The above photo shows our Mushroom Bag Wood Based colonized with Agrocybe aegerita mycelium. Agrocybe aegerita fruiting invitro, notice long stalks. Agrocybe aegerita fruiting in open humidity chamber.

The Black Poplar Mushroom Kit contains everything you need, including the source mushroom culture, to begin cultivating the highly desired medicinal and gourmet Black Poplar Mushroom.

The foundation of this Mushroom Kit is the Wood Based Mushroom Bag. This Bag formula is comprised mostly of a select mix of hardwoods especially formulated for wood loving mushrooms, supplemented with wheat bran, and small amounts of vermiculite for water retention.

Each kit will include a 10cc inoculation plunger filled with Agrocybe aegerita culture, four small Wood Based Mushroom Bags, and a thin plastic, gusseted humidity tent. Each Bag is shipped with all air removed for easy packing. Each Bag contains approximately 1 pound of wet sterilized substrate.

To use, simply Unfold the Bag, allowing the extra material to stand straight up.

Locate the small foam disk sealed and attached in a plastic housing near the base of the Bag. This disc is the self-healing injector site. Note: The disc will be covered by a small plastic shield. Do not attempt to remove the plastic covering the disc, you will inject through it. Sterilize a small section of the outside of the Bag (on the plastic shield) directly over the foam disc with an alcohol soaked wipe. With the same alcohol soaked wipe, sterilize the needle on your inoculation plunger.

Inoculate the substrate (material inside the bag) with the inoculation plunger solution by inserting the needle through the plastic shield and foam disc at the previously sterilized spot. Squirt 2.5cc of the culture solution directly into the substrate material. After injection, remove plunger from hole. The self-healing foam disc will seal the puncture site. Inoculate each bag in this manner, sterilizing the needle of your plunger with an alcohol wipe between each bag.

DO NOT insert the needle through the white filter patch found near the top of the Bag.

Place the Bag(s) in a dark location and incubate at 70-80F. It is recommend to store the Bag fully extended as developing Mycelia will give off gases that will slowly expand the interior of the Bag. This ballooning effect is crucial for proper air exchange and culture development.

Note: During drier summer and winter months it is advisable to store the Bag in a humid location. Excessively dry environments may draw moisture from the Bag.

Because colonization will begin in the interior of the substrate material it may take between 14-20 days for you to notice the spreading of colonizing mycelium towards the outside of the Bag. Speed of colonization is directly affected by incubation temperatures, please check to make sure you are incubating the bag at the correct temperature. Typical colonization time is between 21-30 days.

When colonization is 90% or 100% complete you will initiate the fruiting stage of the mushroom. Move Bag(s) to a location with indirect light (indoor light or filtered sunlight is best). Allow the Bags to receive 12 hours of indirect light per day (direct fluorescent lighting works as well).

Reduce temperature to 50-60F. Placing the bag near a cool window or air-conditioning vent may help. The drop in temperature will induce ''pinning,'' which is the beginning phase of mushroom development. Pins (small developing mushrooms) may be visible within 7-10 days of initiating this fruiting cycle.

Once the Bag is 100% colonized and pinning has been initiated, The Black Poplar Mushroom will continue to develop and fruit invitro (inside the Bag) as pictured above. However, mushrooms grown invitro tend to be very ''stalky'' due to restrictive air exchange.

For best results, remove the upper portion of the bag material by cutting off the bag 1 inch above its base. This will leave a small portion of the lower bag intact to protect the base of the fruiting substrate block.

Place the now exposed fruiting block on a small diner plate. Use the included thin plastic humidity tent to loosely cover the substrate block and diner plate. Using a small spray bottle mist the interior of this humidity tent. Repeat misting on a daily basis, or often enough so that water droplets are always present on the humidity tent's interior. Mushrooms grown in humidity chambers or ''tents'' will produce the most desireable specimens for gourmet and medicinal applications.

A simple and effective fruiting setup can be constructed from a thin plastic grocery or other similar type bag for a humidity tent and a dinner plate to catch excess water.

Tested and proven, this all you need to begin your journey in the art and science of mushroom cultivation.