Back to the Roots Organic Oyster Mushroom Grow Kit, Harvest Gourmet Mushrooms...

It works! Be patient. In my case, the mushrooms appeared on day 7. Oyster mushrooms, in my opinion, have the best taste, very potent and clean flavor. They are perfect for soups, sauces, and sauté well with other veggies and meats. There's no earthy taste to them at all. A word of caution, when ready to harvest, collect the entire batch. I made a mistake of cutting three mushrooms only, leaving the rest until the next day. Unfortunately, the bunch dried out completely over night. They were bone dry and hard. When I tried to get them going again by using the back of the package, I had no luck. Overall, a decent product,my it it does need more clear instructions. *** Sept 13, 2015 Update Well, I decided to give Back to the Roots Organic Mushroom Farm another chance. I'm glad I did. First off, to my surprise it took this second mushroom farm almost two weeks (12-13 days) to start producing. Patience is a key here. I almost gave up on it and actually stopped watering the soil for two days, thinking I must have made a mistake somewhere. However, when I got home one night, I was excited to see tiny mushroom heads which made their way through to the soil top. The tiny farm works, no doubt about it. You will love the taste and the texture of these oyster mushrooms. Here's where this product shines the most. The company that created this product stands behind their work 100%. The community happiness team (*I absolutely love the term) is exceptional when it comes to customer service and they will make sure you are absolutely satisfied with the product. You don't see that very often these days. For example, they contacted me directly based on my less-than-excellent experience with the product the first time I tried it. Naturally, I had quite a few questions about my experience with the farm. Here's the conversation below. Make sure to read it, it will help you with your farm as well. 1. Can you please let me know if both sides of the box can be used to grow mushrooms simultaneously, or is it designed to have the harvest from one side of the box only? How many times can the process be repeated? Response: You can use both sides of the box but we recommend just growing one side at a time. We guarantee two harvests from each box, but it's possible to get more so we always encourage folks to keep trying! I am currently growing a box and on my second harvest, using the same side that I grew my first on. It doesn't matter which side you grow on, though. Just note -- once you open the second side (cut the '+' and such) then your kit will be exposed to more oxygen, meaning it can dry out faster. So you will need to give it more water (you really can't overwater the mushrooms so be generous!). That's why I always grow the first two harvests from the same side and then I might open up the second side and try to grow from there. The mushrooms can still grow from any side, though, so be sure to water both and keep it really hydrated. Also, I always give the kit a break by letting it rest for a few weeks in between grows. 2. I kept my box on the counter, even after the mushrooms died, but kept spraying it with water. After a few days, the white substance began growing rapidly and covered the "soil" again. Are these spores? The white, dust-like substance also covered a substantial portion of the kitchen counter and I had to wipe it every morning. It was interesting to see.. Response: The white 'dust' is spores. Actually that is a great sign. That means your mushroom kit is full of spores and will most definitely grow again! So if you still have this kit I recommend you try to grow it once more. The white layer is mushroom by-product. If it grows back, try scoring the surface with a knife or fork and then re-soak the bag for 1 day. Afterwards, you’ll want to give your kit lots of water. You can even try using a humidity tent to increase moisture. Re-soak your kit overnight fully submerged in water. Cover the kit with a Ziploc or other plastic bag and cut some holes in it for airflow. Spray/drizzle water underneath it everyday. The additional moisture should help boost your kit out of the dormant state and you should see growth in approx. 7 days. Additional information about mushroom growth: Mushrooms love fresh air, so placing your kit next to an open window can really encourage the mushrooms to grow. Oyster mushrooms like light. Place your mushroom kit in a bright area-- filtered light is best. Moisture is extremely important. You can tell if your kit is getting enough water because you will be able to see visible drops of moisture trapped beneath the plastic flaps. The more water the better; don't be afraid of over-watering your mushroom kit. Keep the plastic in-tact. Again, this has to do with moisture. The plastic helps trap in moisture so you don't want to remove it. *** As you see, the team is committed to making your experience with this little mushroom farm excellent. You will fall in love with the product, I guarantee it. Also, let me know if this review was helpful to you. Your opinion mattes!

