I came across Mushroomate on the New Zealand Made Facebook Page and bought my Mum and myself one their oyster mushroom grow pots for Mothers Day. We have set them up in our respective garages in a spot that’s out of the sun but not too cold or damp.

To grow the mushrooms all you have to do is spray the bucket where the holes are twice a day. In about eight weeks we should have an abundance of delicious, nutritious, oyster mushrooms!

This kiwi business was created by Esperanza Chua and her daughter while working on a school sustainability project together which morphed into a successful family business.

The grow pot I bought was $29.90 and Mum’s was $32.20 as hers was gift wrapped. Once the first harvest is complete you can flush the pot and start the process again. If you’re lucky you may get several grows out of one pot – that depends on the individual growing conditions.

“My daughter and I gave this mushroom growing concept a try but we wanted to do it with a difference. We decided to support our NZ endemic/native mushrooms. We have been amazed at how easily we have managed to grow mushrooms at home, so much so that we’ve decided to extend this school project for others to experience and enjoy!”

We live in Auckland and because we don’t have a lot of garden space I was looking for ideas of something we could grow in such a small space. Finally, I had the perfect idea! Grow oyster mushrooms using waste materials such as coffee grounds, cheap barley straw, and re-usable/recycled buckets right in our bathroom.

It has been difficult process trying to find a mushroom growing supplier in NZ. Instead I had to watch several YouTube videos on how to grow mushrooms, especially as we don’t have a background on mycology.

Our focus is to encourage Kiwi families, schools and local communities to choose to grow our NZ endemic/native mushrooms variety rather than imported species. This will help us preserve our beautiful endemic/native mushrooms for future generations. Show your 100% support for the New Zealand ecology.”

Online orders https://mushroomate.my-online.store

Or through Facebook

These mushrooms enjoy a terrific reputation as the most forgiving, easiest to cultivate, rich in nutrition and medicinally supportive. We have been hooked ever since!

Both of these varieties are DNA Verified by Landcare NZ and stored in the international collection of microorganisms of plant pathogens using cryogenics. 

1. Pleurotus parsonsiae is Endemic to New Zealand and so close to the imported strain P. djamor (pink oyster mushroom) that people growing the pink oyster mushroom are not aware of the consequences to our ecology.  Imported strains of mushrooms may cross in nature and  it could destroy our endemic mushroom genetically, endangering our native/endemic through genetic pollution. Our goal is to raise awareness and encourage people to grow our native/endemic mushrooms rather than imported strains i.e. Pink Pleurotus djamor 

2. Pleurotus pulmonarius, commonly known as the Indian Oyster, Italian Oyster, Phoenix Mushroom, or the Lung Oyster, is a mushroom very similar to Pleurotus ostreatus, the Pearl Oyster, but with a few noticeable differences. P. Pulmonarius is commercially cultivated in New Zealand, and is sometimes sold as “Oyster mushrooms”. The archetypal Oyster Mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus, cannot be imported into New Zealand due to perceived risks to their forestry industry.

P. pulmonarius may be effective in the treatment of hay fever by inhibiting the release of histamine. Powdered P. pulmonarius mushrooms caused a significant reduction in sneezing and nasal rubbing when fed in water to sensitized mice, although the effect gradually builds up over a matter of weeks.

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