I'm pretty new to mushroom growing, but I'm learning fast. I've bought two grow blocks previously from other suppliers. Both were fine, but only yielded about half a pound of mushrooms (so far, both are on their third flush now). They turned out to only be 2 pound blocks, and at the time I did not know that the maximum yield you can expect from a 2 pound block (at least for lion's mane and blue oyster) is about half the block weight, or 1 pound. It looks like I'll probably land at about 3/4 pound, and those early blocks were definitely not kept at ideal conditions so that's about as much as I could have hoped for.
Still, getting flushes that were only 2-4 ounces was disappointing to me at the time since that's only a few mouthfuls for my wife and myself!
When I found out that hernshaw farms was offering 8 pound blocks, and now knowing the math (that at ideal conditions I could expect 2 to 4 pounds over the course of all the flushes) I was entrigued. When they recently had a 20% off sale, making their "four fun guys" package a mere $16 a block (with free shipping!) I just had to bite.
I had been developing a Maker project, a mycology growing chamber with automated humidity, temperature, co2, and light level. My prior chambers had been 1 square foot. i realized I needed to build a new supersized chamber to hold 4 8-pound blocks blocks. So I ordered 1mm thick PETG sheets 2 feet by 3 feet and constructed a chamber 2 feet wide, 18 inches deep, and 12 inches tall. I doubled the humidifier output and built new LED lights to cover the entire area, then adjusted my PID algorithms to be more suitable to a larger chamber.
Well, the four blocks were even huger than I had estimated and fit in the chamber with just enough room for all the sensor units and actuator units! This was a pleasant surprise! It took several days to get the algorithms tuned to the much larger growspace, and I am still having trouble keeping the CO2 levels under 800 (recommended max for oysters is 750). I've got a larger fan on order to address this.
The blocks were in rough shape from the shipping, with large fissures in two of them. I saw some blue patches on one of the blocks, which I was initially afraid of contam, but I also knew it could just be bruising. I let all the blocks rest in the dark for 3 days to let them recover from shipping. (I was still adjusting my chamber anyway). The blue areas were engulfed by white mycelium and disappeared. All good!
After deploying the blocks in the supersized chamber, two of them started fruiting within just a few days (chocolate oyster and blue oyster). Four days later (today) the chocolate oysters look about ready to harvest and the flush is gigantic compared to what I was getting from my old 2 pound blocks. I haven't harvested yet but I'm estimating 3/4 pound right now. The blues look like they'll be ready in a few more days.
A third block, labelled "golden oyster" just started fruiting today. Surprise! It appears to me that this is really Lions Mane (I see the little white cauliflower-like heads forming quite clearly). I would have taken a star off my rating from having a block mislabeled, but since I really wanted a lion's mane anyway, I will not! This would have really confused a completely beginner though, so I would urge hernshaw farms to be more careful in their labelling.
The fourth block, labeled snow oyster, has still not fruited, although I think I see little tiny primoridia forming now. This block has really thick white "skin", which I think I have seen some people refer to as "overgrowth". I few days ago I ran a razor blade over the exposed area to break this up, and I think that stimulated the pinning. I will keep an eye on this block.
Needless to say, I am thrilled by this deal. $16 with free shipping for a block that could yield 3 to 4 pounds of mushrooms (in my area the economic value of gourmet mushrooms is about $20 a pound). Versus the other blocks (one from Amazon, one from Etsy) that were 2 pound blocks for $25 with an additional $8 for shipping for a total of $33 that will only yield probably 3/4 pound when all the flushes are done. So the score is:
Hernshaw 4 fun guys on sale: $16 total cost (per block) for at least $60 worth of mushrooms. ROI: 375%
Amazon/Etsy blocks: $33 total cost for a block for only about $15 economic value of mushrooms. ROI: 45%
Of course the biggest advantage is, I'm getting flushes that will make a hearty side dish instead of a few mouthfuls.
Bottom line: the quality of this offering is fabulous. Even when not on sale, the value is tremendous, but if you can pick up four fun guys on sale it's beyond amazing compared to other vendors. Blows the competition (at least the two I tried) away.
