Jelly Ear Mushroom
Mun
Auricularia auricula-judae
Available as
Mother cultures (Petri dish)
Sawdust spawn
Plug spawn
About this strain
The jelly ear is the European relative of the Asian wood ear (mu-er). It forms thin, gelatinous, ear-shaped mushrooms 4–6 cm across, ranging from dark brown to almost black depending on humidity. The flavour is mild; it is valued above all for its springy, slightly crunchy texture. When dried it shrinks to a fraction of its volume and regains its shape when soaked — excellent in soups, salads and stir-fries, and dried it keeps for a very long time.
In nature it grows mostly on elder and fruits in the cool, damp months — from late autumn to spring. Unlike the Asian wood ears, it therefore crops well at lower temperatures. It grows easily on sterilised hardwood sawdust with added bran, as well as on logs; insect larvae rarely attack it.
How to grow it
Preparation
- Substrate
- blocks: hardwood sawdust (fine and coarse) with approx. 20% supplement, e.g. bran, sterilised; moisture approx. 60–65%; outdoors: hardwood logs
- Spawn rate
- 1–2% on sterilised sawdust
Growing stages
Spawn run (incubation)
- Temperature
- 20–25°C
- Humidity
- 90–95%
- Duration
- approx. 3–4 weeks
- CO₂
- >5,000 ppm
- Fresh air
- 0–1 per hour
Primordia formation
- Temperature
- cool to 12–18°C
- Humidity
- 90–95%
- Fresh air
- 4–8 per hour
- Light
- 500–1,000 lx
Pinning is triggered by cooling at high humidity.
Fruiting
- Temperature
- 12–20°C (tolerates 10–22°C)
- Humidity
- 85–95%
- CO₂
- <2,000 ppm
- Fresh air
- high air exchange
- Light
- 500–1,000 lx
Harvest
- Flushes
- 3–4
- Between flushes
- 2–3 weeks
Pick when the edges of the mushrooms start to ruffle. Between flushes let the substrate dry slightly, then raise humidity again. Yield: approx. 12–14% of fresh substrate weight.
Please note: these growing parameters bring together the experience of practising growers — a starting point, not a guarantee of results. Every grow has its own substrate, climate and equipment, and even small differences can noticeably change the yield. Adjust these values to your own conditions.
Available products
Prices are set individually — tell us what you need and how much, and we will send a quote including delivery.
Mother cultures (Petri dish)
- 1 pc.
Sawdust spawn
- 5 l
Plug spawn
6 × 30 mm
- 30 pcs.
- 1000 pcs.
Other strains of the genus Auricularia
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