Monday 12 December 2016

Harvest Monday - mushroom update

My seed order arrived this week, yay. I didn't need loads this year, but chose a decent selection, including some new varieties of squash. Onion sets and seed potatoes will arrive later.

I needed to make up a few pounds to get free delivery so thought I'd try a small bag of wool pellets, which are supposed to deter slugs. I lost a lot of seedlings and young plants to slugs this year, so it's worth a shot. I'll use it around my more valuable (in terms of time/energy/cash invested) plants such as squash.
And onto the mushrooms......to recap, I was kindly given a mushroom kit for my birthday recently. The kit includes a bag crammed with spent coffee grounds that now have mushroom mycelium (root system) growing through them. Next they just need a bit of moisture to encourage the fruit (the bit we eat) to form.
First, cut along the cross using a knife (There's an outer bag here too, which I removed when I realised it wasn't needed).
Then soak for 12 hours...it's very buoyant and needs weighing down.
Then drain off the excess water
Pop it back in the box and spray with water twice a day (a nozzle is provided). This was Day 5 (last Monday).
They quickly put on growth...here's Day 6
Day 8
Day 9
Day 11 (yesterday)...wow! Now, checking against the photos on the Espresso Mushroom website, we probably should actually have harvested these the day before....I misread the instructions and was waiting for the edges to turn up, but it's the Pink ones which do that.
They're still pretty good though
We picked them yesterday morning (cut the whole lot off at once) and stored them in the fridge until tonight, when I made a curry loosely based on one suggested on the Espresso Mushroom website. My photos don't do it justice really, but in addition to the mushrooms, I also included other home grown veggies - courgette from the freezer and kale picked from the allotment a couple of days ago, plus other bought bits and bobs. The mushrooms have a nice flavour, with a springy texture.
It's suggested you leave the mushroom bag to rest for about 10 days, before starting the process again to get a second crop, and there's even a possibility of a third crop. And after that, as a bonus, the mushroomy coffee grounds can be used as compost, brill. I think there are other brands of kits too, so not sure how they compare, but this one has worked for us nicely. Apparently there's the equivalent of the grounds from 100 espressos in just one of these bags, so it's a great way to re-use them.
 
Other things happening this week....to try and diversify the winter harvests, I ordered some new alfalfa seeds, along with my main allotment order, to sprout in the kitchen. The seeds are tiny, and after a few hours soaking and draining, only take two or three days before they're ready to eat, yum (plus remember to rinse them with water twice a day too ).
Makes winter sarnies a bit more interesting, here with some baby beetroot I recently brought home from the plot (they weren't actually meant to be baby, they just didn't get very big), plus a homemade hummus and red cabbage slaw (not homegrown unfortunately). I'm sprouting some green lentils too.
At the weekend we had our first Christmassy get together, round a friends....Jan made a roasted butternut squash salad (still two butternuts left!) that included more beetroot and kale, plus carrot, mushrooms, lettuce, chickpeas etc....it was very nice and good to have a lighter option, on top of all the tasty Christmas baked treats.
On the allotment this week I spied a few Brussels sprouts which look about ready to pick, so it must really be nearly Christmas! Oh, I have a sneaky addition, I forgot the curly kale I picked this week too....about three times this much, nice lightly steamed and drizzled with cider vinegar.
 
Thanks for reading, I'm linking in with Harvest Monday, kindly hosted by Dave at Our Happy Acres.

 

11 comments:

  1. Those mushrooms look brilliant! We still need to choose our seeds.

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    1. Thanks sue :)
      I always worry the seed place will run out of the ones I want, so I get my order in early!

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  2. Seeds already! I haven't even begun to think about next year's seeds. That mushroom kit is amazing, so quick to produce and the mushrooms look perfect. What a fun project.

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    1. Hi Michelle, I know, I'm always early with the seeds! But at least I know that's done and out the way. I'll probably start sowing things like toms in late January anyway so it's useful to have them already.
      Yay, the kit was great, hopefully we'll get another crop or two before composting.

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  3. Lovely harvests and wow - look at those mushrooms! I've often toyed with getting one of those mushroom logs - maybe someday. And like Michelle, I've not thought about seeds yet either - that's a "To Do" for the less hectic days of January :)

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    1. Thanks Margaret, ooh yes I'd thought about mushroom logs before but the coffee ground method seems like a quick and easy introduction into mushroom growing, and is fascinating to watch on the kitchen worktop. It's expensive to buy the kit, so nice to have received it as a present. I think I'll research other methods too when I get a mo (and maybe try and source some coffee grounds to try it from scratch)

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  4. Those are some lovely mushrooms indeed! I bet they were tasty too. It will be fun to see how many times you can get them to grow. It's funny you mentioned alfalfa sprouts because I just now did a final rinse on a batch here and stuck them in the frig. I love the sprouts on sandwiches and salads, and last week I made one of my old favorites, a cheese and sprout sammie on rye. I never thought about adding hummus though, so thanks for the tip and I will try that next time. I've never heard of the wool pellets, so it will be interesting to see how they do. They are a big problem for me here and any new control methods are certainly worth a shot!

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    1. Thanks Dave, hmm yes I'll have to try and time the next mushroom batch so it fits in with Christmas stuff.
      Mmm nice, I should get some more alfalfa on the go, they're so quick to sprout, nice and easy for a bit of winter fresh food.

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    2. Oh yes the wool pellets too...I'd read about them before but don't know anyone who's tried them yet so I'll let you know if they're effective.

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  5. Those mushrooms look so exciting! I think I'll have to try out one of those kits!

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    1. Hi SH- Susie...quiiick, stick a mushroom kit on your Christmas list, there's still time :D

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