Sarah Brown
Mushrooms are a fungus, neither animal nor plant, and they can be grown at home. They are high in protein and fibre, and also contain potassium, copper, vitamin B, and selenium. They are tasty, nutritious, and may even be good for our brains. They can be pricey at the grocery store, so growing your own mushrooms at home can be a good alternative. You can grow them in a box, bucket, or on a log, and there are kits available for beginners. The easiest mushrooms to grow are oyster, button, and shiitake. Mushrooms require adequate moisture, proper temperature, and limited light. They grow on substrates rich in organic material, such as compost, straw, sawdust, or coffee grounds.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Mushroom type | Oyster, button, shiitake |
| Growing environment | Indoors, outdoors |
| Growing medium | Compost, straw, sawdust, coffee grounds |
| Container | Monotubs, bags, outdoor beds |
| Environmental controls | Humidity, temperature, airflow, light |
| Mushroom development | Inoculation, colonisation, fruiting, harvesting |
| Spawn | Purchase from a supplier |
| Spawn treatment | Pasteurisation, sterilisation, lime bath, peroxide bath, cold fermentation |
| Spawn temperature | 70°F |
| Mycelium temperature | 55-60°F |
| Harvesting | Before spores are released |
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What You'll Learn
Choosing a mushroom type: Oyster, button, and shiitake are easy for beginners
Oyster, button, and shiitake mushrooms are great options for beginners to grow at home. Here is a detailed guide to help you choose the right type for your needs:
Oyster Mushrooms
Oyster mushrooms are one of the easiest varieties to grow, and they are delicious and healthy. There are several types of oyster mushrooms, and the most common ones include:
- Pearl oyster mushroom: Grows best in colder temperatures.
- Blue oyster mushroom: Found in the Northern Hemisphere, this variety is a subspecies of the common oyster and prefers cooler temperatures. It is also one of the fastest-growing oyster mushrooms.
- Phoenix oyster mushroom: Also known as the summer oyster mushroom, this variety has evolved to grow in warmer climates. It can be white or brown/tan.
- Golden oyster mushroom: Known for its vibrant yellow colour, this variety thrives in warmer temperatures.
- Pink oyster mushroom: This variety produces fruits in as little as 3-4 weeks and also prefers warmer temperatures.
When growing oyster mushrooms, mycelium (the root-like structure) is critical to the cultivation process. The most common substrate (growing material) for oyster mushrooms is straw, but you can also use sawdust, cardboard, coffee grounds, or agricultural byproducts. Wood pellets are a good option for beginners as they come pasteurized and only require hydration.
Button Mushrooms
White button mushrooms are another excellent choice for beginner gardeners as their spores grow quickly and easily, and they can be grown indoors year-round. To grow button mushrooms, you'll need large trays (about 14 by 16 inches and 6 inches deep). You can use plastic, metal, or wooden trays. Fill the trays with a mixture of equal parts compost and manure (such as horse or cow manure). Button mushrooms thrive in environments with lots of nitrogen.
If you're a first-time grower, consider buying a mushroom kit, which includes all the necessary materials, such as manure, substrate, trays, and a spray bottle for watering. These kits often come with specific directions, so be sure to follow the package instructions.
Shiitake Mushrooms
Shiitake mushrooms can be grown by beginners, but they require a bit more patience as they take 6-24 months to fruit. Shiitake logs are ready to fruit when the shiitake has colonized the outer cylinder of available sapwood. Temperature and moisture changes trigger fruiting, so log shocking (soaking) is often used to force fruiting. After shocking, the logs are stacked using the high A-frame or lean-to configuration. Pinning (early mushroom development) occurs 3-5 days after shocking and requires a log moisture content of 35-60%. The optimum temperature range for pinning is 55-65°F with high humidity. Once the pins emerge, remove any protective covering to expose the logs and produce dry, firm mushrooms.
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Growing environment: Mushrooms need cool, humid, dark spaces
Mushrooms thrive in cool, humid, and dark spaces. They are not photosynthetic, so they do not need sunlight to create food. In fact, mushrooms grow best in low-light conditions. A dark basement, crawl space, drawer, or cabinet is ideal for growing mushrooms indoors.
If you're growing mushrooms outdoors, you can mix spawn with compost and let nature take its course. You can also use the log method, which works especially well for oyster and shiitake mushrooms. Raised garden beds or damp straw in shady areas of your garden are also good options for growing mushrooms outdoors.
When growing mushrooms, it's important to maintain a high moisture level. This can be achieved by routinely spraying the substrate with water. However, it's crucial to ensure there is no standing water, as this can be detrimental to the mushrooms.
The substrate in which mushrooms grow must provide them with the right mix of nutrients, including sugar, starch, lignin, fats, protein, and nitrogen. Common substrates for home-growing mushrooms include compost, straw, sawdust, and coffee grounds.
In addition to maintaining the proper temperature, humidity, and light conditions, it's important to ensure a clean environment when growing mushrooms. This helps prevent contamination and allows for the healthy growth of the mushroom colony.
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Substrates: Compost, straw, sawdust, or coffee grounds
Straw is the most common substrate for cultivating oyster mushrooms. Other types of agricultural waste, such as corn stalks, or even invasive plant species like water hyacinth and kudzu, can also be used. To prepare straw for mushroom cultivation, cut it into 3-4 inch lengths using a shredder or weed whacker. Pasteurise the straw by submerging it in water and heating it to 160-170 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour. After draining the straw, spread it on a clean surface and inoculate it with spawn.
