Bag It and Wait

Into the bag

Washed your hands? Good. Now we make a cosy home for the mycelium.

Pop your soaked, spawn-filled tube into a clear plastic bag or a clear tub with a lid. Loosely close the top. The bag traps wet air so the tube stays damp, like a tiny greenhouse.

Why clear? So you can peek inside without opening it. Every peek lets in a chance for mold, so we look, but we do not keep opening the bag.

A few tiny air holes

Mycelium is alive, and living things need to breathe. It takes in air and puffs out a gas called carbon dioxide, just like you breathe out.

So a grown-up can poke a few tiny holes in the bag with a clean fork or pin. Just a few! We want fresh air to trickle in, but we still want the tube to stay nice and damp.

• Too few holes: the tube gets stuffy.

• Too many holes: the tube dries out.

• Just a few: perfect.

Warm, dark, and still

Now find a good spot. While the mycelium spreads, it likes it:

• Warm, like normal room temperature

• Dark or dimly lit, like a cupboard

• Out of hot sun and cold drafts

Mushrooms do not need light while the mycelium spreads. In the wild, the mycelium hides inside dark, damp logs. A quiet cupboard is perfect.

The waiting game

Here comes the patient part. Over the next two to three weeks, the mycelium spreads through the whole tube.

Each day, more of the cardboard turns fuzzy and white. That white fuzz is the mycelium eating the cardboard and growing strong. This is called colonizing.

What you do while you wait:

1. Peek through the clear bag every few days.

2. Look for the white fuzz spreading a bit more each time.

3. Draw or write what you see. You are a mushroom scientist!

If you ever see green, black, or slimy patches, or smell something bad, tell your grown-up. That can be mold, and the grow may need to be thrown away. Healthy mycelium is white and smells fresh.

When the whole tube is white and fuzzy, it is ready for the exciting part. Next: mushrooms!