Here are some general questions and answers about breeding
Question:
Is it bad to wait longer before harvesting to give the smaller mushrooms time to grow and get a higher yield?
Answer:
Mushrooms are not plants.
They grow because the magic cake pushes water into the balloons (called mushrooms) and convert organic matter in the substrate into mushroom mass (no photosynthesis).
When mushrooms sprout, the cake loses a lot of strength and there are fewer harvests.
If you only harvest the large mushrooms, the small ones will also stop growing at some point because the cake stops contracting.
Even the smallest ones must then be harvested, otherwise they will die and attract contamination.
If you keep the cake healthy and harvest rather small mushrooms, you can harvest more of them, because the maximum total quantity depends only on the amount of nutrients in the substrate.
Small mushrooms are generally more potent in terms of the amount of active ingredient per weight.
It is therefore better to harvest too early than too late.
Question: I have harvested the mushrooms. What does the dark coloration mean? (see picture)
Answer: It was harvested late, the mushroom caps have opened, the cake is dark purple in color due to the spores. Harvest before the caps open! And you have to harvest all the mushrooms around it: so take the cake out of the box and harvest everything around it, even the smallest mushrooms, then water it and in a week the next batch will come. Sporulation can reduce the total amount of the harvest, but the spores have no influence on the edibility. Even sporulated mushrooms can be dried and eaten as normal.
Hello,
I have ordered two packages of Golden Teacher. After I opened the boxes and put them in the bags, I wonder if I have to air the bags? As I understand it, you are not supposed to do anything at all. Open the box, put it in the bag, close the bag and don't touch it again until harvest?
Please correct me if I am wrong, but after I left a growing box constantly closed during mushroom growth, the mushrooms in it seemed anything but well-formed to me. I then read in another mushroom forum that this can happen when mushrooms don't get enough air - since then I have been airing the bags once a day again.
👋🏼😂🤣😂♥️
I've just ordered a maxi box of "Amozonian Psyllos", which are supposed to be the strongest in the bunch... I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like and how it grows... I always find things like that really exciting!
I'm doing this for the first time and would appreciate a few tips to get me started!
I see it like this: If you help each other and something good comes out of it, it helps everyone involved! It's actually quite normal human behavior, but some people find it extremely difficult... Not for me! One hand washes the other and both wash your face!!!
I met a great guy in another forum about cannabis and we have already swapped seeds and equipment. That's the only way to really achieve something!
I try to treat everyone the way I expect to be treated, it's not always easy but it works and makes me personally feel good!
Hey, my Maxikit Amazone has been standing for 7 days but not much has happened yet....should I wait and see?
Because Maxi certainly needs his time, doesn't he?
It was exactly the same consideration for me.
I am now going to give it a try and have ordered my set.
Have you had your first experiences with your grow set in the meantime?
Did everything work out?
Greetings,
Fabertron.
@dini after a week, not much is happening yet. your post is from the 14/08/2025 5:02 p.m. - By now you should have already had a harvest 😉
Here is a summary of what we often write about growth problems:
Was it too cold for me (below 20°C)?
If it is too cold, the process is simply slower, but the mushrooms become firmer and the mycelium remains healthy and strong for longer.
I have sterilized tap water with a filter, which should be ideal, right?
As far as the water is concerned, germs are not a big problem, they also exist in nature, the problem is chemicals that are supposed to make the water germ-free and that are not removed by filters. They are not a problem for humans - but they are for fungi, i.e. "mold". Tap water should be boiled in any case, then at least chlorine is eliminated, but bottled drinking water or distilled water for the iron is better. And you never know what will be added to the tap water and when and how much.
I always used gloves and worked very sterile!
The next potential problem is gloves. These often have an "antibacterial" coating, which is a huge problem for fungi. You should always work with your hands, rather unwashed hands than gloves!
In this phase, any "clean room concept" is counterproductive. If you are processing spores or inoculating substrate, then sterility is important, but the mycelium in the grow box is strong and has its own defenses against everything that is naturally in the air and water - but not against the things and substances that humans have invented to fight fungi and make things sterile or water germ-free!
The water in the bag of the "klassik Kit" should prevent the substrate from drying out during aeration, the substrate is not moistened by it, but it is normally not necessary to water it several times - but it can be advantageous,
What must not happen is that it is too damp in the bag, then the water must be removed from the bag and it must be aired. It usually happens when "heat" gets into the kit from somewhere: underfloor heating, sunlight, heat mats - these all destroy the substrate, dry it out and kill the magic mold.
When should I ventilate?
Ventilation is always "a problem" because, depending on the environment and method, more or less contamination comes in and the microclimate that the mushrooms create goes away. With our cultivation system accessories you don't ventilate at all and that is best, but without it you should ventilate when the mushrooms arrive so that the CO2 content and humidity are relatively low.
Ventilation beforehand only makes sense if it is too humid and you want to reduce the humidity in the bag because there was a problem that increased the humidity too much (in 99% of the cases: heat supply or insufficient heat dissipation)
How do I find out if my kit is still good and mushrooms can still grow?
Smell what it smells like in the bag. If it smells like mushrooms and forest soil, then it is good and alive and the mushrooms can still come after 6 or more weeks. If it smells sweet, pungent, sour, alcoholic and/or like decay, then it's over.
Attention: If no mushrooms have grown: before you throw away your kit, take a photo and contact us, sometimes something can still be done!