Oysters on coffee--project log

Hi from the very gray northeast. I'm about to start my first mushroom growing project, and thought if I was going to be keeping a log anyway I might as well post here in case anyone had tips or could learn from my process. Inspired by Tradd Cotter, I''m going to grow oyster mushrooms on spent coffee grounds, with the goals of:

1- growing some of my favorite variety of mushrooms
2- improving the quality of my compost
3- learning a thing or two

I ordered a 5lb bag of PoHu spawn in sawdust from Field and Forest that should be arriving this weekend, and have 2 2gal bags of spent grounds saved in the freezer for a head start. Next step is to clean out/sanitize a 5 gal bucket and then we should be off!

Louise, that sounds like a really great project.  Actually I would like to try something similar.  Please do let us know how things work out.

Eric

Oh! I wanna do this so I'm going to follow it! Our local coffee shops always have tons of grounds available for free.

First update! The spawn arrived yesterday and I started layering it in my 5-gap bucket with the saved coffee grounds. Man the mycelium moves FAST! Cotter says you can do this one day’s coffee at a time, but I’m not sure I believe it at this rate. Might see what I can scrounge from the neighbors.

I hope you have drain holes in the bottom of the bucket.  My attempts to grow oysters on coffee grounds in jars and bags all failed. I think the grounds were too wet. Coffee grounds are extremely nutrient rich and as such get infected easily.  But people are growing oysters successfully on it.  Hope it works and please keep up updated.  

I use straw in my buckets which works very well.  I did eight buckets the day after Thanksgiving and they started pinning at the beginning of February.  I’ve harvested over seven pounds so far and they are still pinning.  Between that and my Chestnut mushroom bags, which are fruiting, I have lots of edible mushrooms right now.

Louise,

I want to comment more in a moment but those pins look NICE!!  GOOD JOB!!

Eric

Update! I filled the bucket last weekend and drilled 1/2in holes around the middle. Had a bit of a scare on Wednesday with some mold, but I cut it out and —fingers crossed—things look to be recovering nicely. I seem not to have a picture of the mold, but it was green and grainy so I’m thinking trichoderma. It concentrated in a spot where a filter touched the air, so I buried remaining filters in fresh grounds just in case that would help.

Looks like great mycelium growth!

Hi all. Things seem to be going really well (fingers crossed). Had to cut out another small mold spot, but I’m starting to get mushrooms out the side holes!

Louise, it looks like your project is going very well.

Eric

That’s a nice cluster of oysters!

I’ve got good news and questionable news. The first flush produced two lovely clumps of oyster and then things started to look a bit golden brown and…sad? I rested and am trying for a second flush but nothing so far.

In the meantime, I started a second batch in a large jar, which is what’s pictured in the book and I feel a little nervous about how it’s going. I got that nice fluffy white growth on top, but then it started going flat. My worry is that I could see this being a result of too much or too little water! Anyone seen something like this before?

Happy for any advice—and here’s mine for today—make sure to drill your holes a couple of inches down from the bucket lip or you’ll have to pry your harvest out of the cracks !