(Using my fiance account) (Update on 9/21/20) I was not successful with a second crop on the other side of the block as most people have reported they are able to do. With that being said. It could have been my fault. I lost track of time and it was 14 days after I harvested the first crop that I began to try for a second harvest. The block was super dry even after soaking for 10 hrs on second side per directions. Or maybe it could have not worked because the first crop on side one was super duper large! We had a fantastic 1st crop....it seemed as if the second side did not want to absorb water. From the soaking to the daily waterings...it always just puddled on top....not a deal breaker for me because the first side was amazing and fun. However, not being able to get a second crop out of the other side of the block made them extremely expensive mushrooms...lol Hands down the 100% Guarantee to grow given by Back To The Roots is legit. The customer service was great! They're very responsive, knowledgeable and helpful. I purchased my kit off Amazon. Recieved it and following directions to the T began the process. Several days in my block just didn't look right. I knew something was wrong but wasn't sure what because I've never grown mushrooms before. I don't have a green thumb but I love mushrooms! I reached out to Back To The Roots customer service. We chatted, I sent them some requested pictures so they could get a better understanding of the issue. Immediately they said something was wrong and that it could have been an old kit Amazon sent me. They asked me to send them a picture of the lot number sticker on my kit so they could check the age of Amazons stock. The customer service representative said she would ship me out a new kit and that I should receive it in a couple days. A few days later it came. I followed the enclosed directions to the T (soaked my block for 10 hrs) and in just 4 days I noticed these little white clumps appeared out of nowhere. They looked like little cauliflower heads (ref to one of my pics.)Morning of day 5 I woke up to an amazing transformation overnight. They changed to very large looking white sea crustaceans...lol and I could see tiny little mushroom pins starting to form on the heads of the spikes....each day, sometimes in just a few hours time, the transformation of these mushrooms were amazing. These mushrooms grow fast when they start. Wow! Be prepared for major changes within hours of eachother. I would've given anything to be able to do a time lapse video of my mushrooms from start to finish. It would been awesome to see on video. Whether kid or adult this was such a fun process to do and rewarding. I felt like a kid at heart the entire process. I have already recommended this kit to several people....Back To The Roots and other reviewers have also said most times you can get another harvest out of the other side of the block....So with that being said, I am going to give it a shot and will update my review to reflect if successful or not. ..a few little tips that I think were extremly helpful in my bountiful harvest. 1. Watering is key. Keeping them moist is so important. I often times watered more than the required twice a day. Every time I walked past them, I would give them a few squirts. 2. I believe the humidity they got by me moving them during the day to my screened in patio (indirect sunlight) helped a lot as well too considering our humidity levels were in the 90% most days. I will be getting more. This was so much fun. I recommend anyone who likes to eat mushrooms get themselves a kit. Even if you don't have a green thumb! It is rewarding. Happy Growing! 🍄

I ordered strawberries and mushrooms, and I can't attest to the mushrooms yet. Because I was unsuccessful at growing them, but I can attest to the immaculate customer service that I received in terms of trying to help me get my kit to grow and when I was still unsuccessful day sent me a new one. So their guarantee is good. And the strawberry kit I have has little sproutlings, started after like a month now, so I would recommend this and have in fact, recommended this to friends. Especially since it's Eb t approved, it's awesome

I got this for my mom’s wife who is a professional chef, and she was pleasantly surprised to receive it. She told me she had done one before, and within a week she sent me this photo! It’s already got mushrooms! It’s actually cheaper to buy this kit and grow/harvest them yourself. If you use mushrooms often in cooking, or have kids that would understand what is happening, it would be a huge benefit to your lives. The taste is excellent, and the quality is fresher than store bought ones. The sizes and colors are all as advertised and it has blown my mind how easy it is to grow our own produce. Will be buying one for my household now!

Grew nothing but nothing but mold. The sealed bag within the box was less than 1/2 full, which may be normal. However, the “packed” (formed to the box dimensions) mushroom growth soil/material was not of sufficient length to cover the box cut-out window. About 1/4 of the material within the cut-out window was was thin and appeared to have crumbled away. Because of this, I was a bit skeptical as to whether it was going to produce the full crop of mushrooms that would normally be expected, but I decided to proceed because of the good reviews. [I purchase quite a bit on Amazon, but return VERY few items.]. At that point, the hassle of returning something was worse than proceeding and getting a smaller harvest. I followed directions and placed the box in a temperature and humidity controlled room. The temperature was 69 degrees, with 38-39 % humidity. I paid attention to all directions regarding misting and the like. It grew nothing but mold.

To pricy.. hot a small amount of mushrooms. Cool experience for kids or those wanting to try it out before going all in.

