As you will see, there is a perforation on the front of the box. Behind that piece of cardboard lays a bag containing substrate (sawdust, soy husks and water), which has been inoculated and populated with mycelium, the fungi from which your mushrooms will grow.

It is important not to use scissors or a knife to open this perforation, but to carefully push the cardboard inside all the way around with your fingers and then remove it once it has separated from the main box.

Inside you will see a bag containing mixture of white and brown substances. That is the substrate which will act as the food source and the white substance is mycelium, which will become your mushrooms.

Now it is time to be really careful. You will need a sharp knife that has to be really clean – recently boiled water will work, but rubbing alcohol is best. You will need to cut an X in the bag from corner to corner. While you do not want to pull the bag away from the mycelium, you do want to make sure the X is complete, with no little tags holding the cuts together.

Using your water bottle that is adjusted to mist, you can spritz the area that you just cut with about two or three sprays, repeating morning and night. Be careful not to spritz too much, as we only want to create a bit of humidity in the bag behind where we made the cut, unlike with a plant, we do not need to water the area, just keep it humid.

(The shape of your box may vary.)