Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) is a hardy, striking bracket mushroom named for its fan of concentric colour bands. It is one of the most forgiving grows you can start in a Flush, which makes it a rewarding first project.
What to expect
Rather than a cap-and-stem mushroom, Turkey Tail forms thin, leathery, fan-shaped brackets in overlapping tiers, ringed with earthy bands of brown, tan, rust and cream. The texture is tough and it is not a mushroom you eat like an oyster or shiitake. It is prized instead as a functional mushroom: dry the brackets and simmer them into a long tea, decoction or broth, or blend them into stocks. The concentric banding is the reason it is so satisfying to watch develop.
Growing in your Flush
In Basic mode, choose the Turkey Tail preset and the cabinet holds 21°C, 88% humidity and around 750 ppm CO₂ for you. In Advanced mode, set those same targets from Set targets on the Home screen.
Turkey Tail pins as small bumps that widen into flat shelves over a few weeks. Good fresh air is what shapes them: keep CO₂ near target and the brackets fan out flat with crisp banding, while stale, high-CO₂ air pushes thin, antler-like stalks instead. It also needs steady light to bring out its colours, so leave the cabinet light on its normal cycle. Expect your first flush roughly three to four weeks after fruiting conditions begin.
Harvest & beyond
Harvest when the pale growing edge stops advancing and the brackets firm up and lose their soft white margin. Twist or cut them cleanly from the block. Give the rested block a week or two and it will often push a second flush, so keep it in the Flush rather than composting it early.