How do you prepare the coffee grounds to grow oyster mushrooms?
Hello, and thank you for your comment!
I have been working at growing mushrooms on coffee grounds without any preparation. If you can get them started before they mold, your chances of success are much greater. Storing the grounds outside in the winter keeps the mold down.
There are many options available including pasteurization and sterilization. These options are expensive and labor intensive. I have had the greatest success with mixing fresh coffee grounds and oyster spawn in burlap bags. Moisture content is tricky and the burlap wicks moisture where needed. Oyster mushrooms will out compete mold, but it slows the flush. Good luck and let us know how you do,
Dean
Dean, thanks for the information and pictures. I needed a delectable edible mushroom for a story taking place in Montana, and think I have found the one!
Found some Oysters on the river in the Southwest part of the state. Gallatin River. Tried to leave a pic, dont know if it worked. What is the groth rate of wild Oyster mushrooms. We have a few good day of weather before it gets cold again…….is it worth going out again this weekend?
Hey Fisk, glad to hear from you again.
The oysters will flush until the weather gets hot. Then they will rest and flush when it gets cool again. They grow fast and it will be worth your time to go out again. When you know a mushroom is flushing, it is a great time to find new patches. They will come back year after year until the tree is gone. Oysters are great because they are not so dependent on rain to flush because they get their moisture from the tree!
Dean
Thanks Dean! Will give it a try this Saturday and Sunday. Is there a way to post picture or send them to you for sharing? Thank you for the web site! Great place to go for answers.
Fisk
Happy to help!
I will set up a way to send pics through the site, but for now you can attach them to my personal email at montanamushrooms@gmail.com and I will post them.
Happy hunting
Dean
Sorry… Any luck with the Oysters?
yep, I posted them on the site! I saw a couple clusters myself, but not where I could pick them!
Hi Dean, no morels yet here in central Montana. Shouldn’t be long. Anyhow I believe I found an oyster this evening but it’s very white-well, cream colored you could say. It has gills and looks like the ones you have pictures of. How can I post a picture for help identifying? Thanks again, Dan
Hello Dan, send the pics to my email montanamushrooms@gmail.com
I will look at at them and help if I can.
Dean
We have had no luck in finding Morrels.. But have had some Oysters…Ive heard that you can grow these Oysters in straw? True? I know that moisture is a plus but not sure about the rest. Can I take the spores that I have on a paper towel and start my own Oysters? What about throwing in the whole Mushroom? any Ideas?Robin in Whitehall
Hello Robin,
Whitehall is really dry this year and I have not heard of anyone finding morels yet.
Oysters grow really well on straw. They will grow from spores or pieces of the mushroom. Oysters are very aggressive and start fairly easy. I like to inoculate with everything I have to increase the chances of success. If you get some started now they might flush this fall.
Good luck,
Dean
Thankyou… I’m gonna give her a shot.. Happy Hunting Everyone… Thanxs again
The part where the mushroom is attached to the tree will be the most likely to grow. This is true of most mushrooms.
Hi Dean,
I found a site that is growing Oyster mushrooms, my question is some were tan to orange brown, I am assuming a missed opportunity. The others were white and slightly slimy with lots of critters crawling including a slug. I am new with Oysters, is the slimy texture a sign to leave them and wait for the next batch? Thanks.
Hello,
The oysters I have found lately have been spent. Dried up or wormy and rotting. This sounds like your situation.
The good news is that the oyster prefers fall and will grow from the same trees year after year until the host is gone. The fall flush is more reliable and the mushrooms are better eating. I spread those old shrooms around to other trees. If you want, send a pic to my email: montanamushrooms@gmail.com
Dean
Another note on your comment; The all white oyster with the common name of “angel wings” that usually grows on aspen is in controversy right now. There has been reports of bio accumulation of a toxin when consumed over a long period. I talked to Larry Evans about this recently, and we noted that some of the toxicity reports we get are sometimes based on a local phenomena, individual tolerances or a very localized variety. I have always suspected outside toxins(weed killers, bug killers, fertilizers) on these vague toxin problems. Not to be taken lightly until cleared up. There are plenty of brown oysters to go around and I have never heard of a problem with eating them!
hi Dean, are teh angel’s wings in your Montana woods teh same as teh japanese ones which are toxic if your kidne’s don’t work? “The mushroom had no reported cases of toxicity until August 2004, when the mushroom was known to have caused encepalopathy in patients with chronic kidney diseases in northern Japan (Gejyo et al., 2005; Kato et al., 2004; Nomoto et al., 2007)” http://healing-mushrooms.net/archives/pleurocybella-porrigens.html
Hello, and welcome to Montana mushrooms!
