I'm having some problems with growing oyster mushroom. Let's maybe see some ideas why and how to improve them.

Oyster Mushroom Turning Yellow

Yellowing could happen on the stem of grown shroom and even the newly popped pinheads. From my observation, this could be because of water pooling near or in contact with the mushroom.

You may see condensation in the mushroom bag, especially at the bottom part. In slightly hotter weather & with less air flow (like in quite humid room that feels like you can't breathe), the water droplets pooling/touching may have turned the mushroom yellow.

In another case, it could be because of (over)misting and water may puddle together, especially when it puddles near the bottom of a new oyster cluster. Little pin heads may turn noticeably yellow in the afternoon or 1-2 days later.

I've read that if the RH is at 50% mushroom growth may stall and the edges of the caps will also yellow off. It puzzles me a bit then thinking: Am I over-watering or under-watering? I'm leaning towards the former but not sure yet how much to water them at the developing stage.

This is when I think.. if a mushroom body is about 70% water, then if there's about 50grams of mushroom developing inside (eyeballing), maybe I'll need about 30grams (30ml) of misting.

If you pluck off some yellowish/brown mushroom, squeeze it and it mushes out (like mash potato soft) and some water drips out, then it's probably been over-watered. Some darkened shroom base may also give off a bad smell. I pluck them off right away.

The amazing thing is, even when the shroom is yellowing/dying and they know it, they will still strive for survival by popping out new pins right on their body.

So for this yellowing thing, what I'll try next time is:

  • Finer mist (no water pooling on shroom)
  • Mist a bit less (mist on walls/floor)
  • Use a moisture reservoir like perlite bottom layer
  • More air flow (maybe use a fan)

Oyster Mushroom Caps Curling

If the RH is above 95%, the caps could turn a bit mushy and droop down quite a bit. If the caps curl very much up (ready for dropping spores), then it is old mushroom and should be harvested some time earlier.

I have some oysters curling like curly cabbage leaves. Some started out as a flat shape cap and then grew up like a hole in a center–more like a flower tube with curly caps. And I mean all sorts of other weird shapes.

The thing about these curly caps is they are quite thin. You may not feel the thickness you see on fully hydrated shroom. And the cap color is almost white (little to no grayness for blue oysters). They may be lacking some water.

Other signs of water shortage:

  • Shroom shrinking smaller
  • Pins drooping head down

Pins Develop But Not Growing Bigger

This could be a spacing issue. Before shrooming out, I guess the little pins 'survey' the area a bit. When I place two cakes close together, the pins on the outer edge tend to grow up more and bigger. This may be where there's more light and air exchange.  Later, I space the cakes out a bit more.

As I learn more about oysters, I will share with you more here! Till then.

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