Note: Culture Slants temporarily unavailable during winter months due to temperature senstive nature of this species. Will begin shipping in spring when daily temps allow secure and safe shipment of this sample from our shipping facility. Spore print samples of this species continue to be available during winter months.

An extremely fast growing tropical mushroom popular and widely cultivated in subtropical and tropical Asia. This mushroom requires high temperature levels to thrive and any drop in temperature below 70F will severely limit fruiting.

The main advantage of this mushroom is its aggressive and fast growing nature. It can quickly overwhelm contaminates and actually prefers a biologically active and fermenting substrate. Substrates can completely colonized in as little as 5 days after spawning. Currently, we are using hot water bath processed shredded banana leaf and local thatching straw for our bulk fruiting substrate. This is placed outdoors in mounds and mulched with additional straw or plastic sheeting to retain humidity. A casing can be applied to increase fruiting.

The young mushrooms resemble hen's eggs and these are at the ideal stage for harvesting. In our experience, fully opened mushrooms spoil quickly while the egg stage can be stored for several days.

Volvariella volvacea mycelium is loose and disorganized and can resemble a grayish contaminate mold. The color ranges from grayish white to yellowish brown as it ages, often forming discolored areas. The mycelium is very sensitive to cold and is best stored at room temperature. Do not refrigerate as the culture will die at at temperatures under 45F.

Spores of V. volvacea are also available and are recommended for long term storage under refrigeration or for orders in cold months where the culture may experience low temperatures during shipping.