It works! Be patient. In my case, the mushrooms appeared on day 7. Oyster mushrooms, in my opinion, have the best taste, very potent and clean flavor. They are perfect for soups, sauces, and sauté well with other veggies and meats. There's no earthy taste to them at all. A word of caution, when ready to harvest, collect the entire batch. I made a mistake of cutting three mushrooms only, leaving the rest until the next day. Unfortunately, the bunch dried out completely over night. They were bone dry and hard. When I tried to get them going again by using the back of the package, I had no luck. Overall, a decent product,my it it does need more clear instructions.***Sept 13, 2015 UpdateWell, I decided to give Back to the Roots Organic Mushroom Farm another chance. I'm glad I did. First off, to my surprise it took this second mushroom farm almost two weeks (12-13 days) to start producing. Patience is a key here. I almost gave up on it and actually stopped watering the soil for two days, thinking I must have made a mistake somewhere. However, when I got home one night, I was excited to see tiny mushroom heads which made their way through to the soil top. The tiny farm works, no doubt about it. You will love the taste and the texture of these oyster mushrooms.Here's where this product shines the most.The company that created this product stands behind their work 100%. The community happiness team (*I absolutely love the term) is exceptional when it comes to customer service and they will make sure you are absolutely satisfied with the product. You don't see that very often these days. For example, they contacted me directly based on my less-than-excellent experience with the product the first time I tried it. Naturally, I had quite a few questions about my experience with the farm. Here's the conversation below. Make sure to read it, it will help you with your farm as well.1. Can you please let me know if both sides of the box can be used to grow mushrooms simultaneously, or is it designed to have the harvest from one side of the box only? How many times can the process be repeated?Response: You can use both sides of the box but we recommend just growing one side at a time. We guarantee two harvests from each box, but it's possible to get more so we always encourage folks to keep trying! I am currently growing a box and on my second harvest, using the same side that I grew my first on. It doesn't matter which side you grow on, though. Just note -- once you open the second side (cut the '+' and such) then your kit will be exposed to more oxygen, meaning it can dry out faster. So you will need to give it more water (you really can't overwater the mushrooms so be generous!). That's why I always grow the first two harvests from the same side and then I might open up the second side and try to grow from there. The mushrooms can still grow from any side, though, so be sure to water both and keep it really hydrated. Also, I always give the kit a break by letting it rest for a few weeks in between grows.2. I kept my box on the counter, even after the mushrooms died, but kept spraying it with water. After a few days, the white substance began growing rapidly and covered the "soil" again. Are these spores? The white, dust-like substance also covered a substantial portion of the kitchen counter and I had to wipe it every morning. It was interesting to see..Response: The white 'dust' is spores. Actually that is a great sign. That means your mushroom kit is full of spores and will most definitely grow again! So if you still have this kit I recommend you try to grow it once more. The white layer is mushroom by-product. If it grows back, try scoring the surface with a knife or fork and then re-soak the bag for 1 day. Afterwards, you’ll want to give your kit lots of water.You can even try using a humidity tent to increase moisture.Re-soak your kit overnight fully submerged in water.Cover the kit with a Ziploc or other plastic bag and cut some holes in it for airflow.Spray/drizzle water underneath it everyday.The additional moisture should help boost your kit out of the dormant state and you should see growth in approx. 7 days.Additional information about mushroom growth:Mushrooms love fresh air, so placing your kit next to an open window can really encourage the mushrooms to grow.Oyster mushrooms like light. Place your mushroom kit in a bright area-- filtered light is best.Moisture is extremely important. You can tell if your kit is getting enough water because you will be able to see visible drops of moisture trapped beneath the plastic flaps. The more water the better; don't be afraid of over-watering your mushroom kit. Keep the plastic in-tact. Again, this has to do with moisture. The plastic helps trap in moisture so you don't want to remove it.***As you see, the team is committed to making your experience with this little mushroom farm excellent. You will fall in love with the product, I guarantee it. Also, let me know if this review was helpful to you. Your opinion mattes!