Getting [the most] mushrooms from your LMBs.

The best place for your LMB’s is a shady spot with a strong windbreak and water available. Nearby foliage is great too. The north side of a wall is better than the south side. Avoid areas that remain puddles for more than a day following a heavy rain. Short-lived puddles are good locations. Avoid contaminated areas, e.g. runoff from the road.

Place your blocks in contact with the ground a few inches apart. As long as the blocks are touching the ground, they will be less prone to drying out. You can stack them 2-high but the higher blocks will be more likely to dry out.

Give them a good soak. On dry days, hose them again.

Harvest mushrooms when they look like the versions of them you see on this website. Folks tend to harvest too late, and outside this means more bugs!! For most of our mushrooms, this means that the margin (edge) of the cap is still a bit furled up. Once it flattens out, it’s still very good to eat, but you don’t want it to go any longer. If musrhooms have a bad odor or are slimy or with big brown spots, leave them for the slugs. If a mushroom has some spots on it, just trim those spots off.

MAKE SURE THE MUSRHOOMS ARE GROWING FROM THE BLOCKS and not from the ground beneath them. It is highly unlikely that any mushroom that grows from an intact mycopolitan LMB is something other than the species we grow, but it is possible that broken down blocks can become infected with a species that might be toxic. If you are unsure, consult an expert. Once these blocks are in your possession, we are no longer responsible for them!

ALWAYS COOK MUSHROOMS.

Learn more about our species here: mycopolitan.com/our-mushrooms

Once your blocks break down, you can incorporate them into your soil.

ASSORTED LEFTOVER MUSHROOM BLOCKS

This will be a mix of leftover blocks of any/all of the following: King Trumpet, Shiitake, Chestnut, Pioppino, Lions Mane, Blue Oyster, Black Pearl, Reishi, Beech, Maitake. and Oyster grown on hardwood sawdust, with an average of 20-30% supplementation with non-gmo soy hulls and/or wheat bran. The mycelium still has life, and you may get some additional mushroom fruitings. f you’d like a good shot at mushrooms, order your delivery before cool, wet weather arrives. But most folks order this stuff to be used as a compost additive, a mulch, or to help loosen up clay soil.

Because these blocks are higher supplement, they contain more nitrogen which means that left in a pile, they will heat up due to microbial action and break down into dark brown fluffy, carbonaceous “soil” after a year or two. We’ve seen temperatures around 130 in the summer. This is not hot enough to be considered “hot compost,” but there is nothing in it that technically requires higher temperatures: no manure, food scraps etc. It is a wonderful addition to a hot composting operation that incorporates higher nitrogen components. It’s also the best worm bedding you’ll find anywhere.

If you choose to break these up and add directly to soil, keep in mind that woody material can absorb some nitrogen from your soil and stow it away from plant roots. That said, supplemented and myceliated wood will not steal nitrogen the way fresh woodchips will.

If you do see mushrooms growing and want to harvest them, please make sure the mushrooms you are picking are what you think they are! Other mushrooms may be present and can even grow from spent mushroom substrate. If in doubt, consult an expert or email us a picture for confirmation.