Remove the perforated panel on the front of the box. Using a clean, sharp knife, cut an X that fills the window, cutting through the plastic approx 5mm into the substrate underneath.

Place your kit somewhere cool, with indirect natural light (19C is perfect, but not essential). A kitchen or bathroom is ideal, but avoid direct sunlight, temperature fluctuations, radiators etc.

Gently mist the X with clean, fresh water, twice a day. A plant mister is perfect for this - we do no recommend using an old cleaning bottle, because even small traces of chemicals or other substances can have an adverse effect.

After about 7-14 days you’ll see the pins (baby mushrooms) form. If you have a Tarragon kit, these will emerge from a woody knuckle. Keep misting until ready to harvest.

Your mushrooms are ready to harvest when the caps flatten out, prior to turning upwards. As they mature & turn up, they will produce spores (fine white / pink dust), which can make a mess. Harvest them before this point, even though it’s tempting to see how big you can grow them!

To harvest, gently hold the entire cluster and twist off all the mushrooms, including any small or half-formed ones.

Don’t be tempted to leave the baby ones on, as this will retard your second flush. Start misting again, and in 10-14 days you’ll have a second flush of mushrooms.

Make sure you remove any unformed pins or bits of mycelium (the white bits). Simply continue misting as before, and your patience will be rewarded with more mushrooms.

There are a couple of options for you:

Option no 1 is to open the bag and put the spent block into your compost or food recycling.

Option no 2 is to bury your spent block in your garden. Believe it or not, you will sometimes get further flushes emerging. And even if you don’t your plants will love it.

We recommend starting your kit immediately for optimum results. However, if this is not possible, the kit can be stored unopened in a cool, dark place for approximately one month. However, the longer you wait, the less successful the kit will be.

Be patient! Factors like temperature, humidity, and species type can affect the time it takes the mushrooms to fruit.

Check the X in the box - if you can see white or yellow mycelium, your mushrooms are not far away. If it’s a warm room, try moving them somewhere cooler. If it’s a cool room, try moving them to somewhere warmer. And remember to keep misting your block.

If you don’t see white or yellow mycelium in the X, or there’s green or black mould, take a photo and email it over to us, and we’ll help you sort things out.

If there’s green or black mould, take a photo and email it over to us, and we’ll help you sort things out.

You need to harvest your mushrooms all at once. It’s tempting to leave the smaller ones on to grow, however, they are unlikely to do so and harvesting only half the crop will retard a good second flush.

Sometimes the mushrooms are keen to go. Our advice is to let them do their thing!

It sounds like you’re over-misting your mushrooms, or the box is sitting in an environment that too wet for them. Mushrooms are not like houseplants, and do not like to be wet. If your box is falling apart, just carefully remove the mushroom block and fruit it without the box.

This is totally normal. This liquid is metabolites, which is produced when the mycelium breaks down the substrate. Don’t worry about it!

Your mushrooms have started to drop spores. The spores are not dangerous - simply wipe down your counter and harvest your mushrooms now.

Whilst annoying, fungus gnats are a reality of mushroom growing. They’re totally harmless. You can try a beer or cider vinegar trap, or you could just ignore them.

Sometimes if conditions are suboptimal, or if there’s been a big fluctuation in one or more of the growth factors, the mushrooms can deform slightly. They are not poisonous and are still safe to eat, they just look a little funky.

Mushrooms are pretty hardy, and can tolerate quite a large range of temperatures and humidities. But if your home is particularly hot & dry, especially a challenge during the summer months, you could try removing from the box and fruiting directly from the bag. Place the bag on top of a damp flannel or tea towel, which will provide some humidity. Warning - do not sit it in water.

If mushrooms have already dried & shrivelled, they will not recover. Remove from the kit and start misting again.