Having fresh, hand-picked mushrooms available at your fingertips is much easier than most people initially think. All you need is a few materials and the right environment and you will be able to grow most of your favorite mushrooms all year-round.
Mushrooms are not a one-size fits all type of organism to grow. The type of mushroom you are growing will determine what substrate is needed to cultivate the spores best.
Most common mushrooms grown at home include:
🍄 Shiitake
🍄 White Button
🍄 Maitake
🍄 Oyster
🍄 Portobello
The importance of the right growing substrate cannot be understated when attempting to grow mushrooms at home. Like plants, mushrooms have their preferences for their growing medium; if these preferences are not met, they might grow poorly.
Shiitake mushrooms prefer to grow on hardwood sawdust or wood chip substrate and would not grow well in compost or manure-type substrate. Alternatively, straw works well for oyster mushrooms, and compost or manure is perfect for white button mushrooms. Portobello mushrooms thrive best on a mixture of compost and straw for their substrate. Some grow kits will just have wood chip substrates, while other types of mushrooms require a log to be inoculated with the spores for the best chance of growth.
While the materials may vary slightly depending on what type of mushroom is being grown, here are the basics of what is needed to grow mushrooms:
✔ A cool, moist area to grow: This can be an indoor, climate-controlled area or, if you are attempting to grow outside, an area that stays shaded for most of the day.
✔ Spores: These can be in the form of a liquid suspension in a syringe or in pre-made substrate/spore mixtures called “spawn.” Ensure you are purchasing spores from reputable websites for accuracy and sterile conditions.
✔ Substrate: Types of substrate will vary depending on what is being grown. Compost, manure, straw, woodchips, and sawdust are all common substrates. Like with spores, you want to take care to sterilize or purchase already sterilized substrates. Growing mediums, like straw, can be sterilized by submerging it in boiling water for up to two hours.
✔ Containers or Trays: To place substrate and spores.
✔ Heating Mat: This will help maintain a consistent temperature to encourage mycelium development and, later, fruiting.
✔ Gloves: To maintain a sterile environment.
Now that you have all of your materials, your desired spores, and their proper substrate, you can begin the growing process.
Step One: Set up your substrate in a cool room or a cool area outside if growing outdoors. The substrate should be spread into your trays or containers about 6 inches deep in a container approximately 14 to 16 inches long and wide. Using sterile gloves, spread the spores evenly across your growing substrate. Maintain a moist environment by misting regularly throughout the day or covering with damp towels; this is where growing in tote-type containers may come in handy since they often come with a lid.
Step Two: Incubate. For the first 3-4 weeks of setting up your substrate, you will want the temperature to be 70º F or slightly lower. Hotter temperatures than this can damage or kill the spores. A heating pad can be used to maintain this temperature, and set it under your tray or container.
Step Three: The time to lower the heat will come when the tray or container becomes fully developed with mycelium. This appears like white, root-like growths throughout the substrate. The optimum growing temperature to induce fruiting bodies is between 55-60ºF. Allow a further 3-4 weeks for growth before harvesting using sterile tools. Mushrooms such as white buttons are ready to be harvested once the caps are open but can continue to grow to the “cremini” mushroom stage, which is when a white button turns brown. Cut off by the stem, and your growing tray should continue to bear mushrooms for a few months before needing a refresher of fresh spawn.
If that all sounds too complicated there are Home Growing kits that you can purchase which just need a little water to get growing. #CouldntBeEasier
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