Giveaway | Back to the Roots Mushroom Kit
I was supposed to have a green thumb. Those types of things are genetic, are they not? I always assumed that I would inherit my mother’s plant-whisperer talents. The woman could just look at a plant and will it to grow. Never mind if a tropical flower is suited to a greenhouse or an Amazon rainforest…she could make it grow in a snowy tundra. All she had to do was love it.
So when I started tending my own plants, I was disturbed to see that my husband had a greener thumb than I. Orchids do not respect me. Nor do those hardy household plants meant for people like me. Inevitably, they find a way to die under my care. It may take a while, but eventually, I end up at the nursery again, looking for more victims.
I finally found something I could grow. Mushrooms! A few months ago, I was contacted by Nikhil Arora – he and UC Berkeley-friend-turned-business-partner, Alejandro Velez, founded Back to the Roots, an innovative way to grow gourmet oyster mushrooms in soil composed of 100% recycled coffee grounds. Isn’t that neat? It’s eco-friendly, easy, and it gives us the opportunity to farm mushrooms. When Nikhil said it’s so easy that children can do it, I had to give it a try. And I let my daughter set it all up.
The process couldn’t be easier. Everything we needed was in the box and all it took was a couple of days of misting before the mushrooms began to bud in front of our very eyes. Wow! Cool! the kids would yell each morning they came downstairs to check on the mushrooms’ progress. I swear, the mushrooms grow so fast, you would see even more growth by afternoon.
So, in honor of National Mushroom Month, and to share the mushroom love, Back to the Roots is graciously giving away one their kits to one of you. It’s so easy, not to mention fun and tasty! No green thumb required.
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How to Enter
This giveaway is now closed. Good luck to all those who entered!
Ready to grow some mushrooms with a Grow-at-Home Mushroom Kit? Here’s how to enter:
Please check out Back to the Roots and leave a comment on this post, letting me know: Did you learn something new from the Back to the Roots site?For additional entries, pick one or all of the following (leave a separate comment for each bonus entry):Like Back to the Roots on Facebook and leave a comment here saying so.Like Back to the Roots on Twitter and leave a comment here saying so.- Entries/Comments accepted until 10 pm Pacific, Wednesday, 14 September, 2011.
- One winner will be randomly selected and notified by email.
- This contest is open to US residents only, my apologies to my other international friends!
* Disclaimer: Back to the Roots will provide one winner with a Grow-at-Home Mushroom Kit. I am not affiliated with Back to the Roots nor was I compensated for hosting the giveaway. All opinions are my own.
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Looking for ways to enjoy your harvested mushrooms? Here are some recipes from the archives!
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didn’t know they were on TED – my favorite thing!!!
I didn’t know mushrooms grew so fast!
I had no idea that mushrooms could grow from recycled coffee grounds! I loved learning about this company, what a cool (and informational!) giveaway, thanks!!
I like Back to the Roots on Facebook!
I follow Back to the Roots on Twitter!
I learned that the coffee grounds, hops, grains and tea leaves from businesses dumped into landfills release tons of methane gas into the atmosphere as they decompose!
I have been wanting to try these for so long! I think it’s incredible that you can grow mushrooms out of a box. :o)
I didn’t know they used recycled coffee grounds, what a neat idea! Leave it to college kids to try to reuse anything they can. ;)
Thanks so much for all of you guys’ commments & support… really means a lot to our entire team!!! :)
How cool is this. I can grow these in my apartment.
I didn’t know how easy it is to grow mushrooms!
I also found a delicious-looking recipe: Garlic Sesame Noodles Soba Noodles with Oyster Mushrooms–yum! I’ll definitely be trying that soon.
I had no clue you could use coffee grounds to grow mushrooms! I always feel bad throwing them away, but just can’t bring myself to re-brew coffee by using grounds twice…
I’ve been eying those mushroom kits a couple of tines already but have always been hesitant to get one. I love mushrooms but like you I have no green fingers! I sort of accidentally end up killing plants all the time but this does look manageable , even for me!!
I enjoyed reading about the community involvement of Back to the Roots. They truly give back!
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oops, commented in the wrong place…. watched their TED video… very inspiring.
This mushroom kit is pretty nifty! Very interesting
I’ve seen these as giveaways from food blogs for awhile now and always enter because my life’s motto is: ‘you can never have enough mushrooms’
I love that they use old coffee grounds and make this whole thing sustainable and 1.5lbs of mushrooms plus the ability to get a replacement bag = love <3
ngallo58 at gmail dot com
Wow, this is an amazing idea. I wonder if they are able to work out a deal with Starbucks to recycle those coffee grounds
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