Myco-Ball Instructions
What are Myco-Balls?
Myco-Balls are supplemented chunks of spawn used for planting Blewit Mushrooms. Myco-Balls are best suited to smaller project areas up to 25 square feet, and can be adapted to either container gardening, raised bed areas, or cold compost piles. For larger projects up to 50 square feet, bulk bags of hardwood sawdust spawn are recommended.
How do I plant MycoBalls?
Select a Suitable Location
Shaded or areas with dappled sunlight are most suitable for Blewits, such as alongside of a structure, under a tree, or within or alongside a wooded forest tree line.
Build Your Lasagna Bed
As with many other cultivatable outdoor mushrooms, layering is always key. Blewits grow best on semi-composted material including yard waste, sticks, grass clippings, straw, leaves, and finished compost. You might find success with adding fresh un-composted materials, but try to maximize the amount of semi-composted material. Also, Blewits will tend to favor a bed with a high proportion of leaves and pine needles.
Alternate layers of suitable materials in layers of about 1 inch until your bed reaches a depth of no more than a foot.
Dig equidistant holes over the area of your bed and drop in MycoBalls.
Cover the beds with mulch or hardwood chips to protect from frost and to help keep the beds moist. Additionally, and as an option, spread a layer of straw on the top of the surface to achieve the same goal.
How do I maintain the Blewit beds?
Keeping the soil moist should be your focus. The level of maintenance required will depend on the moisture of the location that you selected and your local climate. Regardless, for the first two to three weeks, water your beds every other day to ensure moisture is not lost. This will give you an idea of how regularly you will need to check up on moisture levels thereafter – again, depending on your location, you may not need to water them at all.
When will they grow?
If you have developed healthy beds early enough in the season, your mushrooms will begin to yield in the fall. Many times, the mushrooms do not begin to fruit until the following fall. Blewits will grow into mid-winter if the weather is mild.
When do I harvest them?
Blewits have a lilac coloring and should be harvested before they begin to turn brown. When the mushrooms have browned, it is likely that they will become vessels for insects, and should be considered to be inedible.
Can I transfer the mushrooms to new beds?
What climate do they grow in?
Propagation techniques for Blewits offer a couple of viable options. Using a handful of substrate as spawn for new beds, or planting cut stem butts of mushrooms after harvest are both effective methods to expand or relocate your Blewit beds.
Blewits thrive in climates that have a season of frost.