GrowWhat's included with my Swap&Grow bucket ?
Your bucket includes a ready to fruit, all in one mushroom grow bucket.
We will provide you with simple instructions on how to best care for, harvest and store your oyster mushrooms and some fun facts about the changing ‘species of the month’. Coming soon - a recipe section on our website in case you need help working out what to do with all your fancy ‘shrooms! What’s inside the bucket?
Swap&Grow mushroom buckets come complete with everything they need to produce gourmet oyster mushrooms.
Avoid the temptation to open the lid - as this will increase the risk of wild spores and contaminants entering your grow bucket and spoiling the process. We pack your grow buckets with a specially pasteurised growing medium, inoculate it with oyster mushroom spores and then incubate to allow the mycelium to colonise the growing medium. We source our growing mediums locally and carefully to ensure they are free from chemicals and high in nutrients. What should I do when I get my Swap&Grow home?
Choose a visible spot in your home as your mushrooms will grow quickly and you don’t want to miss any of the magic!
Once you’ve decided on a spot for your grow bucket, peel off all the white sterile stickers. This will allow the mushrooms to access oxygen and start growing out each of the fruiting windows (fancy name for the holes in your bucket). Where should I put my Swap&Grow for best results?
Mushrooms love humid environments away from direct light. Where possible keep your grow bucket away from drafts and big windows.
You will love watching the mushrooms bloom and transform and sharing the excitement with the whole family - consider keeping your grow bucket as a centre piece on the kitchen table or our favourite - on top of the fridge. Oyster mushrooms prefer to have some indirect light - so treat them like an indoor plant How often should I water/spray my Swap&Grow?
To keep the humidity just right for your mushrooms to grow, we suggest lightly spraying your mushrooms as soon as they have begun to fruit 2 -3 times a day.
If you miss a day, don’t panic, but remember humidity is very important for your mushrooms growth. It may help to keep your bucket somewhere you can see it to help you remember. How soon will my Swap&Grow produce mushrooms?
Swap&Grow buckets are close to fruiting at the time of collection or drop off.
Within the first week of having it at home you should see pins (fancy word for baby mushrooms) forming. Most buckets will produce their first harvestable mushrooms within the first week. Just like us, every bucket is slightly different, if you have questions or concerns about how your mushrooms are growing, feel free to flick us a message on socials or via email with a photo and we’ll get back to you with advice as soon as we can. How many times will my Swap&Grow flush?
Mushrooms are alive! So it’s tricky to predict exactly how many your bucket will produce. That said, most varieties of oyster mushrooms will flush (fancy word for a crop of mushrooms) a few times with the correct care.
It’s normal that each flush will produce less and sometimes smaller mushrooms - everything after your first bumper harvest is a bonus! The colour of my mushrooms changed between flushes, is that normal?
Mushrooms are magical! Their colour can change based on their exposure to light and also between flushes. Colour will also most certainly change between buckets as you experience loads of different species of oyster mushrooms - from blue to pink and white!
What happens if no mushrooms grow?
If you haven’t seen any activity after having your bucket at home for over a week, send us a photo of your fruiting windows via socials or email and we’ll work out a solution.
How will I know when my bucket is finished?
Your bucket will simply stop pushing out any new pins when the magical mycelium (fancy word for the living network of mushroom roots growing inside your bucket ) is finished producing.
We’ve arranged our subscription monthly to ensure your bucket is finished and you’ve had a short break before you drop off your finished bucket and pick up a new new variety. EatHow do I know when to pick my mushrooms?
Oyster mushrooms grow from pins and become ready to eat really quickly. But bigger isn't always better.
The general rule of thumb is to begin harvesting your mushrooms when the caps start to flatten out - but before the edges begin to turn upward. But don't worry too much about getting it perfect - its a great learning process. Oyster mushroom harvesting should occur 3-5 days after you see the first mushrooms begin to form. What is the best way to harvest my mushrooms?
Hold the mushroom by the stem and pull them straight off the bucket. The stalk will pull out from the fruiting window until it comes away completely.
Using this method, rather than cutting them with a knife, can help increase the chance and yield of a second or third flush (fancy word for another round of mushrooms growing from your fruiting windows) You might get a little bit of straw from the growing substrate - if necessary, trim this off along with any excess stalk before eating. How should I store my mushrooms?
Once harvested your mushrooms are best eaten fresh! or stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
We love to pick ours and put them straight in the pan - nothing beats bucket to belly :) Do I need to clean my mushrooms before eating them?
No.
But sometimes a little bit of substrate (fancy word for the material the oyster mushroom spawn is growing and feeding on inside your bucket) will come away with the stem of the mushroom cluster when pulled from the fruiting window. You can just slice it off with a knife and pop it in your compost. What's so good about oyster mushrooms?
They are super tasty and nutritious !
Oyster mushrooms are known to boost your immune system, improve strength and regulation and are good for brain health. Oyster mushrooms are also:
RepeatWhere can I get my Swap&Grow?
We have launched Swap&Grow mushroom buckets hyper-locally to the Lismore community.
We offer pickup directly from our neighbourhood urban farm - or delivery within Lismore + $10 But if you are not in Lismore we are still keen to get mushrooms into your home! Contact us to discuss setting up a POD 'point of distribution' to your neighbourhood in surrounding areas. As we expand our distribution Swap&Grow will offer deliveries to Alstonville, Ballina, Byron, Mullumbimby and beyond as required. What happens to my bucket after I drop it off?
At the end of a month, when you’ve enjoyed all the mushrooms your bucket can grow - the cycle begins again:
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