Here’s a clever present idea guaranteed to evoke a sense of self-sufficiency — an oyster mushroom grow kit, which might net as many as four harvests of delicious home-grown mushies. You can pick up one of the kits, which cost $20 each ($5 cheaper than the RRP), at two local farmers’ markets — Oratia on Saturdays and Hobsonville Pt on Sundays — and their creator Chris Lee hopes to soon stock them at garden centres and grocery stores.
Chris makes the kits from recycled coffee grounds using a cold pasteurising process to save energy, and is working on a new recipe for the mushroom block that will produce even better results. The mushrooms grow fast with a daily spray of water, he says, and recommends keeping them on the kitchen benchtop so they get enough light and air.
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