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No matter the species/strain you want to grow, if you learn the principles of cultivation, aseptic technique, basic lab procedure, etc., You can apply them to any known cultivable mushroom, and surely some that we haven’t cultivated yet.

If you’re interested in growing mushrooms, there are a number of benefits to doing so:

1. 1. Saving money.
   If you purchase mushrooms regularly from your co-op,farmer’s market or grocery, then you can cut your grocery bills considerably by growing your own.
   This applies even more so if you’re using medicinal or functional mushrooms to supplement your diet/nutrition/wellness
   
2. Connecting with Nature/The Source of your food & medicine.
   So much could be said about this alone, and I have additional articles exploring the topic, but there is a definite benefit to being directly connected with the production of the food and medicine your family consumes. Fresh food is always best and nothing compares to freshly picked produce.


3. Fun for the entire family.
   More needs to be written about this as well, but there isn’t much better way to connect with friends and family than through the shared efforts of cultivating any type of food. Mushrooms are particularly wonderful and unique in so many ways and this makes for an exceptional cultivation experience. Maybe not for ALL kids, but the response we’ve gotten from kids has been overwhelmingly positive.

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   Introductory Notes, Resources, Disclaimers

   From ancient traditions of remote antiquity to the cutting edge of modern science, there is a literal ton of literature on mushrooms going back thousands of years. And a lot of it is freely accessible online, a few clicks away. Mycology has been a ‘‘lost’’ or “forgotten science”, but some of the medicinal mushrooms are among the most studied organisms on the planet. Turkey Tail, Shiitake, Cordyceps are among those.
   Some resources I know and love:

   At some point I plan to do some tutorials on how to find what you’re looking for online, where and how to optimize your search queries when doing mycological research, trying to learn something new, etc.

   A Few Misconceptions

   Let’s get this out of the way…

   1) Mushroom Cultivation is not new.
   The first record of mushroom cultivation dates back to ancient China, more than 1,000 years ago. According to historical records, during the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD), people in China discovered that some mushrooms could be grown in a controlled environment and began cultivating them for food and medicinal purposes.

   In the 1970s, Terrence & Denis McKenna, when writing their seminal work, Psilocybin: Magic Mushroom Grower’s Guide: A Handbook for Psilocybin Enthusiasts, adapted laboratory protocols from Albert Hoffman (Sandoz) to home cultivation. From there, a vibrant DIY Mycology sprang up- closets on college campuses across the country began to fill with mason jars of cased grain as students were paying their tuition from the fruits of psilocybe cubensis.

   • With the advent and rise of The Internet, message boards dedicated to mushroom cultivation and the psychedelic experience began to spring up on Alt-net and others which later were replaced by sites with more modern user interfaces like Shroomery.org & Mycotopia.com
   • On the internet many contributors to that movement have further simplified laboratory techniques and repurposed scientific supplies for the sterile cultivation of mushrooms outside the laboratory, paving the way for the current wave of gourmet and medicinal mushroom at home.
     …BUT…
     they haven’t re-invented the wheel or really added much in terms of laboratory technique and procedure which means that you aren’t limited to drawing inspiration from mushroom cultivation sources explicitly.in fact…And a lot of what we do today is just an extension and natural progression of that. As technology in general has progressed, through the internet we’ve gotten more connected to each other and the vast amounts of information contained in the Human Corpus.
   • HEPA Flow Hood, Pressure Cooker, Injection ports, syringe filters.. All have been used for a long time within other fields. Their use has just been adapted and maybe even popularized though DIY mycology.

   2) MYCOLOGY is not new (well, kind of.)
   Mycology has largely been neglected in the west and in many ways we haven’t been able to truly study fungi on the level that they require. Microscopes and visual examination at any level can only reveal so much. Modern advancements in genetic sequencing have allowed us to decrypt the fungal genome, providing us a new and much needed view into the inner-workings, evolutionary history and even the spectrum of possible enzymes though secretome of these organisms that have literally shaped our world.

