Reishi Mushroom Growing
Answered by: Inge Poot
Question from: Pierre Pinard
Posted on: August 4, 1998

I just received a reishi mushroom block and the enclosed growing instructions are not perfectly clear to me. Do I leave the white blob in the plastic bag it came in, just opening the top and putting it in a poly enclosure to keep humidity? Do I take it out of the bag so mushrooms will have a chance to grow all around? Should I avoid spraying pure water directly on the block to maintain humidity?

Under normal circumstances you take the block of innoculated growing medium out of the plastic bag it came in and put it into the roomier bag or tent that you constructed for it. If the mushroom has already grown so much that it is attached to the shipping bag then it is better not to disturb it so much by prying it loose, since that will check its growth severely. You can remove the bag after the first harvest of fruiting bodies after which you are supposed to soak the block in clean cold water for a few hours before reinserting it into the tent or roomy bag.

When spraying water into the tent or roomy bag to maintain a fairly high humidity, do not spray it onto the block or the fungus growing on it. Spray it onto the sides of the tent or bag instead. If the block is too wet, other fungi or insects will attack it. Its a little jungle in there!

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