Chestnut (Pholiota adiposa) is a handsome cluster-forming mushroom with warm, cinnamon-brown caps and a crunch you do not get from the oysters. It is a rewarding step-up grow in your Flush once you have a flush or two behind you.
What to expect
Chestnut grows in tight clusters of golden to chestnut-brown caps on slender pale stems, often with a lightly scaly, faintly sticky cap surface. The flavour is rich, nutty and a little peppery, and the texture is firm and pleasantly crunchy, holding its bite even after cooking. It is excellent stir-fried, sautéed in butter or added to soups and stews where you want a mushroom that keeps its shape. Little Acre rates this variety as intermediate, so it is a satisfying grow to build your confidence on.
Growing in your Flush
In Basic mode, choose the Chestnut preset and the cabinet holds 18°C, 93% humidity and around 1250 ppm CO₂ for you. In Advanced mode, set those same targets from Set targets on the Home screen.
Chestnut pins in dense clumps and likes steadier air than the oysters. The Flush preset holds slightly higher CO₂ on purpose: a touch more CO₂ keeps the stems upright and the clusters tight, while very fresh, low-CO₂ air makes caps flare early and stems stretch thin. Give it moderate ambient light to colour up those brown caps, and expect around two to three weeks to your first flush. Harvest when the caps have rounded out but before they flatten and the veils tear.
Harvest & beyond
Harvest by gripping low and twisting the whole cluster away in one piece, just before the caps flatten and start dropping brown spores. Trim off any block material at the base, then rest the block back in the Flush. A rested block will often push a second, smaller flush a couple of weeks later.