   4) Not all mushroom growers are Mycologists.
   Or, “most mycologists aren’t mushroom growers,”. The term mycologist is thrown around loosely these days. Very few of the popular names in mycology are classically trained, degree holding mycologists, but there is a THRIVING amateur community around all aspects of mycology (molds, fungi, applied, practical, taxonomy, ID, Amanita, Psilocybe, Cordyceps, Ganoderma, etc, etc, etc ). Citizen Science is a natural progression, or maybe a resurgence of that amateur movement: Decentralized, informal, accessible, FUN, NEW, and literally changing the face of modern science, adding to the corpus and body of what is known about the magic, mysterious and wondrous organisms that we call fungi.
   5) There is no “super sterile” or More/Less sterile. It either is or isn’t; Sterile is STERILE & free from organisms.

   pasteurization is a little different but also either true or false.

   Considerations Regarding Species/Strain Selection:

   The known world of mushrooms is vast, and our understanding is growing constantly. As of 2023, approximately 14,000 species have been described, with new discoveries being made all the time. However, cultivation has only been attempted with a relatively small number of these species.

   Estimating on the high end, only a few hundred species have ever been cultivated. Many of these, for one or several reasons, haven’t made it into commercial operations. Mostly, i suspect, because these species don’t like pure culture – either they require a living host or we aren’t able to reproduce the complex relationships responsible for successful fructification in the laboratory.

   Across time, a few determining qualities of a good mushroom for commercial cultivation have established themselves. 5 qualities that have determined whether a mushroom is suitable for commercial cultivation:

   • ease of cultivation
   • quality of mushroom
   • edible/medicinal value
   • shelf-life
   • visual appeal

   So, of the 14,000 known species, some are not currently cultivable – usually either they require a living host or our we aren’t able to reproduce the complex relationships responsible for successful fructification in the laboratory.

   There are only about 30 species of mushrooms that are commonly cultivated.
   Many hundreds more that we could cultivate and that have been cultivated, but years of trial-and-error along human preference have narrowed that list to

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   Before Getting Started…

   • It’s important to have all the materials you need for each step of the way before you need them, so order your supplies in advance. Mushroom mycelium is a living organism and it moves through (“runs”) the substrate rapidly. For optimal fruit body production, the cultivator’s main role is to move the mycelium through each stage as quickly as possible. This means when your spawn is fully colonized, it’s best to inoculate the fruiting substrate immediately which, in turn, means that you will need to have properly hydrated and sterilized or pasteurized substrate on hand, ready to go.
   • Another key is to have your fruiting environment ready in advance for the same reasons. When the substrate is fully colonized (for most species) it’s time to initiate fruiting conditions. This means you need to have the proper micro-climate ready to go for optimal fruit body production.

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   The Absolute Basics

   1. Select a Species/Strain

   • If you’re just starting out, PICK ONE. I know, i know.. “b-but what about all the cordyceps, reishi, lion’s mane and chaga trials?!?” I totally get it. Believe me, I did the exact same and can tell you from experience that I should have listened to the OG’s telling me the same thing. You want to experiment, we all do; You’re going to experiment, but it’s much better to have a grasp on the basic techniques and methods so you’re able to better understand the variable and nuances. Get at least one successful grow under your belt by following a “Tek”, instructional, video, whatever, to the best of your ability and don’t get hung up on the tiny discrepancies between one tutorial and the next, especially when it comes to supplemental ingredients. This is more like cooking that chemistry, so use your chef’s hat starting out.

   – You can grow more than 1 block of the same species/strain, but trying to grow multiple cultures, species/strains at the same time when just starting out is a recipe for lower success rate than sticking to one species/strain and learning the nuances of one culture at a time. Not forever, just until you actually understand what the organism requires for successful fructification.

