A long overdue item on by bucket list has been to try growing mushrooms. The kits you purchase from a store are always fun, but I wanted to see how those are made. When the opportunity came to organize a mushroom growing demo event for the Penn State Master Gardeners of Allegheny County, I figured this was my chance.

I reached out to Betty Robinson of Robinson Acres, a Washington County Master Gardener and on March 19, 2016 she came to our Pittsburgh office to teach about 25 attendees just how simple it can be to grow your own mushroom on your very own toilet paper. Apparently you can even reuse them to continue to grow your own using re inoculated toilet paper or other growing medium. The oyster mushroom spawns came from FieldForest.net.

I am off to step 5 below. Next up, lets see how it goes, I will be posting pictures for every step along the way.

Instructions

1. Bring water to a boil and dip a roll of toilet paper into the hot water, remove and place on paper plates.
2. Once it cools, place the plate and toilet paper in the breathable bag.
3. Fill the toilet roll tube with mushroom spawn and sprinkle remaining spawn around the roll.
4. Close the bag and secure it with a rubber band.
5. Place this bag in a dark closet at 70 degrees. If the storage temperature is cooler, it will take longer for the toilet paper to become covered in mycleium.
6. Wait 3 weeks, maybe 4, until you see a nice covering of mycelium over the entire roll.
7. Place the bag in the refrigerator for 3 days.
8. Remove bag from refrigerator and open the top of bag to breathe, do not fold down to help keep the moisture in.
9. Wait 7-10 days for the mushrooms to sprout. Keep the roll moist by misting it twice a day. If it becomes leathery looking, mist more often.
10. Mushrooms will sprout in a little over a week.