Blue Oyster Indoor Mushroom Kit

The Blue Oyster Mushroom Kit allows you to grow some of the mushrooms used by the finest chefs in the world easily and quickly almost anywhere in your own home or office. The MUSHROOM LOG takes only a 9″ by 9″ space, and requires no more care nor knowledge than a common tropical plant. Mushroom Logs can be placed on a coffee table, counter, or desk – they will produce mushrooms virtually anywhere room temperature is maintained!

Blue oyster mushroom is the cool-temperature workhorse of the oyster family. Compared to pink, golden, and king oyster varieties, blue oyster has the widest tolerance for cool fruiting conditions, the mildest flavor, and a beginner-friendly grow difficulty that makes it the standard first recommendation for anyone starting out. If you’re choosing between oyster varieties and your grow space runs cool, this is usually the right call.

Blue Oyster Organic – Your Blue Oyster Mushrooms Kit arrives ready to burst out with mushrooms! We include everything needed for home mushroom growing as well as thorough instructions. These Kits can be held for 1 or 2 weeks, but are designed to be started when received! Each kit may produce a pound or more of mushrooms in 2 to 4 flushes.

Now you have the opportunity not only to enjoy watching these mushrooms grow (see images to either side) but also to enjoy eating the freshest mushrooms possible.

The total number of mushrooms you can expect to get on each log may vary from log to log. This depends on your care of the log and the environmental conditions in your home. Blue Oyster Mushroom logs are produced organically using methods that integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices. Our logs foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. This mushroom will add a silky texture and wonderful flavor to your favorite dish. Enjoy it brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with herbs, and flash broiled for two to three minutes. Another delicious way to cook Blue Oyster mushrooms is lightly battered and done tempura style. The slight shell fish flavor is excellent with fish or poultry dishes.

What Visual Cues Tell You Blue Oyster Mushrooms Are Ready to Harvest?

Four things to check before you harvest the cluster –

Cap edges: they should still be slightly curled downward or just beginning to flatten. The moment edges curl upward, you’re at the edge of peak quality and approaching spore drop.

Color: caps should be fading from blue-gray toward pale gray. If you want that distinctive blue coloration for market presentation, harvest earlier rather than later. Color fade accelerates at room temperature after harvest, not just before it.

Spore check: no white or gray powder should be visible on the substrate surface, nearby grow room surfaces, or the underside of caps. Visible spore drop means you’ve waited too long. Blue oyster spores can cause respiratory irritation and coat your grow space in a fine gray powder.

Texture: the cluster should feel firm. Papery or slightly soft caps signal overmaturity.

What Is the Scientific Name of the Blue Oyster Mushroom?

The scientific name is Pleurotus ostreatus var. columbinus, though you’ll also find it listed as Pleurotus columbinus in older literature and biodiversity databases. The base species was first described in 1775 by Dutch naturalist Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin, who named it Agaricus ostreatus. German mycologist Paul Kummer transferred it to the Pleurotus genus in 1871, where it has remained. The genus name comes from the Greek word for “side” (pleura), describing how the stem attaches off-center to the underside of the cap. “Ostreatus” is Latin for oyster-shaped. The variety name columbinus means dove-colored, a direct reference to that distinctive blue-gray cap.

Whether var. columbinus is a genetically distinct variety or simply a phenotypic color form of pearl oyster is not fully resolved in the scientific literature. Most molecular studies treat blue and pearl oyster as conspecific strains of P. ostreatus rather than separate species. In practical terms for cultivators, the difference is primarily phenotypic: blue oyster produces distinctly pigmented caps, particularly at cooler fruiting temperatures, while pearl oyster is paler and performs across a slightly wider temperature range. – Mike Wiberg, 2024

Video instructions by YourProduceGuy