In term 2, 16th of April 2012, we were tasked with the growing of Pleurotus Ostreatus --- Grey Oyster Mushrooms from a commercial mushroom grow bag. The mushroom bag was a cylindrical looking object filled with sawdust and had a black ring at the top of the bag with a black cap. The bag was already implanted with spores from the oyster mushroom and their growth depended on how well we could take care of them. Here are some of the questions I had before starting out:
~What conditions do the mushrooms need for growth?
~What is actually inside the bag?
~How many mushrooms will there be?
~How long will it take for the mushrooms to grow?
These questions will be answered throughout my task.
Here is an accurate schedule of what I did exactly when I got home over a period of time where the mushrooms grew.
*To note: Misting of mushroom refers to the spraying of water on the sawdust using a spray can. As the mushroom grows up, the number of misting sessions increased from once a day all the way to about 6 times a day.
Growing of Oyster Mushrooms
from a commercial mushroom grow bag
16-4-12,
3.13pm: opened the cap and misted the
mushrooms. Saw some white cotton wool with sawdust. Placed the sawdust about 1
meter away from the window behind a flower vase.
17-4-12,
3.13pm: misted the mushroom again. No visible change to the sawdust.
18-4-12,
3.13pm: misted the mushroom again. No visible change to the sawdust.
19-4-12,
3.13pm: misted the mushroom again. No visible change to the sawdust.
20-4-12,
3.13pm: misted the mushroom again. No visible change to the sawdust.
21-4-12,
3.13pm: misted the mushroom again. No visible change to the sawdust.
22-4-12,
3.13pm: misted the mushroom again. Transparent gelatinous substance observed on
sawdust. Yellow growth observed at the sides of the black ring.
23-4-12,
3.13pm: misted the mushroom again. No further visible change to the sawdust.
24-4-12,
3.13pm: misted the mushroom again. No further visible change to the sawdust.
25-4-12,
3.13pm: misted the mushroom again. No further visible change to the sawdust.
26-4-12,
3.13pm: misted the mushroom again. Surface of sawdust turns white.
27-4-12,
3.13pm: misted the mushroom again. No further visible change to the sawdust.
28-4-12,
3.13pm: misted the mushroom again. No further visible change to the sawdust.
29-4-12,
3.13pm: misted the mushroom again. No further visible change to the sawdust.
30-4-12,
3.13pm: misted the mushroom again. No further visible change to the sawdust.
1-5-12,
3.13pm: misted the mushroom again. No further visible change to the sawdust.
2-5-12,
3.13pm: misted the mushroom again. No further visible change to the sawdust.
3-5-12,
3.13pm: misted the mushroom again. No further visible change to the sawdust.
4-5-12,
3.13pm: forgot to mist mushroom. No further visible change to the sawdust.
5-5-12,
3.13pm: forgot to mist mushroom. No further visible change to the sawdust.
6-5-12,
3.13pm: forgot to mist mushroom. No further visible change to the sawdust.
7-5-12,
3.13pm: forgot to mist mushroom. No further visible change to the sawdust.
8-5-12,
3.13pm: misted the mushroom again. Six small white coloured stumps appeared
below the black ring.
9-5-12,
3.13pm: misted the mushroom again. The white stumps have grown above the black
ring. Traces of cap observed.
9-5-12,
9.13pm: misted the mushroom again. Cap appears to be bigger.
10-5-12,
6.13am: misted the mushroom again. No further visible change to the mushroom
10-5-12,
3.13pm: misted the mushroom again. Cap is substantially bigger.
10-5-12,
9.13pm: misted the mushroom again. No further visible change to the mushroom
11-5-12,
6.13am: misted the mushroom again. Cap is much bigger for the five mushrooms. One mushroom remains small.
11-5-12,
3.13pm: misted the mushroom again. Mushrooms continue to grow bigger.
11-5-12,
5.13pm: misted the mushroom again. Mushrooms continue to grow bigger.
11-5-12,
7.13pm: misted the mushroom again. Mushrooms continue to grow bigger.
11-5-12,
9.13pm: misted the mushroom again. Mushrooms continue to grow bigger.
11-5-12,
11.13pm: misted the mushroom again. Mushrooms continue to grow bigger. Edges of
mushroom cap curl upwards.
12-5-12,
1.13pm: misted the mushroom again. Mushrooms are ready for harvesting. Five big
mushrooms are grey in colour. The weaker mushroom turns yellow.
12-5-12,
1.36pm: misted the mushroom again. Time to harvest the mushrooms!
Procedures:
First, the black ring was twisted.
Second, the mushrooms were gently pulled out.
Second, the mushrooms were gently pulled out.
Third,
the mushrooms were stir-fried with oyster sauce. Fresh and Yummy!
12-5-12,
2.13pm: scrapped the white sawdust off. Misted the sawdust. Capped the sawdust.
Will continue to monitor its growth.
My Reflections: Throughout this project, I learnt many of the common values such as perseverance, patience and persistance. However, there is another thing I learnt which is more obscure and less heard of. I learnt that often, too much of something can inhibit growth of its supposedly beneficial effects. For example, the mushrooms did not grow when I misted them daily but after I left them alone for 4 days, they finally grew. This shows that too much water and care can end up doing harm instead of good.
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