This has been so much fun! I have been wanting to get a mushroom kit since I was a teenager (ages ago!), and I finally bought one. It's been a blast to see how much they grow each day. We started seeing little teeny tiny cauliflower looking things on day 3, and from then on, they just really took off! Notice in the photos the difference in size from day 6 to day 7.....CRAZY!!! I live with my brother and elderly father, and my dad said he was almost scared to sit next to them at the table, lol. I guess he thought they might eat him or something. :) It's now day 9, and time to harvest. I'll get out my digital kitchen scale later when I harvest, and see how much they weigh. We have some guesses going in this house as to how much it'll weigh. My brother thinks only a few ounces. I am going to say 9 ounces. Dad has yet to decide....he's "mulling it over". I will say that the spray bottle that comes with it, is really tiny, but they probably couldn't fit a bigger bottle in the box. I sprayed mine A LOT. I used at least one sprayer bottle full each day, and sometimes double that. For those who had trouble with theirs......I hope they kept them and try it again. I wonder if they: *scraped some of the white like it says to *soaked it in a large bowl or bucket of water cut side down for a full 8 hours *sprayed it a minimum of 2x's each day *had it where too much light got to it *waited a reasonable amount of time to see if it was growing (minimum of 3-5 days with ample watering) *or if they really got a "dud", and if so, did they contact the company for a replacement because they DO guarantee it. I'm very curious to see just how many harvests I can get out of this kit. I am going to try for as many as I can. The current record is apparently 10! That is hard to believe, but I am going to see if I can beat it. If I do, I'll share how I did it. Those who've done multiple harvests past the 2 they claim one can get, never post how they did it. Did they do the same side over and over before going to the next side? Did they do both sides simultaneously? Did they open it all up, and put it in a long wide container? Did they do it outside? So many possible variables. Same with those that claim it didn't work for them. There is a reason.....so, what did or didn't they do? What climate was it kept in? Lighting? Humidity? Heat? What kind of water did they use? I kept this next to my Aeorogarden 7 LED the first 2 or 3 days, but not facing it. I had it to the side or turned the box away from it. Day 3, I moved it to our bay window area next to the table in our kitchen, but faced it inwards towards the kitchen so it wouldn't get direct light. I sprayed it multiple times a day a full sprayer bottle usually, sometimes more. I used water from our Berkey system that filters out 99% of contaminants with 2 charcoal filters, and 2 fluoride and arsenic filters. The water is very pure, but leaves minerals. I am curious as to how adding a drop of fulvic acid to the water from Optimally Organic might affect it. Not sure if I am going to try it just yet for this next harvest. I am going to try to grow these again on the same side I think. I'll update again with the next harvest. It's been a blast, and so very fascinating to watch these multiply so quickly. I think it's a great gift for anyone of any age. My grandparents live next door, and grandpa said he always wanted to buy a mushroom kit too, but never did. I never knew that, so it was nice to find that out when I told him I bought one. He's thoroughly enjoyed watching it grow, and he's 91. Glad I was able to provide this for him to see, since it's something he's also always wanted to do. Check this off the bucket list. Hope he's around for many more years to come! Stay tuned for more harvests I hope!

These have become a tradition - I buy them every year for my husband for Christmas. They are so fun to grow, and we've had success every time. Also, quite importantly, they taste fantastic. It is not a difficult process, and when they really start going, they grow so fast and it is exciting every single time to watch them. I think we've bought them five or six times now? We've also bought a couple other varieties, but we keep coming back to these. It's June right now, but I already know they're on the list for next Christmas.

Grew some nice mushrooms! Was super easy to do. Only disappointment is that I only was able to get one harvest. Tried to grow on the back and it never ended up working. Fun though - and good mushrooms!

I followed the instructions exactly and the mushrooms never populated or grew, and after 2 weeks it started growing black mold instead. I think I received a bad batch.

My Back to roots FB got black molds, bad for me i cannot return the product

Mycelium was in great shape. Fully colonized block. looked great. My block was packed with mycelium to the point you could not see any of the substrates. Very happy with the colonization. Needs more in-depth instructions and what things looks like, not a pamphlet with cartoon drawings. People can grow contaminations. At least tell them if they see discolouring to toss the brick. Fruiting was ok. Due to the lack of instructions the good mycelium layer was scraped off after using the pamphlet and reading product reviews. (No Bueno) Reducing pin sets and having me to wait for the mycelium to recolonize the block on the outside. when a smack on the ground and cold water is enough I found out via my second attempt with another product. Add other options for fruiting! such as a shotgun fruiting chamber as I have in the pictures. The fruits were ok but tasted horrid. Probably a contam or bad block. The mushrooms were very strong with a sour note at the end. I was seeing Knotts for a second flush so the mycelium was Rockin. Just bad taste and not enough info with the product to feel safe eating them. So it got tossed into the trash bin before my second flush which would have been quite good. I was pretty sad. However, it spawned a new hobby for me and am now growing some lion's mane. I would like to see the price drop a smidge as 30 for a block is a tad high due to it being sawdust and soy (masters mix) or the substrate you use. Peeps gotta make some money but i would feel a bit more ok at the 20 buck mark. However, the price is also paying for a kit for a school of your choice. Please follow the pamphlet and help kids near you learn some cool mycology.! After all that, my final thoughts...., was it was a blast. No, it didn't go to plan but it was a learning experience. It needs more info for a greater success. For those that read this DO NOT take the advise of some of the comments in here. You will just wreck your block. There needs to be more info and more info on mycelium, and its characteristics. This would greatly improve success and in itself turn a great product into a better product. I suggest a youtube video with a code to scan for easy access. I will also be taking advantage of the buy one, they give one to a school. Everyone one should. This would be great for classrooms as overnight the kids will see changes to the mushrooms. Science that reacts fast to keep kids interested. Great work guys. Hope it works. My sister is a teacher and these will go to many schools! Love this idea.

I gifted these. Both recievers thought this was a really interesting gift. One of the people I gifted to is an older Polish man who is familiar with mushroom growing, has tried a few times and wasn't very successful. The box does take some effort, you have to soak the pack for several hours and then mist it daily. But easy enough, with clear instructions. Then you basically just let them sit. They started growing within a couple of days (as pictured). Not sure of the final end result. I say this is a nice gift for a mushroom lover whether they have a green thumb or not! Box comes with mini spray bottle, however one of the gifts was missing the bottle top.