   Rule #42:

   Don’t over estimate your work ethic. You’re hardworking, conscientious, and determined; I get it. But, mushrooms are a different type of organism. They grow 3-dimensionally, fractally, exponentially, and so much differently than anything you’ve ever grown. Successfully fruiting mushrooms requires a mass of mycelium and this stuff is fast and hungry. If you’re aren’t careful, it can quickly get out of control and you’re left with more living biomass than you know what to do with, which often means it goes bad, dies out, contaminates, etc. without being able to produce a mushroom. NO bueno. Good for the compost pile, not so much for the dinner table.

   • A Note on Multi-Tasking & Productivity: Multitasking seems like a great way to get a lot done at once, but research has shown that our brains are not nearly as good at handling multiple tasks as we like to think they are. In fact, some research suggests that multitasking can actually hamper your productivity by reducing your comprehension, attention, and overall performance.
     • 1 Task => 100% attention
       • 1 Task => 100% attention
       • 2 Tasks => 50/50% attention (60/40, 70/30.)
       • 3 Tasks => 33/33/33% ???

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   2. Select a Suitable Substrate

   • Basically, different mushrooms prefer different food sources. You want to make sure that the mushroom you’re interested in can metabolize the substrate.

   Types of Decomposers

   1. Primary:
      • When a tree falls in the forest, and sometimes even before, it is the primary decomposers that move in to start the process of turning a once living organism into healthy soil.Prefer freshly fallen logs with little or no competitor organisms.
      • They produce ideally on pasteurized sawdust, straw, sugarcane, hemp, coffee grounds or other similar agricultural/forestry product.Examples:
        • Shiitake (Lentinula edodes),Oyster (both Pleurotus & Hypsizygus spp),Maitake (Grifola frondosa)Pioppino/Black Poplar (Agrocybe aegerita).
      Since most primary decomposers mostly either decompose Cellulose (brown rot) or Lignin (white rot), and wood contains BOTH in roughly equal amounts, there is a lot of material left over after the first wave of primary decomposers.
   2. Secondary:
      • Secondary Decomposers move in to degrade the remaining lignin/cellulose as well as other compounds present in the tree. In nature, once the primary decomposers have finished, insects, soil bacteria, and all kinds of other organisms have started invading. It provides a richer micro-ecosystem. This is the preferred habitat of the secondary decomposers.
      • Some won’t even produce mushrooms in sterile substrate. Several even prefer a well-composted substrate that still has some woody/fibrous components to it.
      • Examples:
        • Button/Portobello (Agaricus spp)
        • King Stropharia (Stropharia rugosoanulata)
        • Shaggy Mane (Coprinus comatus).
   3. Tertiary:
      • Tertiary decomposers are mushrooms that live in soil, dung, decaying detritus, scraping out a living on the nutrition they can find here and there. Very few are of culinary significance.

   Considerations:

   • If the mushroom will fruit off of just sawdust, vertical or horizontal surface, it is probably a primary decomposer.
   • If it requires a [casing layer] and only fruits from a horizontal surface, it is probably a secondary decomposer.

   Here, we’ll explore a couple of time-tested methods for the most commonly cultivated culinary and functional mushrooms.

   Often, species of mushrooms grow on specific types of wood in nature and it’s ideal to mimic that at home, but most gourmet & medicinal mushroom will grow on the soft hardwood species (Oak, Ash, Maple, Hickory, etc.)

   
   – Hardwood Fuel Pellets (HWFP) can be acquired at your local big-box store for a decent price, but are also available from wholesalers. They are reliably clean, especially single source or blends made for competition smoking (i.e. competition blends). At $14-$20 per 40Lb bag, you can still save money over market prices.
   – Cereal Straw (Barley, Wheat, Oat, etc) also provides an ideal substrate for a variety of species. Best used outdoor in patches, baskets or totes unless working at a larger/commercial scale where Synthetic Logs are made from supplemented straw that has been shredded, mixed and stuffed into long polypropylene tubes.
   – Coconut Coir or simply, Coir, is a non-nutritional growing medium made from the husks of coconuts. Pretty clean by it’s nature, Highly absorbent, very fibrous but has almost no nutritional value. This material is often used with dung-loving species that receive their nutrition from the grain spawn. Any lignin degrading fungus can grow on Coir but it may not provide adequate nutrition on it’s own so supplementation would be required.

