Let's Grow #4, Box O'Dirt to Mushroom Time!

Ok, if you have gotten this far and you are thinking, "UGH, I have read pages of this person's blog, bought all this stuff, done the Walter White mixology in my tiny bathroom in nothing but underwear, and all I have is a box of humid dirt to show for it...." Well just hang on. Things are about to get interesting.

Fruiting Conditions

Right now, your tub is in colonization conditions. For me, that means painter's tape on all the holes and covered with a towel. At full colonization (100% mycelium coverage and possibly pins), I change the top holes to filters, remove the towel on top of the bin to let light in, and move the bin near a bright, indirect light source. With the combo of my substrate and bins, there's generally no need to spray and fan, but do keep an eye to ensure humidity levels stay up and nothing is drying out. Mushrooms like LOTS of humidity, you should see water droplets on the top of your bin at all times. If you do need to spray for humidity, spray the inside top of the bin - do not spray the substrate or mycelium directly.

I borrowed this awesome photo from Steve in the Shroomery Facebook Group (Thank you!)

In fruiting conditions, I also have a fan going near the bin(s) to keep up adequate airflow.

Some things to keep in mind:

Mushrooms don't need light to grow. I've read that the light source helps them grow straighter (toward the light), and I swear they grow faster with sunlight but I don't know if that's scientifically proven. Lots of people grow them in closets and under beds.
You're going to want to open the bins and look at your shrooms as they develop. Don't do it. You'll let out humidity and let in contamination. Resist.
If you see yellow dots or tiny orange/yellow puddles on the mycelium - don't panic. It's likely mushroom pee. That link is good to check out pics of contamination as well. Yuck.
If you see contamination, your grow is over. Yes, you'll read things about rescuing the grow. I don't recommend trying. Who wants to eat contaminated food? Not me.
Fruiting isn't really a sterile process, but since we're dealing with what is a "magical ingestible item" I keep it very clean. When we get to harvest time, I turn off the fan so contamination isn't blowing around, wash up, wear gloves, and treat the mushrooms with respect. Again, we're dealing with magic here people. Cannabis people can be all bulk and industrial, and while both shrooms and cannabis are both medicine - I really believe mushrooms are magic, and deserve huge respect in the growing and taking if you want to unlock that experience. I'm disgressing, and that's going to be another post.
The time from pin to small shroom to big shroom to overdone shroom can be super quick (days/hours). Once you have pins, keep a close eye on the mushrooms and harvest them as soon as you see the veil about to tear - imo a little early is tons better than a little late.

More on harvest and storing in the next post.