Description

Warm Weather Button, Tork spore print is collected by placing a mushroom cap (grown indoors) on a piece of paper or aluminum foil and allowing the discharged spores to collect and form a print. Prints can be used to grow mycelium on a sterile petri dish.  While we take every precaution to maintain sterility we cannot guarantee prints are completely free of contaminating organisms.

Cultivation Difficulty: Moderate
Type: Edible
Substrate: Manure and straw based composts
Colonization/Fruiting Temperatures: 84-86F/75-77F

Agaricus bitorquis is essentially a warm temperature version of the well known common white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus). “Torks,” as they are known, are denser, stronger in flavor, higher in disease resistance and less sensitive to high CO2 levels than the button mushroom. These traits make this species more suitable for the home grower, especially in warm climates. Like most agaricus, the Tork needs a non-sterile casing layer for optimum fruiting. But we have observed spontaneous fruitings in unopened jars of grain spawn that have been overincubated. It is unknown if unseen contaminates stimulated the fruiting or if this species can fruit in a sterile environment.

This species can be grown to maturity as a white “Portabella” or harvested young as a firm button. The mushrooms are very tasty, especially for those that might desire a more flavorful version of the white button mushroom. This is by far the easiest and most forgiving agaricus species for the home grower that we have tested. Highly recommended.