Mushroom Plug Spawn – Grey Oyster (Pleurotus Ostreatus) Approx. 600-700 qty plugs

Description

Grey Oyster Spawn Plugs Cultivation Guide

Grey Oysters (Pleurotus ostreatus) are world-famous for their beautiful, fan-shaped steel-grey caps and thick, tender white stems. They boast a wonderfully mild, nutty, woodsy flavour and a fantastic meaty texture that holds up beautifully in stir-fries, pastas, and roasts.

Because Grey Oysters are exceptionally aggressive and vigorous wood-rotters, they colonise logs much faster than other varieties—often rewarding you with your first crop in just 6–10 months instead of over a year! Once established, a hardy log can fruit seasonally for 3–5 years.

 Grey Oysters are highly resilient and adaptable. While the mycelium grows rapidly in warm weather, they require a fresh autumn or spring temperature drop down to 10–18°C paired with a heavy downpour to trigger their massive, shelf-like fruiting clusters.

(Out of stock? Please allow 2–4 weeks for shipping.)

🛠️ Quick Gear Checklist

• Fresh Hardwood Logs: Soft hardwoods like poplar, willow, alder, and birch allow for lightning-fast colonisation. Denser hardwoods like oak or maple take a little longer to colonise but will yield heavier flushes for more years. Logs should be 10–20 cm in diameter and ~1 meter long.

• Grey Oyster Spawn Plugs: Wooden dowels fully colonised with highly aggressive Grey Oyster mycelium.

• Drill & Bit: Sized to match the plug diameter for a tight, snug fit.

• Waxing Kit: Food-grade wax, an old pot, and a paintbrush.

🪵 Step-by-Step Process

1. Age the Wood (2–3 Weeks)

• Let your freshly cut logs rest off the ground in a shady spot for 2–3 weeks. This allows the tree’s initial natural anti-fungal defences to drop so the mushroom mycelium can move in safely. Keep the log moist during this resting phase.

2. Inoculate & Seal

• Drill: Drill holes in a staggered diamond pattern all over the log, spaced 5–10 cm apart, to a depth of 1.5 times the plug length.

• Insert: Hammer the spawn plugs into the holes until they sit completely flush with the bark layer.

• Wax: Melt your wax in an old pot and paint generously over every plug hole and both cut ends of the log. This creates a tight moisture seal and bars wild competitor fungi out.

3. Incubation (6–10 Months)

• Place the log back in a shaded, damp outdoor area protected from harsh winds.

• Keep it Hydrated: Do not let the logs dry out! Hose them down thoroughly once every day or two during hot summer stretches, and 1–2 times a week in cooler weather. The vigorous white mycelium will steadily weave through the wood structure.

🌤️ Environment & Fruiting Quick-Reference

Grey Oysters grow in heavy, overlapping, shelf-like clusters directly out of the sides of the log bark.

🔪 Harvesting & Ongoing Care

• When to Pick: Harvest while the steel-grey caps are still slightly curled downward at the edges. Once the caps flatten out, turn upward, or begin turning a pale tan colour, they will drop millions of white spores and lose their prime texture.

• How to Pick: Grab the entire dense cluster at the base near the bark, twist firmly, and pull the whole bundle away in one clean piece.

• The Rest Period: Let the log rest for 5–6 weeks between flushes so the mycelium can rest and digest more of the log’s nutrients before your next forced cold soak.

• Long-Term Success: Protect the outer bark layer from peeling or taking damage, keep the logs entirely out of direct sunlight, and look forward to heavy, delicious gourmet flushes every spring and autumn!

**Please keep in the fridge until you’re ready to use them.

Please note this culture is sold with our Mushroom Spawn and Cultures sale agreement. By purchasing you agree to this agreement

Dimensions: 8mm diameter. Recommended 8.5mm drill bit when preparing logs.