I’ve never been into non-edible gardens. I mean, after all, what fun is there when you spend all the time and energy maintaining your garden but can’t harvest anything? Sadly, I hadn’t been able to continue my edible garden since moving to NYC, due to the shoebox-sized apartments here. Well, that all changed when I discovered Back to the Roots.
The idea behind this California startup is to “undo food” or teach kids and adults where their food comes from, and even better, let them try to grow their own. I was very intrigued by this concept, and what made it even better for me was that their plant kits come with everything included, so all I needed was some water. So, I documented my journey of growing my own oyster mushrooms in my tiny Greenwich village apartment:
Photo by Weichen Yan
I followed the simple instructions on the back of the kit: Scrape off the top layer of white soil to start the mushrooms’ growth, and soak the bag for 8 hours.
Photo by Weichen Yan
After this initial step, the rest is simple – just water the mushrooms once a day with 2 teaspoons of water.
Photo by Weichen Yan
I was beyond excited when I saw the tiny mushrooms sprouting out of the soil.
Photo by Weichen Yan
And they got bigger day by day.
Photo by Weichen Yan
After just 9 days, they were ready to harvest.
Overall, I loved this experience. I’ve grown herbs from seeds before, but growing mushrooms was something I’d never done. The process of watching my own mushrooms grow was incredibly rewarding, especially when I did it in my tiny apartment with minimal effort. So if I was able to grow these in my tiny apartment, what are you waiting for? Start growing and enjoy the fruit of your labor afterwards!