When To Harvest Oyster Mushrooms – Guide On The Best Harvest Time

Do you know when to harvest oyster mushrooms? In this guide, you will learn or find out how and when you can correctly harvest oyster mushrooms.

One mushroom variety that is commonly loved by most gardeners is oyster mushrooms. When it comes to growing oyster mushrooms, it can be a fairly easy thing to do so far you have the right knowledge on how to go about it.

So, once you’re done growing your oyster mushroom, the right time to harvest is also important to know. This is so you harvest them properly and you don’t keep them past their due date.

So, in this article, we will be looking into when to harvest oyster mushrooms. So, keep on reading to know more about the harvesting period for oyster mushrooms.

When To Harvest Oyster Mushrooms

Getting to know when to harvest oyster mushrooms is pretty important so you don’t keep them past their due date harvest them too early.

So, the stage we gardeners are always anticipating when growing our oyster mushroom is the harvesting period. We would like to know when to harvest oyster mushrooms.

Once, you’ve successfully introduced your spawn and inoculated it into the growing medium of your choice, then your mushroom should begin to fruit.

The fruiting stage is the phase to look out for as this is the stage you should start getting ready to harvest your oyster mushrooms. This is because as fruiting begins, things tend to move very fast so far you are maintaining nicely hydrated fungus.

So, fruiting usually commences once the substrate has been entirely colonized by the spawn. This fruiting you see is the last surviving response of the mycelium.

During this fruiting period, you should begin to notice your mushrooms growing bigger every hour. Therefore, it is imperative you keep a close eye on your mushrooms and start preparing to harvest your oyster mushrooms. This is so your mushroom doesn’t grow too big and dry.

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How Do You Know When Oyster Mushrooms Are Ready?

So, to know when to harvest oyster mushrooms, there are some physical characteristics you should notice.

Once you notice your oyster mushrooms are starting to flatten out at the top of the edges or they begin to turn upwards, then it’s time to harvest. They should be harvested at this point and harvesting should not be delayed so they don’t start to drop lots of spores.

Although, this stage may be quite confusing to judge particularly if it’s your first time growing oyster mushroom. But with frequent practice and the right guide, you should become familiar with it.

Additionally, if you see that your oyster mushrooms are growing larger, then harvesting time is set. Also, if they are beginning to dry out or they are dropping lots of dust, then it’s time to harvest. Drying out is a sign that the oyster mushroom has been left to grow longer and should have been harvested sooner. But you can still go ahead and harvest them.

Furthermore, when you buy a complete mushroom kit, it usually comes with instructions for you to know the particular time frame for picking your oyster mushroom. You can follow this time frame and work on it.

You can also make an estimate of when your oyster mushroom should be ready depending on the conditions your mushroom grew under.

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How To Harvest Oyster Mushrooms

When it comes to harvesting your oyster mushroom, you should aim to harvest the edge of the mushroom cap once you see these caps have begun to flatten out. These mushroom caps can be twisted with your hands or you can cut the cluster off with a sharp knife or scissors.

How Long Do Oyster Mushrooms Take To Grow?

Oyster mushrooms are easy to grow and they are fast growers. They can grow as fast as 20 days or they may take some weeks. However, how fast they grow usually depends on the type of species you’re growing and the process by which you choose to grow them.

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Here are a few things to consider you should know about how long your oyster mushroom may take to grow:

• If you’re just buying a complete mushroom grow kit and just fruiting, then it can take around 10 days for the mushroom to form.
• The type of oyster mushroom species you choose can also determine the period length they tend to grow.
• If you are using a low nutrient regime, then it may take longer to grow.
• Using a high nutrient substrate on the other hand can increase your yield and fruiting can happen faster. However, a high nutrient plan requires sterilizing media, and a lab is required for inoculations.
• Some substrate can also determine how fast your oyster mushroom can grow. Some of these substrates include straw, toilet paper, woodchips, etc. These substrates can take around 3 to 5 weeks to grow. But using substrates such as logs for instance can take about 6 months or more to grow.

How Many Times Can You Harvest Oyster Mushrooms?

You can harvest your mushroom about 3 times before the mycelium fruit is exhausted. And you can get a new flush of mushrooms approximately every 10 days for 5 to weeks depending on the variety of oyster mushrooms.

How Do You Store Oyster Mushrooms After Harvesting?

Now that we know when and how to harvest our oyster mushrooms, then let’s get to know how to store them.

So, after harvesting your oyster mushroom, you should wrap them in a damp paper towel. Then put them in a brown paper bag. Once you do this, it will stop them from drying out.

Then you should keep your wrapped oyster mushroom at the bottom of the fridge with other vegetables. This part shouldn’t be as cold as other parts of the fridge.

When To Harvest Oyster Mushrooms Conclusion

Oyster mushrooms are great-tasting mushrooms that you and your family can eat and they are very healthy. Harvesting these mushrooms is pretty easy and we have given you some good tips on how to go about it. So, do well to look through our guide.

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