I am simultaneously excited and creeped out by my new blue oyster mushroom crop. Here are a couple of photos (behind the cut) so you can enjoy this confusing excitement-squick feeling too.

This photo was taken in the morning, when I turned around after putting the kettle on, to find these creepy blue heads poking out at me. Honestly, I got a real fright seeing them sitting there. They were definitely not like that the night before.

I was horrified. I thought the box had gone mouldy and these tiny things were going to pop and release toxic spores… But no. This is apparently perfectly normal and what you want to see happen in a blue oyster mushroom box. This is the “pinning” phase, where the root of all these shrooms put out tiny “pins” that eventually grow into recognisable mushrooms.

This photo was taken about 6 hours later. Don’t these little pins grow fast?
I’ve learned that oyster mushrooms are the easiest type of mushroom to grow indoors, producing a bountiful crop. I got this box in an office Secret Santa. It’s made by LifeCykel, a company that recycles used coffee grounds in their mushroom boxes.