I used to eat the angel wings we find around here. Ever since the news about possible accumulation of toxins, I have removed them from my edibles list. plenty of safe edibles to find and consume!
Thank you for your comment,
Dean
Hi Dean,
I started growing oyster mushrooms 3 days back on spent coffee grounds but recently I read somewhere that this technique fails many times as some green colored mould starts to take over. Do you know some measures that I can take in advance to prevent that from happening to my mushrooms. Also, if I start seeing some green colouration, how do I kill that unwanted fungi?
Hi Pranshu,
The best way to beat mold is to help the mycelium grow as fast as possible. Oyster spawn is aggressive and will usually beat out the mold. The other option is to put it somewhere too cold for mold but warm enough for the spawn. Oyster spawn will take cool temps and mold will not! I have read you can dab mold with diluted hydrogen peroxide, but be careful because it will kill mycelium also.
Happy growing,
Dean
Hey Dean,
Met you today on the East Gallatin. Really nice to talk with you about mushroom hunting and your website. I will try to send photos of the oysters and morels I harvested today.
Sincerely, Troy
Hey Troy, and welcome to Montana Mushrooms!
It was great to talk to you in the field. Us mushroom nuts don’t always have someone to visit with about mushrooms. I received your pictures and will post them soon. We also talked about cooking mushrooms, and I plan posting more about that part of mushrooming on the site.
See ya in the woods,
Dean
i have been growing oysters for two years now and am getting the hang of it. next spring im going to start selling them at the Whitefish farmers market. so far i have grown whites, greys and blues and the greys have done the best, then the blues and finally the whites but they all grew pretty good and near the end of the summer this year i was getting more mushrooms than me and my nephew and my sister-in-law could eat so i started giving them away but then found out they dry really good and when u rehydrate them they come back 90-95 pecent of fresh and taste fabulous so next year every one that doesnt sell gets dried and saved for winter. Since starting eating lots of mushrooms my digestive system has fixed itself and i feel more healthy than i have in years. they are high in protein, fiber and have anti tumour properties and boost your immune system and just are all around good things and they smell great both before and after cooking. I hope to turn this hobby into a business and maybe branch out to shitakes and enokies too.
Hello, and thank you for your awesome comment about Oyster Mushrooms!
Oysters are as underrated as morels are overrated. I am happy that you have figured out how to grow them and now you will learn how to market them. Hopefully this site has been helpful with your learning. Farmers markets are the way to go locally. Mushrooms are so good for us and I am always trying to spread the word. Please let us know how you do on growing other types and how you do selling them.
Happy Growing,
Dean
Fungus found! -the evening before the snow of course! I’m 90% sure it was an oyster -growing on an old stump (prob. cottonwood) Are there any oyster look-alikes that I should be aware of? I might try to gather a couple of meals of oysters this spring. I generally find quite a few, but have never picked them. I tried some Wal Mart dehydrated oysters and they were really woody and lacked flavor. I would like to pick a few small tender ones and give them a real try.
As a bonus, I found the remains of over a dozen lg. puffballs. At least I know where to look for them this summer. Should be a good one. We have the moisture now.
The Morels are out this weekend in Central Montana. I think I found some oyster mushrooms today in some trees down by the river but I’m not good at telling for sure. Any tips? Can I email some pictures to another shroomer?
