Hello! My oyster mushrooms are growing, and seem to not be flattening out or opening up. Is this normal, or any suggestions on the growing conditions?

I have one of the midwest spawn bags, when inoculating do you open the bag up or leave it as is?

# Welcome to Southwest Mushrooms Hey , I'm Michael Crowe, and I'm glad you're here. I've been growing mushrooms for years, and I started this community because I kept getting the same question after every YouTube video: "Where can I actually talk to other growers about this stuff?" So here we are. ## What This Community Is This is a place for mushroom growers at every level, from "I just bought my first bag of grain" to "I'm scaling to commercial production." You'll find: - Courses— structured lessons on cultivation fundamentals, built from my book The Mushroom Grower - Weekly posts — technique tips, troubleshooting threads, and member grow showcases - Direct access to me — I'm in here every day answering questions - Other growers who get it — share your wins, your failures, and your weird contamination photos ## How to Get Started 1. Introduce yourself — Drop a post in the "Introduce Yourself" section. Tell us what you're growing (or want to grow) and where you're at in your journey. 2. Start Course 1 — Head to the Classroom and begin "Mushroom Cultivation Foundations." Modules 1 and 2 are free previews. 3. Jump into the feed — Ask questions, share photos, help other growers. The more you put in, the more you get out. ## Community Guidelines Be helpful. We were all beginners once. If someone asks a question you know the answer to, share it. Share photos. A picture of your tub is worth a thousand words when troubleshooting. No spam or self-promotion. This isn't the place to sell your products. It's a place to learn and grow together. Ask anything. There are no stupid questions here. If you're unsure, ask. That's what we're here for. ## Quick Links - Shop: southwestmushrooms.com (https://southwestmushrooms.com) - YouTube: @SouthwestMushrooms (https://youtube.com/@SouthwestMushrooms) - Book Pre-Order: The Mushroom Grower (https://buy.southwestmushrooms.com/b/00w6oHgjW63O6MO0haejK02)