There are a variety of ways to grow mushrooms at home, ranging from simple techniques that require no special tools or equipment, to more advanced methods that may yield better results but require a greater investment.
The best part however is that no matter where you start, there’s no limit to how deep down the rabbit hole you want to go, growing mushrooms is really one of those hobbies where there’s always the opportunity to learn something new and to do something new.
So in this blog post, I wanted to give you a broad overview of the different ways you can get started growing mushrooms at home, so you can decide where to start and hopefully inspire you to start growing your own gourmet organic mushroom from the comfort of your home.
Mushroom Growing Kits
If you’ve never ever grown mushrooms before, then maybe the best way to start is from a mushroom growing kit. these mushroom growing kits allow you to grow fresh mushrooms with zero experience, and at the same time, they teach you what it is that mushrooms need to thrive.
Mushroom growing kits also help you understand a little bit about how mushroom lifecycle works. This way you can decide if growing mushrooms at home is something that’s worth your time without spending too much money getting started.
A mushroom growing kit is essentially a pre-colonized mushroom fruiting block that is prepared to yield mushrooms straight out of the box. Although they may be slightly smaller, they are fundamentally the same as the ones grown by commercial mushroom cultivators on a larger scale.
With a mushroom growing kit, the majority of the arduous work has already been accomplished for you, and all that is required is to remove it from the box, cut it open, maintain a humid environment, and provide optimal growing conditions for the mushrooms to flourish, resulting in a successful harvest.
The success of a kit like this relies heavily on your geographical location or climate. If you live in a highly humid area, growing the kit on your kitchen counter or any suitable location should pose no issue. However, in a dry climate, the mushrooms may not grow optimally or not at all if the block becomes too dry. As previously stated, mushrooms require high levels of humidity and fresh air to thrive.
If you are looking to create an optimal environment for mushroom fruiting, there is an effortless way to do so. A shotgun fruiting chamber can be used to maintain the required humidity and ensure adequate fresh air circulation. Essentially, it is a fruiting chamber that enables the cultivation of exquisite gourmet mushrooms.
Another method to achieve the same result is to follow a similar process by cutting a slit in the bag, and hydrating it, but instead of returning it to the box and placing it in your home, you can transfer it to a shotgun fruiting chamber.
Essentially, a clear container with a lid, where I have drilled quarter-inch holes across the top, sides, and bottom at two-inch intervals. I have also soaked some perlite, which is a mineral that gradually releases water, and filled the bottom few inches of the terrarium or fruiting chamber with it.
The perlite creates a favorable humid environment, while the holes provide ample fresh air exchange and light. So cut a slit in the fruiting block, soak it in water, then put it in this shotgun fruiting chamber. That provides the right conditions of humidity and fresh air to be able to grow some really nice gourmet mushrooms.
For the majority of individuals, leaving the kit on a counter and consistently spraying it to maintain the block and mushroom surfaces’ humidity will also result in successful growth. Growing mushroom kits are, by and large, the simplest method to commence growing mushrooms at home.
They are reasonably priced and can be purchased online, like the 3 Pack 130 Qt one I acquired from Amazon. There are several options and species to choose from, making it an effortless and convenient process.
Mushroom Growing Spawn
If you are comfortable with growing mushrooms from a kit and would like to explore further, the next level is to grow mushrooms from pre-made spawn. This option broadens your horizons as you are no longer restricted to the species available in a mushroom growing kit.
Commercial grain spawn comes in a vast range of species and enables you to grow mushrooms in various ways. Spawn can be likened to the seeds of mushrooms, although technically speaking, it is a sterilized grain that has been inoculated with mushroom culture.
The mycelium then spreads throughout the grain, creating individualized grains covered in the mushroom mycelium. This spawn can be incorporated into another substrate, where it will continue to grow and eventually produce mushrooms.
The fantastic aspect of mushroom grain spawn is that once it is fully colonized, it becomes relatively resistant to contamination. This is why you can opt for pre-made commercial grain spawn that has already been entirely colonized, allowing you to incorporate it into another substrate to grow your mushrooms without the worry of contamination.
An alternative method for growing oyster mushrooms involves layering straw and grain spawn in a Nepali sheet-covered area of your backyard. This low-tech technique can yield a significant harvest over a couple of months.
There are numerous ways to use grain spawn to grow mushrooms, making it a convenient option for those starting out who wish to produce larger quantities of mushrooms than a kit would allow.
Once you’ve successfully grown mushrooms using pre-made spawn, consider delving further into mushroom cultivation by learning to manage cultures and create your own grain spawn. This will require specialized equipment such as a pressure cooker, pressure canner, autoclave, and possibly a laminar flow hood.
However, once you have a mushroom lab setup, the possibilities for managing cultures and creating fruiting blocks are endless. The world of mushroom cultivation is yours to explore!
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