Sawdust is another versatile substrate that can be customised with supplements to enhance nutrition and mushroom growth. The sawdust method involves inoculating hardwood sawdust (such as oak, beech, or maple) with mushroom spawn and providing the right conditions for growth. Wheat bran or rice bran can be added to the sawdust to enrich the substrate. The moisture content should be adjusted to around 60-65%, where the mix is moist but not dripping water. The inoculated sawdust substrate should then be incubated in a dark, clean space with a stable temperature suitable for the mushroom species.
Coffee grounds can also be used as a substrate for growing mushrooms, particularly oyster mushrooms. This method is simple and low-cost, requiring only a glass jar and fresh coffee grounds. Brew 4-5 tablespoons of fresh coffee grounds and allow them to drain and cool in the filter for about 4 hours. Do not use coffee grounds older than 24 hours, as mould and bacteria will compete with the mushroom spawn. Spoon the grounds into a jar, levelling it off without mixing it into the existing grounds. Repeat this process until the coffee reaches the neck of the jar, leaving a small gap between the bottom of the neck and the lid. Once the jar is completely white and fuzzy, remove the lid, place it in a bright and cool location, and cover it with a damp kitchen roll. Spray the kitchen roll with water daily to maintain humidity and encourage mushroom growth.
Spent mushroom substrate, or mushroom compost, is the soil-like material remaining after a crop of mushrooms. It is high in organic matter and can be used as a soil amendment or soil conditioner. This substrate is also used by companies making potting mixtures. It can be spread on top of newly seeded lawns to protect seeds from birds and retain water in the soil. However, due to its high salt content, it should not be used around plants or vegetables sensitive to salt.
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Spawn or spores: Purchase from a supplier
If you're a beginner, purchasing spawn or spores from a supplier is the best route. You can buy mushroom cultivation kits, which are simple, all-in-one solutions for home growing, including Spray & Grow kits. Mushrooms are the fruits of a fungus and they contain spores, which are produced at the end of the growth cycle.
When purchasing spawn or spores, you can choose from a wide variety of mushroom species, including Blue Oyster, Golden Oyster, Lion's Mane, Pink Oyster, Italian Oyster, Shiitake, Snow Oyster, King Trumpet, Chestnut, Black King, Reishi, Pioppino, Hen of the Woods (Maitake), Beech, and Plug Spawn for log and stump cultivation.
Spawn is the fungal material needed to initiate cultivation. You can purchase spawn from a mushroom cultivation supplier like North Spore, which offers a range of products and kits to simplify the cultivation process. Their grain spawn suits various cultivation methods, including indoor setups and outdoor beds.
Once you've purchased your spawn or spores, you'll need to decide on a growing substrate like compost, straw, sawdust, or even coffee grounds. You'll also need a cultivation container, such as a monotub, bags, or outdoor beds, depending on your chosen method. If you're growing mushrooms outdoors, you can use containers, garden beds, logs, stumps, or totems.
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Harvesting: Collect mature mushrooms before spores are released
Harvesting mushrooms at the right time is crucial to maximising future growth and getting the most out of your crop. When a mushroom is mature, the veil—a thin membrane on the underside of the cap that keeps the spores in the mushroom—tears and releases spores, which are then ready to grow the next generation of mushrooms. If you're growing mushrooms indoors, this process can be undesirable as it can hinder future growth. Therefore, it is important to harvest the mushrooms before the spores are released.
To identify when a mushroom is about to release its spores, you must carefully observe the veil. On a juvenile mushroom, veils are usually fleshy and light-coloured—a grey-white hue. When the time comes for them to tear, they often darken and begin to sag. Therefore, it is recommended that you harvest the mushrooms while the veils are still lightly coloured. As soon as you notice any signs of darkening, it is time to harvest.
If you are growing magic mushrooms, you may notice that the veil will drop down the stem and detach from the underside of the cap, revealing a concave cavity and gills. At first, just one side of the veil may tear, but the rest will soon follow. The veil will turn black, followed by the cap and the whole mushroom. After this point, the mushroom will soon start to die. It will darken, appear to wilt, and eventually break.
To harvest mushroom spores, you can use the common method of making a spore print. This involves removing the stem from the mushroom of your choice and upending it, placing the cap spore-side down onto a piece of paper. You can also use both a piece of white paper and a piece of black paper side by side, as spores can be light- or dark-coloured. Cover the mushroom with a glass container to prevent it from drying out. Leave the mushroom covered overnight, and by the next day, the spores will have dropped from the cap onto the paper.
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Frequently asked questions
You can buy mushroom-growing kits, which provide the substrate and spores, as well as instructions. If you want to assemble the materials yourself, you'll need a plastic tub or baking pan, mushroom spawn, growing substrate (e.g. compost, straw, sawdust), a damp towel, and a spray bottle.
First, place several handfuls of your chosen substrate into your tub or pan. Mix the spawn into the substrate and raise the temperature to 70 degrees. After 2-4 weeks, the spawn will have taken root in the substrate—this is called mycelium and looks like white fuzz. Drop the temperature to 55-60 degrees. Once the surface is covered with the mycelium, wet it and cover it with another layer of a different material, called the casing. Keep the temperature at 23°C for the first five days, then lower it by a little bit each day until the initial mushrooms pop up. Mushrooms will be large enough to harvest after about three weeks.
Oyster, button, and shiitake mushrooms are the easiest for beginners.
Mushrooms need a dark, cool place to grow, such as a basement or crawl space. A dark drawer or cabinet will also do.
