Description
Shiitake 5000 Mushroom Grow Kit
Scientific Name: Lentinula edodes
Skill Level: Advanced
Growing Time: First flush around 3 weeks
Ideal Fruiting Temp: 7°C–25°C
About This Kit- This kit requires you to make a shotgun fruiting chamber (Plenty of youtube tutorials) before you fruit it.Its a easy low cost fruiting room that can be used for any mushroom.
1 kg
Yield: 150–200g in first flush
Our 1 kg kits are pre-made and ready to go. No waiting, no lead time. If you want to gift someone a mushroom kit, or you just don’t want to wait, this is the one. No fancy box, no unnecessary packaging, just a fresh bag.
3 kg
Yield: 450–650g in first flush
Our 3 kg kits are made fresh to order, the same way real mushroom farms do it. No fancy box, no endless sitting in cold storage. We prepare it and send it when it is ready to be shipped. This typically takes 7 to 14 days to ship out.
Lead time applies to 3 kg kits only. The lead time shown above the “Add to Cart” button is the time needed to prepare your order. A product showing as “in stock” means it can be prepared within that lead time, not that it is ready to ship immediately. 1 kg kits ship within our standard handling time when in stock.
Please read before you buy
Do not buy this kit as your first ever kit. It is an advanced kit that requires you to open the whole bag. Doing so in an unclean environment can lead to contamination, or the block can dry out and produce no fruit. Shiitake is also fruited quite differently from other mushrooms, so please read the instructions carefully before you start.
We also suggest building a shotgun fruiting chamber or a Martha greenhouse tent setup before you fruit shiitake.
What’s Inside
Everything you need is included. Just add water and follow the simple instructions.
Our substrate is a blend of hardwood sawdust and wheat bran, giving your Shiitake the best possible start.
Microplastic Free
Soy Allergen Free
Our bags: We use Unicorn grow bags, made in the USA. Unicorn is the only grow bag in the world independently tested by Eurofins (a third party lab in Europe) and certified to EN 1186 and USFDA 1520 standards for plastic migration into substrate. Tested at 121°C for 3.5 hours. No other PP or PE bag manufacturer has achieved this food safety standard.
About Shiitake Mushrooms
Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) is a classic culinary and medicinal mushroom with a rich umami flavour and a meaty texture. Shiitake strains are often divided into cool season, warm season, or wide range. The Shiitake 5000 strain is a wide range, vigorous strain that fruits across a broad temperature window and works well both on logs and on supplemented blocks.
Growing Conditions
Humidity: 85–95%. Keep humidity high during pinning and fruiting and avoid sudden dry periods. Shiitake needs steady moisture for quality caps.
Light: Indirect ambient light on a normal day and night cycle is enough. Shiitake does not need intense light but benefits from a light cue to help pin formation.
Air: Provide regular fresh air exchange to avoid CO₂ buildup. Gentle airflow is best. Excessive drafts will dry the block and stress the pins.
Temperature: 7°C–25°C fruiting. Many growers pin at the cooler end of that window.
Storage: Unopened kits keep for a few weeks in the fridge. Yield may reduce the longer they sit.
Step-by-step Instructions & Post-Harvest Care
Download the full instructions from this listing.
Important: Check the fruiting temperature before you start and make sure you can provide it (7°C–25°C for Shiitake 5000).
This kit teaches you the cold shock technique and how to fruit a species that is sensitive to vibration.
More Than One Harvest?
Yes. With good care Shiitake will produce 2 flushes. After each harvest, remove all remaining fruit bodies, let the block rest, then soak it in cold water again to trigger the next flush.
Beginners often do not reach a second flush, because with a typical home setup the block usually gets contaminated with green trichoderma and has to be thrown out. Trust us when we say there is nothing you can do about it, whether that is cutting out the affected area or spraying all sorts of things on it. It is a goner. Trichoderma is not toxic, but you do not want it around you. It spores heavily, and if left to grow uncontrolled it can start showing up in all your future grows. If teh block hasn’t turned green, after 2 weeks rest re nsoak/hydrate and fruit again and expect a smaller harvest again.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Forcing fruiting too early: Starting fruiting before full colonisation increases contamination risk and lowers yields. Wait for the mycelium to turn white and then brown before you begin.
Letting the block dry out: Because the whole bag is opened, an exposed block can dry quickly. Keep humidity high and mist regularly.
Not enough humidity: Shiitake is far less tolerant of dry air than oysters or lion’s mane. A fruiting chamber or humid greenhouse makes a big difference. Consistent humidity keeps a good texture on your shiitake and a strong umami flavour.
This kit introduces you to Stage 3: Fruiting, the final step in mushroom growing. To explore all three stages, from spores to harvest, check out our Educational Mushroom Growing Kit.
Checkout all our Spray and grow kits.
Could not fruit the bag, or was it contaminated? Send us a photo or call us, and we will help you resolve the issue.
Our guarantee: Rootlab offers a 100% money back guarantee on our beginner kits only, and only if they do not fruit. Medium and Advanced kits are difficult, so a replacement is offered only if the kit arrived contaminated, not if it does not grow. If you are new to growing, please only buy kits labelled as beginner.
