Grow Kit Instructions

How To Grow Your Happy Mushrooms

Your grow bag has been fully colonized with Hillbilly, a high-performing variety of P. cubensis. We’ve done the hard work for you—all that’s left is to initiate fruiting and enjoy the harvest!

Why Hillbilly?

We chose Hillbilly for its amazing qualities:
✅ High yields – Expect a bountiful harvest
✅ Fast growth – Rapid development once pinning starts
✅ Strong resistance – Less risk of contamination
✅ Potent effects – Known for its powerful experience
✅ No spore-dumping – Larger, stress-free harvest window

Step 1: Set Up Your Grow Bag

Positioning the Bag

  • Stand the bag upright in a clean area.
  • If the substrate appears cracked, don’t worry! This can happen during shipping. Simply firmly compress it back together, and the mycelium will reattach within a few days.
  • Gently separate the front and back of the bag to improve airflow through the filter patch. You don’t want the white filter patch to close to the back wall. 
  • Place the supplied rubber band about one inch below the top of the substrate block. This reduces oxygen to the sides, reducing side pinning.

Temperature, Lighting & Airflow

✅ Lighting: 8–12 hours of indirect sunlight or artificial light. LED or fluorescent lights work best—a cheap timer can ensure consistency.
✅ Temperature: Keep the room between 68–78°F. Below 66°F slows growth, while above 80°F increases contamination risk.
✅ Airflow: Ensure good airflow in the room (e.g., ceiling fan or a small fan a foot away from the bag). Avoid direct air blowing onto the bag to prevent drying out.

Growing

Now a whole lot of nothing happens until pins (baby mushrooms) show up. If you haven’t spotted pins  after 2 weeks, or if you just started seeing pins, you can boost growth by increasing fresh air exchange. This helps lower CO₂ levels and encourages faster development.

Here’s how:
🔪 Using a sharp knife, carefully cut a small 2-inch slit about 2 inches below the white filter patch.
💦 Check for moisture inside the bag daily after opening. If the interior walls look a bit dry, lightly mist them with clean water. You want the bags walls to look pretty humid. Avoid spraying directly on the substrate or mushrooms, only the bags walls. 
 

Step 2: Watch for Fruiting

Hillbilly genetics take a while to start pinning but mature VERY fast, so it’ll likely be at least 2–3 weeks to start pinning (baby mushrooms forming). Be patient! Once pins appear, the mushrooms will mature rapidly, and you’ll be ready to harvest in just a few days.

PRO TIP- If your mushrooms are mostly growing from the sides and not the top, you can lightly mist the center surface of the bag a couple of times to encourage pinning in the center. You want the surface slightly moist not soaking wet. Also go ahead and spray the bags walls a couple times to increase humidity. 

Step 3: Harvesting Mushrooms

When to harvest:

  • Mushrooms are ready when the caps have opened up and caps have started flattening. If bag looks very crammed, you can harvest sooner to get to your second flush. 
  • Since Hillbilly doesn’t drop spores, you can allow smaller mushrooms to catch up to the larger ones before harvesting. During this stage you may notice the mushrooms turn blue, this is totally normal oxidation.

Two harvesting methods:

  1. Top-cut method:
    • Cut open the top of the bag below the seal with scissors.
    • Wash hands or wear gloves, then gently twist and pull mushrooms near the base.
  2. Hood-cut method: (Preferred)
    • Cut the bag an inch above the substrate, leaving the back wall intact to form a “hood.”
    • Use a sharp knife or scissors to cut mushrooms just above the substrates base.

Tip: If your harvest is very dense, the hood-cut method works best.

Step 4: Get Ready for More Harvests

After your first harvest, it’s time to rehydrate the substrate to encourage more flushes!

Two Rehydration Options:

1️⃣ Soaking Method (Best)

  • Pour bottled or filtered water into the bag until the substrate is submerged. Use something heavy to weigh the block down so it’s fully submerged. 
  • Let it soak for 2 – 4 hours, then drain the excess water by tilting the bag.

2️⃣ Spray Method (Easier, but Less Effective)

  • Use a spray bottle to thoroughly mist the substrate and inner bag walls. Keep misting heavy for 3 – 4 days.

PRO TIP- You can add a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide to the water to help prevent contaminations. 

Sealing the Bag for the Next Flush:

  • Top-Cut Method: Fold the bag one inch from the top and secure with tape or a paper clip.
  • Hood-Cut Method: Fold the bag over itself and secure it with the rubber band. Use tape if needed.

💡 Expect 2–3 flushes per bag, with smaller yields each time. You won’t always get a second or third flush. Sometimes contamination can take over and sometimes the bag is spent if the 1st flush was very big. Once contamination appears, discard the bag.

