Where To Buy Mushroom Growing Kits As Gifts

Those who love to garden, cook, and eat probably have friends who do the same. When it's time to think of yet another great gift, why not buy mushroom growing kits for all, yourself included. These tidy little counter or table top units can be used indoors for many kinds of mushrooms and outdoors for some. Think about giving unusual spawn as a gift. Cool, huh?

Seeing is believing, but also wanting. You may know about different mushrooms that you can buy dried in a specialty market or eat in a fine restaurant, but you may never have seen them growing. However, when you look at the pictures of harvest-ready mushrooms grown from a kit, you'll want them on your kitchen counter.

It helps that these complete set-ups are sold by seed and nursery companies, who are expert at tantalizing pictures. However, a mushroom is never boring. It appears out of nowhere, silently grows into a tasty button or a other-worldly delicacy, and has all the cachet of gourmet cuisine. Potted flowering plants are nice, but a Blue Oyster is fantastic.

Chefs attest that the fresher an ingredient is, the better. This goes for edible fungi, too. And what gourmet cook wouldn't love to pick a Portobella or Shiitake at the precise time to slice it up and add it to the dish they are preparing for dinner. Mushrooms add a special touch to pastas, omelets, casseroles, and sauces. They are called 'the vegetarian's meat' because of their meaty texture, rich flavors, and high nutritional content.

Apart from the impact that a unique gift delivers, the growing period is part of the fun. It takes several weeks to harvest, and the process is mostly a spectator sport. After the initial set-up (directions come with the kit; they usually are 'water well'.) all you need to do is mist the whole thing to keep it moist. Place it in indirect light, in a spot that is fairly cool (different temps for different fungi), and let it do its thing.

A kit consists of spawn, spores, or mycelium - all terms for fungal reproductive dust - and the medium to grow it in. Some varieties grow in bags of sawdust and wood chips or of wheat straw. Others grow on logs that you can keep indoors or out.

There are familiar kinds like Portobellas and Shiitakes that many already know and like. Others are almost unknown to westerners unless they are gourmets or international chefs. Blue or Pearl Oysters, Pioppinos, Namekos, and the really weird-looking Enokitakes are used in cooking. The beautiful Turkey Tails and the Reishi are valued for medicinal reasons and used to make healthy teas.

Mushrooms are rich in potassium, riboflavin(B-2), and Vitamin D, have no fat or cholesterol, and are low calorie. Portobellas and Shiitakes have a meaty taste and texture that is perfect for both meat and vegetarian dishes. The delicate flavor of other varieties is considered by many to be indispensable and irreplaceable.

You can now buy mushroom growing kits by using our trustworthy online store. Use this page to place your order at http://highmountaincompost.com/place-orders.