Do you want to get the most out of your grow kit? Follow these tips to make sure that the growing conditions of your grow kit are optimal.


Read the instructions first!

This article will provide you with additional tips for optimizing the growing progress. Before we get into the additional tips, please make sure you read the official FreshMushroom XP Grow Kit Instructions.


And don't forget: Always work sterile. Make sure your hands and arms are disinfected while handling the grow-kits. The more sterile you work, the less chance you will have for contamination. 


In this article we will go through:

Set-up


Placing: The best place to put the grow-kit is on a high-up place like on top of your wardrobe a top of a shelf or on top of a cupboard. Never put your grow-kit on the ground. Why?
At a higher place, the temperature will be a bit warmer, it will be away from people/air movements. It's overall cleaner and less prone to contaminants.

Also never place the grow kit too close to a radiator because that will expose too much heat to the grow kit.


Clean workplace: Always make sure that the area around where the grow-kit is set up is clean and disinfected.
Make sure that the kit is not placed in the bathroom because there are a lot of contaminating agents and other molds flying around in there, the same counts for the kitchen. The best place would be in the living room or in the bedroom. 

Lighting: Place the kit somewhere where it can receive normal daylight. It should have a normal day and night rhythm. But! Make sure your grow kit is never standing in direct sunlight. Direct sunlight will expose the grow kit to too much heat.


What to do with the carton box?: You can place the grow-kit after it came from the fridge in the grow-bag and put the grow-bag inside of the cardboard box it came in. This way the sides of the mycelium cake are protected from the light. It will increase the chances of the mushrooms growing on top of the substrate and not on the side. 


Temperature


The grow kit should always be in the range of 18-28 degrees. 
Too low? It will go in hibernation mode and go to sleep
Too high? It will be overheated and not grow or not grow the right way.

The ideal temperature is between 21-24 degrees. If you can arrange a constant room temperature, that would be great! Another way to achieve the right temperature is using our Thermo heating mats. Make sure you follow the right instructions so you can have the ideal temperature and maximize your yield.


Growth process

- This process is different from the Mondo Grow Kits. For additional tips on the Mondo Grow Kits click here.


After 1 or 2 weeks the pins will start growing. When the little mushrooms almost hit the plastic bag, it is time to put the grow bag up straight and give them space to grow. 

You can leave the bag open just a little bit so some of the excess water can evaporate out. 

Keep the paperclips on the top and leave a little gap open. From this point, the mushrooms will grow very fast until maturity. 


Links to other articles

Stay up to date! Read the following articles that will help you optimize growing conditions and maximize your yield: