🎨 AI-generated botanical illustration
🌱 Oyster Mushroom
Pleurotus ostreatus
medicinal_mushrooms
fungus
Pleurotaceae
☀️ Sun
Indirect light / dappled shade
💧 Water
High humidity (80–95%)
🗺️ Zones
4–10 (outdoor cultivation)
🧪 Soil pH
N/A (grown on logs/straw/sawdust)
🪴 Soil Type
Hardwood logs, pasteurized straw, coffee grounds, or supplemented sawdust
🚿 Drainage
N/A (substrate should be moist but not waterlogged; high humidity)
📏 Spacing
Fruiting blocks/bags spaced 8–12 inches apart
📐 Height
Fruiting body 2–8 inches across
⏱️ Maturity
14–30 days from inoculation on straw; 3–6 months on logs
🤝 Companions (6)
🤝 Cardboard
Substrate layer for mycelial expansion into soil
🤝 Comfrey
Mulch plant around outdoor mushroom beds
🤝 Ferns
Humidity maintenance
🤝 Hosta
Shade and humidity provider
🤝 Shiitake
Different substrate preferences, complementary cultivation
🤝 Wine Cap Mushroom
Wood chip / straw stratification in mushroom garden
⚠️ Keep Apart (2)
⚠️ Black Walnut
Juglone toxicity
⚠️ Cedar
Antifungal wood oils
📝 Growing Notes
Most forgiving mushroom for beginners. Grows on diverse substrates: straw, coffee grounds, cardboard, cotton waste, hardwood sawdust. Cold-shock triggers fruiting. Fast colonizer, often outcompetes contaminants. Pearl, blue, pink, and golden varieties available. Cook thoroughly for best flavor and digestibility. Spore load is heavy — harvest before caps flatten.
🛒 Buy Seeds & Plants
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Johnny's Selected Seeds
Botanical Interests
True Leaf Market
Burpee
Territorial Seed Company
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