Growing mushrooms at home
Most guides will tell you not to do this. They are mostly right. An Instant Pot maxes out at about 11.6 PSI, not the 15 PSI standard for proper sterilization. But with a longer cycle and small jars, it works. I have done it multiple times. This is not the ideal method. A full-size 23-quart…
QUICK ANSWER For oyster mushrooms on pasteurized straw, you can probably skip it. For grain spawn, agar, liquid culture, or anything on sterilized substrate, a still air box meaningfully reduces contamination. It costs $20-30 to build and is one of the best value pieces of equipment in home mushroom growing. If you have spent any…
QUICK ANSWER Start with oyster mushrooms on pasteurized straw. No pressure cooker needed. First harvest in three to five weeks. This post answers the 25 most common beginner questions, organized by topic, with links to the full guides for each. Every mushroom grower starts with questions. What do I actually need? How long does it…
QUICK ANSWER Contamination happens to every grower. Green mold (trich) and bacterial wet rot are the two most common types. Green = seal the bag and remove immediately. Do not open indoors. Sour smell = dispose of it. A contamination rate of 20-50% is normal for beginners. It drops with experience and better technique. Contamination…
Difficulty: Intermediate | Time to ready spawn: 2 to 4 weeks | Pressure cooker needed: Yes. If you’re wondering how to make mushroom spawn at home, this guide will walk you through the process step-by-step. Making your own mushroom spawn is the step that takes home growing from a hobby to…
Mushroom Grow Kit vs. Growing From Scratch: Which Is Right for You? Every beginner faces this question first. You want to grow mushrooms at home, you have done some reading, and now you are considering the choice: Mushroom Grow Kit vs. Growing From Scratch, with two very different starting points—a mushroom grow kit that promises…
Substrate is the single most important variable in mushroom cultivation. Get it right and your mycelium colonises quickly, produces strong flushes, and resists contamination. Get it wrong and the same spawn, same technique, and same equipment produce poor results or nothing at all. The reason substrate matters so much is that different mushroom species evolved…
Difficulty: Beginner to intermediate | Time to first harvest: 6 to 18 months (logs) or 8 to 14 weeks (sawdust) | Pressure cooker needed: Sawdust method only Turkey tail is one of the most common mushrooms in the world. Walk through almost any temperate woodland and you will find it growing…
Difficulty: Intermediate | Time to first harvest: 3 to 6 months | Pressure cooker needed: Yes Reishi is the slowest mushroom in this series to grow. It takes months rather than weeks, and it behaves differently from oyster mushrooms, lion’s mane, and shiitake in ways that can confuse beginners who expect…
Quick answer Shiitake grows on sterilized hardwood sawdust (first harvest 6-12 weeks) or inoculated hardwood logs (first harvest 6-12 months, then produces for 3-5 years). It needs a cold water soak to trigger fruiting, the key difference from oyster and lion’s mane. This is the step most people miss and the number one reason shiitake…