   Any substrate material should be clean as possible, so consider the preparation and storage of the material you’re looking at. Are you using a waste material from another industry? Have the bags been ripped open and sitting outside for a season at a big box store (Lowe’s, Home Depot) or similar situation? Your substrate may require more or less preparation.

   3. Substrate Preparation

   Depending on your starting material, this stage may be more or less involved.
   When first starting out, it’s crucial to prioritize simplicity, so this step may be the deciding factor for your grow.

   For mushrooms to grow properly, the substrate must be properly hydrated. The optimal method for hydration depends on the starting material, but for this guide, we’ll focus on Hardwood Fuel Pellets, and Straw.

   Preparing Hardwood Fuel Pellets

   If this is your first grow, I definitely suggest using Hardwood Fuel Pellets (HWFP), but you may find though your own trial and error that this is your go-to. Most commercial operations use some form of pelletized starting material.

   Ideally, you’re working with a sealed bag of pellets, or have purchased from someone that has stored the product away from the elements. This ensures that the pellets are clean, evenly hydrated and easy to handle.

   The ideal moisture content is around 60%, but the dry-storage water content can vary between products and even different bags of the same product. For this reason, when working on assumed values, its best to add less rather than more water. It’s much easier to add more water than add more dry material and end up with properly hydrated substrate.

   RECIPE: 5Lb Pasteurized HWFP Fruiting Block

   • HWFP – 5 Cups
   • Wheat Bran – 2 Cups
   • Boiling Water – 6 Cups
   • Chalk/Gypsum – 2 Tbsp (optional)

   For COLD WATER Pasteurization

   • Substitute: cold tap water for boiling water and add
   • Hydrated Lime – 2 Tbsp (cold pasteurization/oysters)

   1) Add dry HWFP to filter-patch bag or gallon jar
   2) Add Wheat Bran, Gypsum and/or Hydrated Lime (if doing cold pasteurization)
   3) Add Water and either fold over the top of the bag or loosely cap the jar to prevent contaminant infiltration
   4) Let Cool for 8-12 hours (overnight)
   Once cool to the touch (below 80f) the substrate will be ready to inoculate by mixing in fully-colonized grain spawn.

   For this type of production, it’s best to inoculate immediately and at a higher ratio than normal. 1-1/2 Cups of colonized grain or more is okay since we aren’t adding additional nitrogen elsewhere.

   A quick test for proper hydration (Field Capacity)

   When squeezing a handful of substrate, only a few drops should escape between your fingers.

   Preparing Straw

   Straw is a very good substrate material for many reasons, but like anything it also has its drawbacks.

   Two things come to mind immediately which may balance out:
   1) Straw is messy, hard to work with and requires a larger infrastructure
   BUT
   2) Straw typically isn’t sterilized, even for commercial operations.

   For both reasons, it lends itself perfectly to outdoor cultivation. On top of this, straw is fairly cheap. Especially, if you find a local organic source.

   • Straw bales can be purchased from a number of retailers, including Lowes, Tractor Supply, Home Depot but we always suggest to search your community for local bales before going that route.

   A Note on Biological Efficiency

   Biological Efficiency is the rate at which dry substrate has been converted to fresh mushrooms, expressed as a percentage. 100% Biological Efficiency (BE) would mean that 50 Lbs of mushrooms were produced from 50 Lbs of dry substrate.

   If you’re using one of our optimized commercial strains, it isn’t uncommon to see BE of 200% which means that one bale of straw could potentially produce upwards of 80-100Lbs of mushrooms over several flushes!

