Serving Mushroom Growers Around the World Since 1992

Resources for Mushroom Growers
Oyster Mushroom Cultivation

Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) are one of the easiest species to grow. Oysters grow rapidly and can out-compete most contaminants. They can grow on most hardwoods as well as straw and many agricultural wastes.

• Pennsylvania State University: Cultivation of Oyster Mushrooms (PDF - 169K)
  
  
• Fungi Ally: Oyster Mushroom Cultivation in the Northeast United States (PDF - 17,700K)
  
  
• Cornell University: Totem Method for Cultivating Oyster Mushroom (PDF - 144K)
  
  
• The Westen Montana Mycological Society has a web page that outlines the very easiest way to get these mushrooms started in your backyard.
  
  
• Terri Marie Beauséjour of the Mycological Society of San francisco has published a great introduction to cultivating oyster mushrooms
  
  
• Ralph Kurtzman's 86-page book Oyster Mushroom Culitvation is available in PDF format:
  • Chapter 1: Preparing to Grow Mushrooms - Facilities (PDF - 184K)
  • Chapter 2: Pasteurization (PDF - 204K)
  • Chapter 3: Oyster Mushroom Cultivation (PDF - 212K)
  • Chapter 4: Packaging & Preservation (PDF - 344K)
  • Chapter 5: Mushroom Diseases & Pests (PDF - 420K)
  • Chapter 6: Spawn Making: A Job Only for Well-Trained perfectionists (PDF - 169K)
  
  
  
• Cultivation of Pleurotus spp. (PDF - 151K)
  
  
• Effect of Substrate Pre-treatment Methods on Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) Production (PDF - 155K)
  
  
• There are also videos to help you visualize the process:
  • Oyster mushrooms with bottle technology in Korea (9 minutes)

Finally, there are a variety of other species of oyster mushrooms that you may wish to cultivate. For example:

• Pleurotus tuber-regium