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How to get fungi growing on coffee grounds

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  • March 6, 2022 at 4:46 pm #32316
    Percy117

      Hi guys,

      I am pretty new to mushroom cultivation but I have started experimenting with growing fungi (specifically Blue Oysters) on different substrates. I had done one on compost which as successfull and now I have been experimenting with growing them on coffee grounds. It has been a few days after I mixed the coffee grounds with mycelium of the blue oyster and there is still no sign of growth. All of the videos that I have watched say that coffee grounds are a really good susbtrate and that mycelium should start to grow within a few days. Does anybody know why fungi wouldn’t be growing on coffee grounds?

      here are the in-detail steps of what I did.

      1. mix and stir the coffee grounds to get rid of chunks (approx 3 kg of coffee grounds)

      2. add some water to hydrate it (approx 2.5 cups)

      3. Add the blue oyster mycelium to it and mix (i had bought the mycelium from growcycle in the form of a grain spawn bag). I added approx 200-300 grams.

      4. Put the mycelium-filled coffee grounds into two spawn bags and seal them.

      I keep it in a dark closest slightly above room temperature. The bags have plenty of water in them.

      March 9, 2022 at 9:01 am #44694
      adampembs
      Keymaster

        Welcome to UK Fungi

        The usual substrate for Pleurotus is wood. This is why a common medium for growing this in kits uses old paperback books as it is essentially wood ie cellulose.

        Coffee grounds are quite a different substrate and contain a different assortment of nutrients as well as potential toxins like caffeine.

        I would advise sticking to the recommended food for the fungus. With regular Oysters (P. ostreatus) you need to grow at about 15C and then cool in the fridge after a few weeks to shock the fungus into producing fruit bodies. After all, winter is when you see Oyster Mushrooms in the wild.

        Perhaps a more useful experiment would be to put the coffee grounds on the compost heap and see what grows on it. We have a food waste container and I see a variety of fungi growing inside it. I don’t have the books or expertise to identify food fungi.

        If you have a book on growing mushrooms, has anyone had success growing fungi on coffee grounds?

        March 9, 2022 at 9:06 am #44695
        adampembs
        Keymaster

          I’ve just seen a few webpages where people have done this. Did you see growth of the mycelium? White and fluffy?

          July 12, 2022 at 4:11 pm #44696
          adampembs
          Keymaster

            Pray, don’t mention it… 🙄

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