   • Instead of trying to add the perfect amount of water to straw, it is most commonly fully submerged in water using either hot or col water pasteurization.
     • To do this, either a full bale or a portion of a bale is packed into a basket, cage, or similar device and submerged in a larger tote or barrel, etc. Old laundry baskets are great for this at the home scale. They provide lots of holes for water to permeate the material during soak, but also allow for water to drain properly.
     • Don’t worry about getting everything perfect with straw. You’ll definitely make more or less than you intend to use at first, and that’s just a part of the learning process.
   • After soaking from 8-72 hours depending on the method chosen, straw is left to drain for an additional several hours to a day.
   • Once sufficiently drained, the straw can be mixed with spawn in 5-gallon buckets, bags, tubes, trays or other cropping container where they are left to incubate for a period so the mycelium can colonize the final substrate.

   Keys to Straw

   • Working with straw is definitely more involved and creates more of a mess than HWFP, but it has many advantages as well.
   • Straw performs best without sterilization which could save massive amounts of energy.
   • Straw requires more patience, space and labor, especially at large scale.

   4. Inoculation

   • Once your substrate has been properly hydrated and sterilized or pasteurized, you can inoculate the substrate with clean, fully colonized grain spawn or liquid culture – ideally, purchased from a reputable local vendor, especially if just starting out – by introducing a generous amount into the cropping container of your choosing.

   5. Incubation

   • Place the inoculated substrate in a warm, dimly lit or dark place for a period of 1-4 weeks depending on the species/strain growth parameters. For most mushrooms, substrate colonization takes around 7-10 days, but some species like Shiitake and Chestnut require high-co2 maturation phase.
   • Consult the vendor from which you purchased the culture or spawn for optimal incubation and fruiting parameters.
   • Be patient. This may be the hardest part of getting it right at first, across all of the steps, at any scale… It gets easier with time and experience, but try not to disturb the jar/bag/container. You’ll definitely want to pick it up, look at it and probably take pictures; just know that you’re potentially hindering the process and diminishing the potential yield of fresh mushrooms if you damage or break up the substrate while it’s trying to get established.

   6. Fructification

   Once the fruiting substrate is fully colonized, the mycelium has reached the boundary of it’s available food source and begins to send different signals upstream to the rest of the organism. With most species, this is the when you want to immediately “run” with the mycelium into the fruiting stage which is the reproductive phase of the mushroom lifecycle. Shiitake and Chestnut are two exceptions to this rule.

   When the environmental conditions are right, mycelium will form mushrooms. Some fungi are very particular in what they require to switch from mycelial growth (vegetative stage) to producing a mushroom or (reproductive stage). The most commonly cultivated mushrooms do not require much to induce fruiting. The mushroom’s main role in the life cycle is to produce an release spores.

   There are few hard & fast rules in mushroom cultivation, but when it comes to fruiting conditions.
   you’re ready to initiate fruiting which means that you will be introducing a few triggers to tell the mushroom that it’s an ideal time to go into reproductive mode.

   Three Triggers for Fruiting

   1) Fresh Air
   2) Humidity
   3) Light

   • Move the substrate to an area with high humidity and indirect light. This will encourage the mushrooms to fruit.

   Considerations on Pressure Cookers

   Maintenance is key!
   If the seal is bad, you hear air, you’re going to suffer in one of several ways.
   Get silicone seals and liberally mineral oil them each time. More to come, soon….

   What are basic steps to cultivate mushrooms?

   1. Prepare the substrate: Choose a substrate such as straw, wood chips, sawdust, or coffee grounds. Soak the substrate in water for 24 hours.
   2. Sterilize the substrate: Place the substrate in a pressure cooker or autoclave and sterilize for 1-2 hours.
   3. Inoculate the substrate: Inoculate the substrate with mushroom spawn. This can be done by mixing the spawn with the substrate or by using a syringe to inject the spawn into the substrate.
   4. Incubate the substrate: Place the inoculated substrate in a warm, dark place and incubate for 1-2 weeks.
   5. Fruit the mushrooms: Move the substrate to an area with high humidity and indirect light. This will encourage the mushrooms to fruit.

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