How Do Mushrooms Grow?

Spores, not seeds, are what give rise to mushrooms; spores are so small that they are invisible to the unaided eye. Mushrooms can grow on a variety of substrates, including wood, in the wild, but they don’t require soil to grow indoors. Rather, they will thrive on materials such as wood chips, grain, sawdust, or straw. Spew is a mixture of the spores and these sources of nutrients. Comparable in function to the starter required to prepare sourdough bread is mushroom spawn.

The mycelium—the tiny, white, thread-like bodies of mushrooms—is supported in its growth by the spawn. Before anything that looks like a mushroom pokes through the ground, the mycelium begins to grow.

Although mushrooms could grow on the spawn by itself, applying the spawn to a growing medium will yield a much better mushroom harvest. Depending on the kind of mushroom, this could be straw, cardboard, logs, wood chips, or a compost that contains a mixture of materials such as cocoa seed hulls, corncobs, and straw.

 

Where to Grow Mushrooms

Mushrooms prefer cool, dark, and humid conditions for growth. A spot under the sink could work just as well, but your basement is the best location for growing mushrooms at home, shop here.

Check the temperature of your growing area before you begin. Most mushrooms thrive in temperatures between 55°F and 60°F, away from drafts and intense heat.Enoki mushrooms grow best at 45°F or lower in temperature. Many basements get too warm in the summer for growing mushrooms, so learning how to do it is a good winter project.

While mushrooms can withstand some light, the location you select should primarily be dark or dimly lit. It might be best to grow mushrooms in a closet where they won’t be disturbed if you decide to grow them in your basement. Certain varieties of mushrooms still thrive best when grown outside on prepared land or logs; this takes much longer (six months to three years) than when grown indoors in controlled conditions.

 

Types of Mushrooms to Grow

The majority of the many kinds of mushrooms that grow in the wild can be grown indoors (sorry, morels only appear in nature). You can be certain you’re not picking a toxic mushroom if you cultivate your own varieties rather than gathering them in the wild.

You can grow oyster, shiitake, cremini, enoki, maitake, portobello, oyster, and white button mushrooms indoors, but each variety has different requirements. For instance, you need to grow oyster mushrooms on straw, shiitake mushrooms on wood or hardwood sawdust, and white button mushrooms on composted manure.

 

How to Grow Mushrooms

Regarding indoor mushroom cultivation, there exist several choices regarding planting materials. A mushroom grow kit containing a growing medium infused with mushroom spawn is available for purchase. If you’re new to the process, mushroom growing kits are an excellent place to start as they include everything you need. If you don’t start with a kit, the kind of mushroom you choose to grow will dictate what kind of substrate you use, so you must learn about the requirements of each type of mushroom. If you are new to growing mushrooms, button mushrooms are among the simplest to cultivate.
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Step 1: Fill Trays With Compost

Use 14×16-inch trays about six inches deep that resemble seed flats. Fill the trays with the mushroom compost material and sprinkle spawn on top.

Step 2: Use a Heating Pad

Bring the soil’s temperature up to about 70°F with a heating pad, and leave it there for three weeks or until the mycelium (white, thread-like growths) appears. Lower the temperature to 55°F to 60°F at this point. Add about an inch of potting soil to the spawn. To keep an eye on the temperature of the soil, place a household thermometer at ground level.

Step 3: Keep Soil Moist

Keep the soil moist by spritzing it with water and covering it with a damp cloth, making sure that you keep spritzing the cloth as it dries.

Step 4: Harvest Mushrooms

Three to four weeks should see the appearance of button mushrooms. When the caps open, harvest them; you can cut the stalk off of the stem with a sharp knife. Refrain from pulling up the mushrooms to prevent harm to the nearby fungi that are still growing. A crop that is continuously harvested every day should last for roughly six months, shop here.

It’s very simple to maintain mushroom growth once you know how to cultivate them in your home. If you keep the cloth moist and harvest the mushrooms as they appear, you should have a steady supply of mushrooms. Eventually, though, you might need to add fresh spawn to grow more. When you have an abundance, use them in your favorite mushroom recipes as soon as possible.

 

Herbs and Food to Grow Indoors

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• How to Grow Cilantro Indoors from Seed
• How to Grow Indoor Citrus
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