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We advise to START GROWING your Growkit / Growbox IMMEDIATELY when your growkits arrive. The faster you start growing, the better health they will have. If you cannot start the process immediately, keep them in the fridge for maximum a few weeks, at 4 degrees Celsius. When you start the kit, 20-25 Celsius is the best temperature for to grow Cubensis mushrooms.
The kit CONTAINS the following items: a box with colonized substrate, a bag with an air filter and two paperclips. The only other thing you need is a cold water tap, and some patience.
STARTING THE KIT:
To start the kit break off the tab from the substrate box and open the lid. Turn on the cold water tap and gently let the box fill up with water. Some particles might float out, but this is no problem. Make sure that the substrate is completely under water. To have better absorption of the water, you could use a fork to make some holes in the dry brick. Put some extra water so the whole box is full. Now close the lid and let it stand for minimum 12 hours, and maximum 24hours.
After this time, open one corner of the lid and pour out the excess water. It's very important that all loose water runs off or you will risk losing your kit to contamination. Remove the lid completely and put the box in the bag. Fold the top of the bag and close it with the two paperclips. Do not throw away the lid. Rinse it, dry it and keep it in a clean place for further use. Put the growkit in a warm spot (20-25 ºC) where it receives some light. Do not put it in the full sun or on top of a radiator.
That's it, sit back and relax. Leave the bag closed and within 7-14 days the first mushrooms will appear. These will mature in about a week.
HARVESTING:
Mushrooms grow in so called 'flushes' which means that they come up in batches and not continuously. The correct stages to harvest the mushrooms are when the hats began to open. Harvesting too early will lead to a lower yield. Harvesting too late will lead to black, spore covered, mushrooms. Sometimes one or two mushrooms develop faster than their brothers, pick these and let the others mature. Normally all mushrooms of one flush are picked at the same time, even if a minority is not mature yet. It's normal that a few mushrooms form between the substrate and the sides of the box. Unless they are very large it's best to leave these. Don't go digging in the substrate to get theseout! The substrate surface, the box and the bag may become black/purple. These are the spores of the mushrooms and this may happen if the mushrooms are picked (too) late.
MAINTAINING THE KIT FOR THE NEXT FLUSH:
Immediately after harvesting, the kit has to be soaked for the next flush of mushrooms. Clean the substrate surface by picking the small mushrooms that failed to grow, then put the lid back on and soak the kit for 12 - 24 hours as you did when you started the kit. Drain off the excess water and put it back in the bag. The kit is now ready for the next flush. The process of harvesting and soaking can be repeated until the substrate is depleted. The normal time span between harvests is 9-10 days. Expect the kit to produce at least 4 flushes.
shroom on!
