Pekepeke-kiore, also known as Coral Tooth or NZ Lions Mane (Hericium novae-zealandiae) is a fantastic mushroom in so many ways. It looks amazing, it tastes delicious, and on top of all that, it's also highly prized for its active compounds which are similar to those of the more well known 'Lions Mane' mushroom (Hericium erinaceus). It's unique to Aotearoa, being an endemic species only found here.
Our Pekepeke-kiore grow kits are 'ready-to-fruit', which means all that you need to do is
1) Cut some slits in the mushroom grow bag (marked out for you)
2) Put it into the right growing conditions, keep humidity and air exchange high
3) Wait for the mushrooms to grow.
4) Harvest the mushrooms, enjoy them, and await the second crop!
Kits need to be taken out of their box and 'activated' within two weeks of recieving them (store in their box and in a cool place until ready to use)
These kits will usually produce two, if not three crops of mushrooms. The speed of growth depends on the temperature and other growing conditions. Being a native species which is well adapted to local conditions, they can be grown at any time of year without supplementary heating. In winter the mushrooms may grow slower, but the quality and flavour of slow grown mushrooms is excellent. In summer, a pekepeke-kiore mushroom may grow from a baby to harvestable size in two weeks. Whereas in colder weather this can take twice as long - but well worth the wait!
The kit comes with detailed printed instructions, and you can always contact us or check on the Mushroom Cultivation New Zealand facebook page for further tips and advice.
Mushroom kits grow well anywhere that there is good humidity, fresh air, and out of direct sunlight. If you have a greenhouse with plants growing in it, mushroom kits love this environment where they can enjoy the shade of larger plants and the humidity created by frequent watering. If you want to grow your mushrooms indoors, the easiest and best option for a fruiting environment is one of our mini mushroom grow tents. Or for the more DIY inclined, a simple fruiting chamber can be constructed from a large plastic storage tote (see shotgun fruiting chamber) or even just a cardboard box with some holes cut in it! Or if you want to grow lots of mushrooms you can build a larger mushroom fruiting space such as a 'martha' grow tent. Check out our fruiting environments grow guide page for more info.
These grow kits come with free urban shipping nationwide, rural shipping fee is $4.50, which applies to both a single kit or a twin pack!
