Wake Up the Mycelium

Time to wake it up

Your mycelium has been resting. Today we give it the signals to start growing mushrooms. It is a bit like a gentle alarm clock.

First, you know what to do. Wash your hands! Clean hands every time.

Then get your grown-up. This lesson has a cutting step, and only a grown-up does the cutting.

Step 1: open the block

Your kit card will show where to open the block. Usually you make one cut, like an X or a small window, in the bag. This is where the mushrooms will come out.

A grown-up makes the cut with clean scissors or a knife. You can point to the right spot and watch closely.

Why do we cut a hole? The mushrooms need fresh air and a place to push out. The cut says to the mycelium: grow here!

Step 2: the first spray

Now the fun part. Fill your spray bottle with clean water. Cool tap water is fine.

Spray a little water into the fresh cut. Just a few puffs. You want it damp, not soaking wet. Think of a light morning mist, not a rainstorm.

Mushrooms are mostly water, so they need moisture to grow. But too much water is not good either. Gentle and damp is the goal.

Step 3: give it fresh air and light

Move your kit to its cozy spot. Mushrooms like:

• Fresh air (not sealed up tight)

• A little daylight (but not hot, bright sun)

• Normal room temperature

Soft light from a window is plenty. Mushrooms do not need sunshine like plants do. They just need enough light to know which way is up.

What happens now

Nothing looks different yet, and that is okay! Under the surface, the mycelium is waking up. It is feeling the fresh air and the damp and getting ready to make pins — the tiny baby mushrooms.

This can take a few days. Being patient is part of being a good grower.

Never eat anything from the kit yet. And remember, your kit grows a safe, known mushroom. We never pick or eat wild mushrooms.

You woke up the mycelium. Now the waiting and spraying begins!