XXL MycMonster Grow Kit

Step 1: Inoculation of MycMonster

Reducing the risk of contamination is crucial in successful mushroom cultivation, and you can achieve this by working in a small, clean, and draught-free space, ideally using a Still-Air Box (SAB) and taking thoughtful steps to reduce the chance of cross contamination.

Before starting, cleanliness is key. Shower, clean clothes. Your kit contains hand wipes for cleaning your hands and forearms - wipe them for 40-60 seconds.

Next, prepare your syringe by attaching the sterile needle we've given you. Your MycMonster already has its Peel 'n' Inject sticker on the bag. Break up the substrate so it falls under the sticker (this helps prevent piercing both sides of the bag). Peel the sticker back about 3/4 of the way, inject into the centre with a 12ml gourmet spore syringe (or a smaller syringe, as long as it's dense with spores), then press the sticker back down. If you notice any creases under the sticker, peel it back and reapply.

Step 2: Colonisation of MycMonster

After inoculating your MycMonster, it's time for colonisation.

Colonisation Temperatures

Temperature is vital for healthy and fast mycelium growth. Use this table to find the ideal temperature for your inoculation method.

• Spore Syringe : ideal temp 23C (give or take a couple of degrees), expected time 10-14 Days (Sometimes takes longer)
• AC / LC / G2G : ideal temp 26C, expected time 7-10 Days

For faster mycelium growth with Substrate B: on day 7 after inoculation thoroughly mix the substrate in the bag. Use both hands to rub the bag, breaking the contents and mycelium into a fine, loose crumble. The finer and more evenly mixed the crumble (achieved by repeatedly flipping the bag), the more uniform the mycelial distribution and the faster the colonisation. Do not repeat the step more times than this - repeating it can stall growth. Leave the bag to continue colonising afterwards.

Step 3: Post Colonisation Stage

When your MycMonster is done colonising, it's now time to move on to fruiting some mushrooms! As the MycMonster is designed to be fruited within the same bag, we first need to hydrate the 'cake' of white mycelium.

Step 4: The Best Bit... Fruiting Your Mushrooms!

Maintaining a temperature of around 21C (give or take a couple of degrees) during the fruiting stage is ideal for best results with many popular species of mushrooms. Essential levels of humidity will naturally build up inside the bag (or tent) from the water you allowed to soak into the substrate during dunking.

Mist and fan: Misting 3-6 times a day and fanning is recommended for best results. Don't start misting until at least 24 hours have passed since you dunked, as there will be loads of water in your substrate at this point and you could waterlog it. After that, open the bag (or tent), give the cake a fine mist until it glistens, fan in some fresh air (a wave of your hand or a piece of card is plenty) and close it back up. If you notice any excess water, dab it up with tissue paper.

Humidity and Air Exchange

Humidity and FAE (fresh air exchange) are extremely important for pinning and healthy mushroom development, as is temperature and light. They all need to work in harmony.

In the bag, we suggest cutting a 1cm slit through both sides of the bag near the top (in the XXL Grow Tent, the filtered gap at the corner does this job) and placing an electric fan somewhere in the room on a low setting (but don't go out buying one if you don't already have one). Even opening a window from time to time can be great for creating some air currents which will help increase the FAE inside the bag or tent.

Light and Environmental Conditions

Your mushrooms will need light to grow. We recommend indirect sunlight or a 5000-6500K LED or fluorescent light a few feet away - if the light is heating the substrate, move it further away.

If you notice the inside of your bag looking dry, it may be due to the fan being too close, the holes you cut being too big, or grow lights (if using them) being too close and hot. Observe what's happening and adjust your setup as required. Fantastic results depend on it.

Pinning and Growth

After around 3-7 days, you'll hopefully begin to see lots of tiny white dots. These are hyphal knots that will develop into primordia, aka mushroom pins. It will take 4-5 days for them to grow into fully mature mushrooms ready for harvest.

During this time, they'll let you know if something isn't quite right. Fuzzy mycelium at the base of the mushrooms and/or thin stems are an indication that more FAE is needed. Increasing the fan speed or length of the cuts on the bag (or opening the tent's corner gap a little wider) might be something to try.

Don't worry about any mushrooms growing around the sides and bottom of the cake. You'll still be able to harvest them. If you want to give your mushrooms more room to grow next time, consider fruiting horizontally in the XXL Grow Tent instead of the bag.

Harvesting and Subsequent Flushes

When the veil beneath one of your mushroom caps is about to tear off, this is when you should harvest your first flush. For best results, you should repeat the dunking process after each harvest. If you're fruiting horizontally in the XXL Grow Tent, the bag has been cut away, so dunk the cake in a pot of fresh water instead - a couple of plates on top, a lid on the pot, 6-24 hours - then give it a little rinse and put it back on its foil. If you've taken good care of your grow kit, you should achieve multiple flushes of beautiful mushrooms before the nutrients are all used up.

Expected Yields

With proper care and optimal conditions, the MycMonster can produce impressive harvests across multiple flushes. Remember that each flush typically produces less than the previous one, with the first flush usually being the most abundant.