The video from the Goomba Grows YouTube channel demonstrates how to harvest and dehydrate mushrooms for long-term storage, showcasing the mushroom growth process over two weeks, harvest techniques, and dehydration methods using an air fryer. Key tips include the importance of timing the harvest before spores drop to ensure better future flushes and adjusting dehydration settings based on mushroom size for optimal drying.

How to Harvest and Dehydrate Mushrooms for Long-Term Storage

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Google Girls YouTube Channel! Today, we’re going to guide you through the process of harvesting and dehydrating mushrooms, ensuring they are stored perfectly for long-term use. Whether you’re an experienced farmer or a beginner, this step-by-step tutorial is designed to make the process easy and efficient.

Mushroom Growth Over Two Weeks

Initial Growth

Our journey begins with observing the mushroom growth over a two-week period. After transferring our bin into fruiting conditions, it took exactly one week (seven days) to see the first pins.

The Next 12 Hours

Just 12 hours after the initial pins appeared, growth continued rapidly. We noticed that side pins are almost inevitable, regardless of using liners or painting the bottom black. Side pins are not as problematic as they might seem and are something you can easily manage.

Harvesting Your Mushrooms

Patience is Key

Seeing the first few pins form can feel like forever after transferring into fruiting conditions. However, once the pins start to grow, they can be ready to harvest in just a few days. In our case, it took about three to four days for the veil to tear, indicating they were ready for harvest.

Harvesting Method

When harvesting, the pull and twist method is generally preferred. Using a scalpel can leave the base of the mushroom in the substrate, which might rot and cause contamination. Speeding up the process, we captured 13 minutes of mushroom picking footage, which we condensed for your convenience.

Subsequent Harvests

Approximately two to four hours after the initial harvest, we observed more mushrooms with their caps opening up and veils tearing. One particular mushroom, noted for its large size, will be used for a spore print and cloning in future tutorials.

Tips for a Successful Harvest

Optimal Timing

Harvesting mushrooms before they drop their spores is crucial. Once spores are dropped, the mycelium may stop producing mushrooms, affecting your second and third flushes. Harvesting before this stage increases the likelihood of a successful subsequent flush.

Handling Stubborn Mushrooms

Sometimes mushrooms can be stubborn. If they give you trouble, a scalpel can be used, but it’s important to remove the entire mushroom to prevent future contamination.

Post-Harvest Steps

Cleaning the Substrate

After harvesting, clean the substrate by cutting off the mushroom bottoms, which can be tricky. Removing any remnants ensures a clean environment for your next flush.

Continuous Monitoring

Even after the initial harvest, continue monitoring your mushrooms. Eight hours after our last clips, many mushrooms were ready for another harvest, demonstrating the importance of regular checks.

Managing Flushes

It’s worth noting that all mushrooms in a flush tend to mature around the same time. Once most mushrooms are ready, harvest them all, including the smaller ones, to avoid aborts and delays in subsequent flushes.

Dehydrating Your Mushrooms

Importance of Dehydration

Dehydrating mushrooms is essential for long-term storage. Fresh mushrooms last only a few days in the fridge, but dried mushrooms can be stored for up to two years or longer.

Using an Air Fryer

We used an air fryer with a dehydration mode, set to 100 degrees Fahrenheit for eight hours. However, for larger mushrooms, we found that increasing the temperature to 110 degrees Fahrenheit for nine and a half hours was more effective. The exact settings may vary based on your dehydrator or air fryer model.

Final Tips

Ensure all mushrooms are completely dehydrated before storage to prevent any moisture-related issues. Properly dehydrated mushrooms should be crisp and break easily.

Conclusion

We hope you found this guide helpful. Harvesting and dehydrating mushrooms can be a rewarding process, ensuring you have a long-lasting supply. If you enjoyed this tutorial, please leave a like, comment, and subscribe. Stay tuned for our upcoming videos on how to spore print and clone mushrooms. See you in the next one! Peace.