop.