Mini-mushroom growing kit (Back to the Roots) Review

Gourmet Oyster Mushroom Mini Grow Kit

Back to the Roots

I had the opportunity to try several of the growing kits from Back to the Roots. The weather has been a little rainy, so I haven't tried out all of them yet. I will review those later in the year.

I was provided with coupons for the kits, but it turned out they were only available at certain locations. It was almost a scavenger hunt to find them, once I found the right store, and THEN they didn't want to take my coupons, but I eventually was able to exchange the coupons for the items.


These kits are neatly packaged, containing everything needed to grow, clear instructions, and best of all, I didn't need warm sunny days to start. The drawback...I'd never eaten oyster mushrooms, so I wasn't quite sure about eating the finished product, lol.




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The premise behind the company:

Our story

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How we got our start?

In a college class, we learned that mushrooms could grow entirely on spent coffee grounds. After watching hours of how-to videos and turning our college apartment into a science experiment, we gave up our corporate job offers and became full-time urban mushroom farmers in Oakland, CA.

What makes our product unique?

Our indoor gardening kits were created from a passion to reconnect families to food. We want to inspire everyone to ask where their food comes from and experience the magic of growing it themselves.

Why we love what we do?

We feel so fortunate to be able to work every day towards a mission we love and are so passionate about. We think there is a false divide in business - of "not for profits" or "for profit companies" - they should all just be "for purpose"!

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I removed the contents from the cute little box...

X was easily cut into packaging

Plastic flaps peeled back

Score the substrate (I used a toothpick)

Turn package upside down and soak

Of course, I forgot to remove the package from the water before I went to bed...so it soaked a little longer than the instructions said...

Back in the box (March 31, 2020)

The one thing I had to do several times is remove the substrate from the box to peel the flaps back, because I couldn't position them properly at first. Of course, I didn't notice until I had tucked everything together (twice!), so I had to undo the box each time. Fortunately, it's very easy to put together.

When the baby mushrooms start appearing, it's called pinning

Baby mushrooms, April 4, 2020

I'm a REALLY impatient gardener (as in, I have been known to dig up seeds just to see if anything is happening), so it is SO much fun to see this happening so quickly.

April 5, 2020

I became concerned that the box was restricting the mushroom growth, so I used a box knife to cut a flap from the top and lifted it up.

April 6, 2020

April 7, 2020 (penny for size comparison)

April 8, 2020--HARVEST DAY!

I was afraid to wait any longer, so I decided to harvest. Then there was the challenge of figuring out how that worked. I finally took a sharp knife and sawed away...(instilling fear into my hubby, who worries that I will be a klutz like normal and cut myself)...

Underside of mushroom cluster so gills can be seen

Harvested

Chopped

Omelet w/mushrooms and cheese (plus bacon and hash browns

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We like to have breakfast for dinner sometimes, so I fried some of the chopped mushrooms, then put them in an omelet. They were just a little more chewy than the button mushrooms I'm used to, but delicious.

There were enough mushrooms to make two omelets, plus plenty to add to the spaghetti sauce for the next night's dinner.


I've started composting, so I added the substrate and the nifty cardboard to the pile. Who knows if I will get additional mushrooms if the materials don't break down quickly!


This was a fun and tasty project, and I'm looking forward to more adventures with my other Back to the Roots kits! Stay tuned...



Have you started plants for your garden (indoors, if you are still having chilly days)? What are you growing?

Maintaining social distance by staying home

Sweet potato vine and flowers

Dealing with the fears engendered by daily reports of Covid-19 (the novel coronavirus) has made this a frightening time filled with upheaval. Many of us who are used to dropping by the store to pick up a few things, or grabbing something from the local restaurants, going to community events or church, etc. have had our world turned upside-down...but at least in my neck of the woods...we are not confined to our homes...yet. It is amazing to see the videos of those who are finding a way to connect through music and I delight in seeing how indomitable the human spirit is in the face of adversity.

Of course, I'm a little bemused by the folks who are standing in long lines in order to stockpile water or toilet tissue because I have faith that we will get through this relatively quickly...IF...everyone does what they're supposed to. We still have running water...and those who are really concerned about what's in it, can either get a good filter or consider boiling it and letting it cool.

I confess, I already practice a lot of the things they are recommending, having always kept sanitizer in the car to use after pumping gas or going to a store where the clerk was sniffling or showing other signs of a cold or other respiratory problem. I tend to use my sleeve to open doors rather than my bare hand, and when possible, I push doors open with a foot or my back or slide through after someone else. This is partly because I grew up in a smoker's home and have had double pneumonia several times, so I don't have great lungs, and I try to avoid catching respiratory diseases.

Unfortunately, that urge to rub my nose when it itches or push up my glasses is an automatic response that I have to consciously suppress if I haven't had a chance to either wash my hands (counting 20 seconds at 1 one thousand 2 one thousand etc. up to twenty is something I'm practicing) or use sanitizer. I remind myself to picture my hands as dirty (not hard, since I do a lot of gardening and they often are actually covered with dirt) until I get a chance to clean up.


Being stuck at home is not such a hardship for me since I have plenty to read (more about that in a minute) and because I'm constantly puttering in the garden (except that it's been raining recently) or dealing with the household plants. I've recently picked up a set of items from Back to the Roots that I am supposed to review, but I have only started one item because it's so overcast here that I wanted to wait for a series of nice sunny days.

         

So far, I think the kits are nicely packaged but I am not thrilled by the challenges I had trying to redeem the coupons. I also think things are a bit pricey, but I'm definitely a bargain hunter. I'll hold off on any other comments until something begins to sprout.

Image by Nino Carè from Pixabay

Hopefully, you have a library card and can access the wealth of e-books available at your local library. As I've said before, I am blessed because our city has both a county and a city network, so I am sometimes able to find titles at the counterpart if I can't find it on the other network.

I did have issues learning how to use Overdrive on my Kindle (yes, I downloaded the app). I entered my library card number, looked up an author or two, checked out a couple of books...but I couldn't open them! I gave up and looked for the FAQs and help buttons (that's how you knew I was desperate, lol). That didn't quite help. I went back to the page and it kept telling me my book was on my bookshelf...but where was the darn bookshelf itself? 

Through trial and error, I somehow managed to open and read the first book. Then it was time to open the second one, and I was back where I started. You must remember I am a semi-Luddite! After much muttering and poking at icons...I inadvertently swiped right...and lo and behold, there was my bookshelf. Things are moving much smoother now and I am very thankful for all of the authors who have donated their titles to the library and for all of the librarians who try to have a variety of books for their patrons.



Nope, I'm not bored staying home. There's the compost pile to work on, weeding, transplanting seedlings, the new crochet patterns I have, and several jigsaw puzzles to put together...but of course I need to get my edits done first! 

What are you doing to keep yourself busy and how confined to quarters are you in your neck of the woods? I must confess that I miss going out to eat, but I'm not willing to risk the exposure right now. I only hope that my favorite restaurants will be able to weather the reduction in business since I know how difficult it is to keep afloat.

Stay safe, everyone, and make sure to wash your hands frequently!

Image by Mylene2401 from Pixabay