Low-tech Oyster Mushroom Yields

Hygiene is overrated. In mushroom cultivation, that is. This is about half the production of a 1 gallon bucket of inoculated coffee grounds, absolutely no sanitation measures taken, over the course of a couple months. With a dozen such buckets you could provide enough mushrooms to significantly supplement the diet of a small family, all using nothing but organic waste. I grew these mushrooms on nothing but coffee grounds. My process was as such:

1. Drill several holes in a gallon bucket with a lid. Nest it tightly in another intact bucket to seal it.
2. Put a 1 inch layer of coffee grounds on the bottom of the bucket.
3. Take mushroom spawn (or your crumbled up spent mushroom substrate) and cover the coffee with a thin layer (1/2-1″).
4. Repeat until the bucket is full.
5. Leave the bucket until the mycelium covers the top of the bucket (can take several weeks).
6. Separate the original buckets so the holes are exposed and wait.

Oyster mushroom mycelium is tenacious and can compete well with mold. My buckets, despite no sanitation protocol, have not been contaminated due to the large ratio of spawn I use compared to the fresh substrate.