Species: Pearl Oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus)
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:
- Supplemented hardwood sawdust
- Grain spawn
Growing substrate:
Outside:
- Hardwood logs
- Stumps
- Wood chips
Inside:
- Pasteurized agricultural by-products (e.g. straw)
- Nutrified hardwood sawdust
Growing techniques:
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