I was totally new to this mushroom growing kit thing and followed the directions not realizing what the hell a healthy grow bag with strong mycelium looks like. After cutting an X in the bag, I soaked them for 6 hours in water and placed them back in the box like the direction says. After about 24 hours, the pink oyster mushroom grow bag started to smell bad. I took the bag out of the box and realized that the grow block was covered in this Yellow Orange slimy mess that smelt like crap. That's when I realized that what I thought was part of the grow block growing media was really dead mushrooms. Apparently, the pink oyster mushrooms had pinned, then tried to grow and then died while sealed in the bag. Once I soaked them, they turned into a slimy smelly mess that was disgusting. Back to the Roots says that on occasion, there might be mushroom debris inside the bag and that these were actually mushrooms that tried to grow. You need to take them out a reseal the bag. My advice to everyone is, before you cut and soak this kit or any other brand mushroom kit, take it out of the box and inspect your kit carefully. If you see dead mushrooms inside the bag, pack it up and send it back to Amazon or wherever you got it from. Research online on what healthy mycelium looks like in a grow bag. If you open up your kit and it looks out of the ordinary, send it back. If your kit is compromised , it won't grow to its potential. When I say potential, I mean not just 1 flush but 2 flushes. I emailed Back to the Roots and I got a response that they are understaffed but they will get back to me. They finally responded after 5 days and I gave them my lot number located on a sticker on the bag. They told me they will look into sending me a replacement. From this point, they have never responded to me ever again. Also, please note. If you live in Hawaii like I do, or live in Alaska, the Back to the Roots Guarantee is full of crap because they do not ship anything to Hawaii and Alaska. So if you live in these States, you can only buy their kits from Amazon. I ended up cutting open the bag and tried removing all the dead slimy soaked mushrooms and wiping out all of the Orange Yellow slime the best as I could. Then resealed the bag with clear mailing tape and put it back in the box. Within the next 24 hours the compromised pink oyster mushroom kit was filled with black mold spots all over it. When I saw this, I carefully put the entire thing in a trash bag and threw it out before the mold could do harm to me. The other kit that came with this, the white pearl oyster mushroom kit grew fine but not to its potential and no 2nd flushes. Growing mushrooms to their potential, especially oysters is not as simple as advertised. They need lots of indirect light, the right humidity with the right temperature, and lots and lots of air without drying them out. To get the 2nd flush takes time and patience. I have since tried other grow kits since this Back to the Roots disaster and they have been successful. However, it took a little research to eventually understand how to grow oyster mushrooms in my house and what part of my house is the best environment for them. I gave this two pack kit 2 stars because at least one of them grew and even though it was a disappointment, it gave me a good education on what to do and what not to do. Update 05-10-22: After several weeks, Back to the Roots Customer Service Representative Andrea K. got back to me and arranged to have them refund me for the compromised pink oyster grow kit portion of this twin pack set. The company does not ship to Hawaii so they could not send me a new pink oyster mushroom grow kit. They did however send me a refund to my PayPal account. Because of this, I'm adding 1 more star to the rating just for their customer service. Although slow and under staffed, I appreciate a company that stands behind their product. Thank you Andrea K. for your politeness and problem solving abilities.
