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Discounts will be reflected at checkout; feel free to mix and match grain spawn species

Spawn may take two to three weeks to ship depending on availability. 

BLACK KING MUSHROOM CULTIVATION

Pleurotus spp. (hybrid)

Pleurotus spp: A fast substrate colonizer that fruits dense, meaty mushrooms. A hybrid between Pleurotus ostreatus and Pleurotus eryngii, Black Kings are the newest addition to our grain spawn offerings. They are easier to produce than King Trumpet mushrooms but maintain the same meatiness and firm texture that chefs adore. 

Grain Spawn - This is used for commercial indoor production using sawdust based sterilized substrate. You do not use grain spawn for log inoculation. Grain spawn comes in bags approximately 6 lbs each.

Inoculation: 

Indoor Commercial Production - Black King mushroom grain spawn can be mixed into sterilized hardwood sawdust to create Black King substrate blocks. This process requires a fair amount of infrastructure. We recommend purchasing a book on mushroom cultivation if you are interested in pursuing this style of mushroom production as a hobby or profession. We recommend 'Radical Mycology: A Treatise on Seeing and Working with Fungi' by Peter McCoy, 'Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation' by Tradd Cotter, or 'Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms' by Paul Stamets. 

Difficulty: Intermediate

Black Kings are less finicky than Pleurotus eryngii, and are able to grow very well indoors. They prefer cooler temperatures and are prone to drying out or aborting their growth if humidity is not maintained when the mushrooms are still in their early stages. However, when they grow successfully you can expect a large harvest of very meaty and delicious mushrooms. 

Cooking: Black Kings are some of the meatiest mushrooms able to be cultivated and make a great substitute for meat. They can be wonderful marinated and grilled. They have a somewhat neutral and savory flavor that lends well to many different cuisines and flavors. Thinly sliced they will sear nicely in a pan. With some grated Parmesan cheese, extra virgin olive oil, and fresh thyme, they make a great topping for pasta dishes.

Properties: Mushrooms of the Pleurotus genus, which includes hybrids like Black Kings and other oyster mushrooms, have a high protein content, several B vitamins, and all the essential amino acids (Marley, 2009). Their medicinal benefits include promoting anti-tumor activity and lowering high cholesterol. Pleurotus fruiting bodies and distillations have been shown to reduce tumor size in several studies on mice, rats, and hamsters (Hobbs, 1995). Additionally, Pleurotus mushrooms have been used in the Czech Republic as the main ingredient in a dietary supplement used to treat high cholesterol (Hobbs, 1995). Studies in animals have shown that a diet of Pleurotus mushrooms reduced the development of plaque in major arteries (Bobek et al., 1995).