1 2

Shiitake - Growkit

Regular price: €12,50
Regular price
Sale price: €12,50
Unit price: per

Tax included.

Lentinula Edodus

A spicy mushroom, perfect for Asian dishes, keeps well and is easy to prepare. They are easy to grow at home as well.

Description

After the white button mushroom, the shiitake is the most cultivated mushroom in the world. The shiitake has an Asian origin. In China and Japan it is widely used in cooking and praised for its medicinal properties. Although the mushroom occurs in nature in Asia, it is often grown there, just like in Europe. In the Netherlands, this cultivation takes place mainly on packages filled with sawdust. Also in our nursery. The shiitake has a light brown to dark brown cap that is usually covered with light white flecks. The taste of the shiitake is spicy and the bite is firm. Shiitake is a long-life mushroom and available in different sizes. Shiitake is ideal in Asian mixes.

Nutritional value per 100 g

energy	273/110 kcal/kJ
fat	0,2 g
– of which saturated	0 g
carbohydrates	1,7 g
– of which sugars	0,2 g
fiber	3,7 g
protein	2,7 g
salt	0 g

Yummy

Shiitakes fit perfectly in Asian dishes, from curry to noodle soup. Shiitakes are best when they are first fried in a wok or frying pan. Give them time to stew or cook. The stalk of (larger) shiitake is quite stiff, so it is removed from the hat before use and finely chopped added to the dish. Larger ones are best cut into strips before use.

Healthy

Shiitake has been cultivated in the Far East for centuries and is praised for its medicinal properties. Vitamins B and C increase resistance and shiitake lowers blood pressure and cholesterol levels. It is also used in Japan as a means of prevention against certain types of cancer.

Instructions

1. Substrate selection & incubation: You will receive the substrate bag. When you receive the bag, make sure it does not overheat. Keep the bag at temperatures between 20 and 23°C. The inside of the bag is always warmer than the outside and the substrate should never be warmer than 25°C or it dies in the center of the block. The bag is sterile and breathing, try to keep it complete and unpunctured.

2. Fructification - induction: When you see small mushrooms – primordia – coming up naturally on the surface of the substrate bag under the plastic, remove the plastic.

3. Fructification - 2: Now you have a choice: the first choice is to place the substrate freely in a larger bag and maintain 16-18°C; there must be enough space inside it for the mushrooms to grow from all sides properly. Tape off the bag, but keep some opening so there can be gas exchange. This bag is only for keeping the humidity high enough as Shii-take hates drying out.

The second choice does not involve a large bag. There is no need for a bag if the humidity of your environment is 85-90%. Put the substrate in a damp and shady place. A shadowy corner or a cellar (with windows) will do just fine. Make sure the atmosphere in and around the bag is very humid (85-90%). Contradictory to what many may think, mushrooms also need a certain amount of oxygen and sunlight. Make sure that the fruits receive enough of it.

4. Fructification - 3: The mushrooms will come up in a large number. Harvest them and enjoy! They will stop growing, but after some time, a second, less intense flush will come up. And even more later on. The substrate will at this point more than likely be infected by green mould, but you may still get some harvest off it. Make sure your contaminated blocks don't infect healthy blocks!

The leftovers from the blocks can be crumbled and composted.