I have found what I believe to be Oysters growing on dead cottonwood can you help me identify before feeding them to my kids LOL
I have sent photos to your email thanks
Hello! I have found your web site very helpful. I live in the west Texas plains. For Christmas my brother got my dad a pre-inoculated oyster kit. We loved watching it grow. My question is this – both straw and coffee are both plentiful around here… which do oysters prefer? Also we have been saving our coffee grounds since it is way below optimal temp. As long as we repasturize it before inoculating, is there a problem in using older saved grounds? Thanks in advance, alex
Hello and thank you for the compliment! Oysters are easy to grow on straw. They grow fast and produce quickly. They also grow really well on coffee ,but are prone to mold and tougher to flush. Straw is much easier to start with and a mixture of the two might be the way to go once you get a feel for it. Older coffee grounds will be okay if pasteurized, as long as mold has not completely consumed them. Happy growing and let us know how you do, Dean
hello again dean, this is a followup on my previous post. I have been taking my mushrooms to the whitefish farmers market every Tuesday and have sold out every week. I have switched from straw to oak wood pellets, less labor and have been doing pretty good this year although not as good as I was hoping to. Still have trouble coming up with saleable amounts of mushrooms every week, some weeks have lots some not so much. I learned almost everything I know off the internet and sites like this one, oysters are easy, I would suggest anyone interested to start with them and move on from there.
Hello Dan the Mushroom man!
Glad to hear that you are still at it. I hope your county allows mushroom sales at farmers markets for a long time to come. Gallatin county does not allow it at all. I am hoping to do something about that issue this year.
Keep on growing,
Dean
I just found some oysters on the Gallatin! Do they stick to one spot or is it best to look around the area a lot more?
Dean, new to the mushroom game, we’ll not new but just didn’t retain what my mom told me when I was young, I’ve got oyster mushrooms growing on a big cotton wood stump by my house. I checked everything pictures that I could find on oysters, going to try them tomorrow. Just starting with just a spoon full first though. Was reading some of your information to people and was wondering if you can explain to me what you mean by “ flushing “ really interested in learning more about mushrooms. We harvest morels and shaggy manes but there’s other mushrooms that I find around here that I’m not sure of, mostly in the fall, that I will sent pictures of when I get them. Thanks
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Your source for information about Mushrooms in Montana.
How do you prepare the coffee grounds to grow oyster mushrooms?
Hello, and thank you for your comment!
I have been working at growing mushrooms on coffee grounds without any preparation. If you can get them started before they mold, your chances of success are much greater. Storing the grounds outside in the winter keeps the mold down.
There are many options available including pasteurization and sterilization. These options are expensive and labor intensive. I have had the greatest success with mixing fresh coffee grounds and oyster spawn in burlap bags. Moisture content is tricky and the burlap wicks moisture where needed. Oyster mushrooms will out compete mold, but it slows the flush. Good luck and let us know how you do,
Dean
Dean, thanks for the information and pictures. I needed a delectable edible mushroom for a story taking place in Montana, and think I have found the one!
Found some Oysters on the river in the Southwest part of the state. Gallatin River. Tried to leave a pic, dont know if it worked. What is the groth rate of wild Oyster mushrooms. We have a few good day of weather before it gets cold again…….is it worth going out again this weekend?
Hey Fisk, glad to hear from you again.
The oysters will flush until the weather gets hot. Then they will rest and flush when it gets cool again. They grow fast and it will be worth your time to go out again. When you know a mushroom is flushing, it is a great time to find new patches. They will come back year after year until the tree is gone. Oysters are great because they are not so dependent on rain to flush because they get their moisture from the tree!
Dean
Thanks Dean! Will give it a try this Saturday and Sunday. Is there a way to post picture or send them to you for sharing? Thank you for the web site! Great place to go for answers.
Fisk
Happy to help!
I will set up a way to send pics through the site, but for now you can attach them to my personal email at montanamushrooms@gmail.com and I will post them.
Happy hunting
Dean
Sorry… Any luck with the Oysters?
yep, I posted them on the site! I saw a couple clusters myself, but not where I could pick them!
Hi Dean, no morels yet here in central Montana. Shouldn’t be long. Anyhow I believe I found an oyster this evening but it’s very white-well, cream colored you could say. It has gills and looks like the ones you have pictures of. How can I post a picture for help identifying? Thanks again, Dan
Hello Dan, send the pics to my email montanamushrooms@gmail.com
I will look at at them and help if I can.
Dean
We have had no luck in finding Morrels.. But have had some Oysters…Ive heard that you can grow these Oysters in straw? True? I know that moisture is a plus but not sure about the rest. Can I take the spores that I have on a paper towel and start my own Oysters? What about throwing in the whole Mushroom? any Ideas?Robin in Whitehall
Hello Robin,
Whitehall is really dry this year and I have not heard of anyone finding morels yet.
Oysters grow really well on straw. They will grow from spores or pieces of the mushroom. Oysters are very aggressive and start fairly easy. I like to inoculate with everything I have to increase the chances of success. If you get some started now they might flush this fall.
Good luck,
Dean
Thankyou… I’m gonna give her a shot.. Happy Hunting Everyone… Thanxs again
The part where the mushroom is attached to the tree will be the most likely to grow. This is true of most mushrooms.
Hi Dean,
I found a site that is growing Oyster mushrooms, my question is some were tan to orange brown, I am assuming a missed opportunity. The others were white and slightly slimy with lots of critters crawling including a slug. I am new with Oysters, is the slimy texture a sign to leave them and wait for the next batch? Thanks.
Hello,
The oysters I have found lately have been spent. Dried up or wormy and rotting. This sounds like your situation.
The good news is that the oyster prefers fall and will grow from the same trees year after year until the host is gone. The fall flush is more reliable and the mushrooms are better eating. I spread those old shrooms around to other trees. If you want, send a pic to my email: montanamushrooms@gmail.com
Dean
Another note on your comment; The all white oyster with the common name of “angel wings” that usually grows on aspen is in controversy right now. There has been reports of bio accumulation of a toxin when consumed over a long period. I talked to Larry Evans about this recently, and we noted that some of the toxicity reports we get are sometimes based on a local phenomena, individual tolerances or a very localized variety. I have always suspected outside toxins(weed killers, bug killers, fertilizers) on these vague toxin problems. Not to be taken lightly until cleared up. There are plenty of brown oysters to go around and I have never heard of a problem with eating them!
hi Dean, are teh angel’s wings in your Montana woods teh same as teh japanese ones which are toxic if your kidne’s don’t work? “The mushroom had no reported cases of toxicity until August 2004, when the mushroom was known to have caused encepalopathy in patients with chronic kidney diseases in northern Japan (Gejyo et al., 2005; Kato et al., 2004; Nomoto et al., 2007)”
http://healing-mushrooms.net/archives/pleurocybella-porrigens.html
Hello, and welcome to Montana mushrooms!
I used to eat the angel wings we find around here. Ever since the news about possible accumulation of toxins, I have removed them from my edibles list. plenty of safe edibles to find and consume!
Thank you for your comment,
Dean
Hi Dean,
I started growing oyster mushrooms 3 days back on spent coffee grounds but recently I read somewhere that this technique fails many times as some green colored mould starts to take over. Do you know some measures that I can take in advance to prevent that from happening to my mushrooms. Also, if I start seeing some green colouration, how do I kill that unwanted fungi?
Hi Pranshu,
The best way to beat mold is to help the mycelium grow as fast as possible. Oyster spawn is aggressive and will usually beat out the mold. The other option is to put it somewhere too cold for mold but warm enough for the spawn. Oyster spawn will take cool temps and mold will not! I have read you can dab mold with diluted hydrogen peroxide, but be careful because it will kill mycelium also.
Happy growing,
Dean
Hey Dean,
Met you today on the East Gallatin. Really nice to talk with you about mushroom hunting and your website. I will try to send photos of the oysters and morels I harvested today.
Sincerely, Troy
Hey Troy, and welcome to Montana Mushrooms!
It was great to talk to you in the field. Us mushroom nuts don’t always have someone to visit with about mushrooms. I received your pictures and will post them soon. We also talked about cooking mushrooms, and I plan posting more about that part of mushrooming on the site.
