Species: Pearl Oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus)

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Pearl Oyster

Common Names: White Tree Oyster, Pearl Oyster

Pearl oyster mushrooms are one of our favorites. These mushrooms are prolific and produce large delicate clusters of pure white mushrooms. As with other members of their genus they can be easily grown inside or outdoors however, they can be prone to insect infestations. Depending on your site, you may need to keep an eye on them and harvest relatively quickly after they start to fruit.

Use:

  • Culinary mushroom
  • Mushroom must be cooked prior to consuming

Natural Habitat:

  • Hardwood forests

Cultivation difficulty:

  • Outdoors: Easy
  • Indoors: Easy

Spawn type:

Growing substrate:

Outside:

  • Hardwood logs
  • Stumps
  • Wood chips

Inside:

  • Pasteurized agricultural by-products (e.g. straw)
  • Nutrified hardwood sawdust

Growing techniques:

Outside:

Inside:

Inoculation to fruiting time:

Outside:

  • From 3 to 8 months depending on inoculation rate and site temperature

Inside:

  • From 5 to 7 weeks

Fruiting is triggered when the temperature drops down to 13-18C and humidity drops to 85%

Harvest, storage and yields:

  • Harvest as caps flatten but before they curl upwards
  • Remove the entire cluster (with mushrooms of various size) all at once by twisting off at the base
  • Caution: when growing outside, these mushrooms can be prone to insect infestation which can reduce quality and shelf life
  • Shelf life is relatively good and will last longer if stored in clusters:
    • Refrigerated at 3- 6 ◦C for up to 2 weeks
    • Do not rehydrate well after dried
    • Cooked and frozen
  • Good yields with multiple flushes several weeks apart

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