Step 5: Drying Your Mushrooms

Option 1: Dehydrator (Highly Recommended)

✅ Set to 120°F (if you don’t have one, a $40 dehydrator from Amazon works great).
✅ Slice larger mushrooms in half for even drying.
✅ Spread them on a rack and dry for 12–24 hours, until they snap like crackers. You want 0 bend! 

Option 2: No Dehydrator?  (You should buy one, this method isn’t as reliable)😅

1. Fan Method: Lay mushrooms on a paper towel in front of a fan on high for 24 hours.
2. Oven finisher: Place on a parchment-lined tray, set the oven to its lowest temp, and leave the door slightly open. Check every 15–20 minutes until fully dry.
You’re done when mushrooms snap like crackers with 0 bend. 

With the oven method mushrooms may turn black. They’re still edible but won’t look appetizing. 

Step 6: Storing Your Mushrooms

  • Use mason jars or vacuum-sealed bags for long-term storage.
  • Store in a cool, dark place to maintain potency for over a year.
  • Add desiccant packets (available on Amazon) to your jars to absorb any residual moisture.
  • You can use zip lock bags for temporary storage, but they’ll typically let in moisture which can reduce the amount of time your mushrooms will stay fresh.

By following these steps, you’ll enjoy multiple flushes and maximize the yield from your Hillbilly grow bag. Have fun and email us if you have any questions! info@happymushrooms.com.

Troubleshooting
Is this contamination?

Not Contamination: Common Mycelium Characteristics

✅ White Fuzziness

🔍 What to Look For: Wispy, fluffy white growth on the substrate or mushrooms.
⚠️ Cause: High CO₂ levels due to insufficient fresh air exchange. This is common when using bags to grow as there’s less air flow and isn’t necessarily a problem as long as mushrooms are growing fine. 
✅ Solution: Ensure there’s good airflow in the room—use a ceiling fan or a small fan a foot away from the bag. Cut slit in bag as shown in step 1.

✅ Blue Spots (Bruising)

🔍 What to Look For: Light to dark blue patches on the mycelium or mushrooms.
⚠️ Cause: Mycelium bruising from handling, dryness, or stress. It’s also common for mushrooms to blue during or close to harvesting due to oxidation. 
✅ Solution: Bluing is typically nothing to worry about.

✅ Yellow Liquid (Metabolites)

🔍 What to Look For: A golden-yellow or amber liquid on the substrate.
⚠️ Cause: Mycelium metabolites, a natural mycelium secretion sometimes in response to stress, often during shipping temperature fluctuations. 
✅ Solution: This is not contamination. You can leave it as is, but ensuring proper airflow and humidity will help reduce metabolite buildup.

Handling Contamination: What to Expect & What to Do

Contamination is a natural part of mushroom cultivation since mushrooms thrive in the same moist, nutrient-rich environments that molds and bacteria love. However, your grow bag arrives fully colonized, meaning the mycelium is strong and naturally fights off contaminants. This significantly reduces the risk, but if the bag is opened or exposed to outside elements, there’s always a small chance contamination could occur.

Signs of Contamination & How to Handle Them

1️⃣ Unusual Colors

🔍 What to Look For: Green, black, pink, or yellow patches on the substrate or mycelium.
⚠️ Likely Cause: Mold or bacterial contamination (e.g., green mold = Trichoderma).
✅ What to Do:

  • If contamination is small and isolated, carefully remove the affected area using a sterilized utensil.
  • If the contamination spreads, discard the bag immediately to prevent cross-contamination.

2️⃣ Foul or Sour Odor

🔍 What to Look For: Smells like rotting food, vinegar, or ammonia.
⚠️ Likely Cause: Bacterial contamination inside the substrate.
✅ What to Do:

  • Discard the bag immediately—bacterial contamination cannot be salvaged and can spread quickly.

💡 Final Tip: If you’re unsure whether something is normal or contamination, send us a clear photo with good lighting at info@happymushrooms.com—we’re happy to help! 🍄

  • Hillbilly takes time to pin—sometimes up to 4 weeks. If there’s no contamination, you’re fine!
  • Ensure proper lighting, airflow, and temperature.
  • If no pins after 4 weeks, try cutting a slit in the bag (see Step 1).
  • If you’re worried, email us a clear photo of your bag: info@happymushrooms.com

Sometimes mushrooms prefer growing on the sides of the bag due to the more ideal humidity and microclimate. To help combat this you can spray the center of the substrate a couple times and also spray the bag walls. This ensures there is more even humidity throughout the bag. Do note that even with side growth you can still get an impressive yield.