See ya in the woods,
Dean
i have been growing oysters for two years now and am getting the hang of it. next spring im going to start selling them at the Whitefish farmers market. so far i have grown whites, greys and blues and the greys have done the best, then the blues and finally the whites but they all grew pretty good and near the end of the summer this year i was getting more mushrooms than me and my nephew and my sister-in-law could eat so i started giving them away but then found out they dry really good and when u rehydrate them they come back 90-95 pecent of fresh and taste fabulous so next year every one that doesnt sell gets dried and saved for winter. Since starting eating lots of mushrooms my digestive system has fixed itself and i feel more healthy than i have in years. they are high in protein, fiber and have anti tumour properties and boost your immune system and just are all around good things and they smell great both before and after cooking. I hope to turn this hobby into a business and maybe branch out to shitakes and enokies too.
Hello, and thank you for your awesome comment about Oyster Mushrooms!
Oysters are as underrated as morels are overrated. I am happy that you have figured out how to grow them and now you will learn how to market them. Hopefully this site has been helpful with your learning. Farmers markets are the way to go locally. Mushrooms are so good for us and I am always trying to spread the word. Please let us know how you do on growing other types and how you do selling them.
Happy Growing,
Dean
Fungus found! -the evening before the snow of course! I’m 90% sure it was an oyster -growing on an old stump (prob. cottonwood) Are there any oyster look-alikes that I should be aware of? I might try to gather a couple of meals of oysters this spring. I generally find quite a few, but have never picked them. I tried some Wal Mart dehydrated oysters and they were really woody and lacked flavor. I would like to pick a few small tender ones and give them a real try.
As a bonus, I found the remains of over a dozen lg. puffballs. At least I know where to look for them this summer. Should be a good one. We have the moisture now.
The Morels are out this weekend in Central Montana. I think I found some oyster mushrooms today in some trees down by the river but I’m not good at telling for sure. Any tips? Can I email some pictures to another shroomer?
You can send mushroom pictures to Montanamushrooms@gmail.com
I have found what I believe to be Oysters growing on dead cottonwood can you help me identify before feeding them to my kids LOL
I have sent photos to your email thanks
Hello! I have found your web site very helpful. I live in the west Texas plains. For Christmas my brother got my dad a pre-inoculated oyster kit. We loved watching it grow. My question is this – both straw and coffee are both plentiful around here… which do oysters prefer? Also we have been saving our coffee grounds since it is way below optimal temp. As long as we repasturize it before inoculating, is there a problem in using older saved grounds? Thanks in advance, alex
Hello and thank you for the compliment! Oysters are easy to grow on straw. They grow fast and produce quickly. They also grow really well on coffee ,but are prone to mold and tougher to flush. Straw is much easier to start with and a mixture of the two might be the way to go once you get a feel for it. Older coffee grounds will be okay if pasteurized, as long as mold has not completely consumed them. Happy growing and let us know how you do, Dean
hello again dean, this is a followup on my previous post. I have been taking my mushrooms to the whitefish farmers market every Tuesday and have sold out every week. I have switched from straw to oak wood pellets, less labor and have been doing pretty good this year although not as good as I was hoping to. Still have trouble coming up with saleable amounts of mushrooms every week, some weeks have lots some not so much. I learned almost everything I know off the internet and sites like this one, oysters are easy, I would suggest anyone interested to start with them and move on from there.
Hello Dan the Mushroom man!
Glad to hear that you are still at it. I hope your county allows mushroom sales at farmers markets for a long time to come. Gallatin county does not allow it at all. I am hoping to do something about that issue this year.
Keep on growing,
Dean
I just found some oysters on the Gallatin! Do they stick to one spot or is it best to look around the area a lot more?
Dean, new to the mushroom game, we’ll not new but just didn’t retain what my mom told me when I was young, I’ve got oyster mushrooms growing on a big cotton wood stump by my house. I checked everything pictures that I could find on oysters, going to try them tomorrow. Just starting with just a spoon full first though. Was reading some of your information to people and was wondering if you can explain to me what you mean by “ flushing “ really interested in learning more about mushrooms. We harvest morels and shaggy manes but there’s other mushrooms that I find around here that I’m not sure of, mostly in the fall, that I will sent pictures of when I get them. Thanks