Something wrong with your kit?
Green spots, no pins, white fuzz — match what you see, then decide keep, isolate, or toss. Kitchen grow kits only. Failure is common; panic-spraying is not the fix.
Healthy mycelium can look white and fluffy — check lookalikes before you throw the box away.
Match what you see
Pick the card that best matches your kit — then open the full decision guide.
Green patches
“It turned green”
Often mold (Trichoderma). Isolate first — don’t scrape, spray mystery chemicals, or open it over food prep.
Open guideNo pins yet
“Is this normal?”
White block, few or no pins, or pins stalled. Often humidity, temperature, or timing — not always “dead.”
Open guideWhite fuzz
“Is this mold or mycelium?”
Fluffy white growth is often healthy mycelium. Match lookalikes before you toss the kit.
Open guideDry / cracked
“The block looks dry”
Cut face drying out between mists — humidity first, before you assume the kit is dead.
Open guideNot sure which symptom?
Start with the contamination overview — lookalikes, a simple framework, and links into green mold and pinning guides. Not an encyclopedia of a dozen molds.
5-minute crisis checklist
Do this first — before you decide to keep or toss.
Stop mystery sprays
Don’t douse the block with bleach, fungicide, or random kitchen cleaners. Air and chemicals can make judgment harder.
Isolate if color looks wrong
Move a suspect kit away from other kits and open food. Keep it bagged while you read the matching guide.
Match a symptom card
Green · no pins · white fuzz — open the guide that matches what you see.
Photograph for yourself
Natural light helps you compare later. We don’t run remote diagnosis by email — the guides are the decision path.
Don’t empty it on the counter
If you discard, keep mess outside or bagged. Wash hands and surfaces after handling a suspect block.
Interactive tool
Prefer a short symptom path?
Use the contamination checker: pick what you see, get stop-loss steps, then open the matching guide. Not a lab diagnosis.
Open symptom checkerAlso
- Kit path finder — if you are still choosing a kit
- Humidity tools — dry or stalled pins
Still unsure?
Start with the contamination overview or the checker — we can’t diagnose your kit by email.
All problem guides
How to Tell If Your Gourmet Mushroom Kit Is Contaminated
How to spot contamination on a gourmet mushroom kit — decide keep, isolate, or discard without scraping. Kitchen edible growers only.
Read guide
Green Mold on a Gourmet Mushroom Kit — Trichoderma
Green mold on a gourmet mushroom kit: how to identify Trichoderma, rule out lookalikes, and decide keep, isolate, or discard for kitchen kits and bags.
Read guide
Gourmet Mushroom Pinning Problems: A Practical Fix
Fix mushroom pinning problems on gourmet kits: diagnose no pins, stalled pins, and dry yellow pins with a humidity-first routine.
Read guide