How to Grow Mushrooms at Home: A Step By Step Guide - Minneopa Orchards (2024)

Mushrooms can be a divisive food–those who hate them won’t ever touch them, but you can rarely get enough for those who love them! If you fall into the latter category, you’ve likely wondered if it would be economical to grow mushrooms at home.

We’re here to help clear the air and show you just how easy it can be! Read on to learn all there is to know about how to grow mushrooms at home…from steps to take, to alternate growing methods, and more.

How to Grow Mushrooms at Home: A Step By Step Guide - Minneopa Orchards (1)

Growing Mushrooms At Home – An Indoor or Outdoor Pursuit?

Chances are, if you spend any amount of time outdoors, you have seen all types of wild mushrooms growing in all sorts of environments. This can lead to the assumption that you can grow them wherever.

However, the key for how to grow mushrooms is actually a controlled environment. Mushrooms need the right balance of light and temperature in order to truly thrive. Thus, the easiest and best practice method for how to grow mushrooms at home is to grow them indoors.

How to Grow Mushrooms At Home – A Step-by-Step Guide

How to Grow Mushrooms at Home: A Step By Step Guide - Minneopa Orchards (2)

1. Select the Type of Mushroom You Want to Grow

The first step for how to grow mushrooms is to select the type you want to grow! This ultimately comes down to your personal tastes. However, be aware that the type of mushroom you select will affect certain aspects of how to grow mushrooms.

Among the most popular mushrooms to grow at home are oyster, Shiitake, Morel, and button mushrooms. These can be easy launching points for learning how to grow mushrooms at home; however, you should ultimately choose whichever variety you are most likely to eat!

2. Purchase A Mushroom Spawn Containing Your Preferred Type

The key for how to grow mushrooms at home is to purchase mushroom spawn, which is a type of sawdust that is full of what’s called “mushroom mycelia”. This is the equivalent to a root structure in most seedlings, and it’s what helps your mushrooms grow.

Another option for how to grow mushrooms at home is from a spore base. These are akin to plant seeds rather than seedlings (which means they have no established root system in place yet).

While a spore base is a fine method for how to grow mushrooms if you are a more seasoned mushroom grower, it can be more tricky and time consuming. To reduce trial and error, it’s best to first learn how to grow mushrooms from spawn.

3. Determine Your Growing Substrate

“Substrate” is a fun term you will need to know when learning how to grow mushrooms. The “substrate” is simply the surface on which something is growing. In this case, the substrate is the organic matter you will place your mushroom spawn into.

Choosing the necessary type of substrate for how to grow mushrooms will depend on which type of mushroom you are growing.

For example, Shiitake mushrooms are best grown in a substrate of hardwood sawdust. On the other hand, Button mushrooms thrive in composted manure, like many garden plants; meanwhile, oyster mushrooms love a rich coffee compost or a bed of straw.

The key for how to grow mushrooms in the proper substrate is to research your individual mushroom variety. You will have a much easier time learning how to grow mushrooms from home if you ensure you are growing the right type in the right substrate base.

4. Prepare the Substrate

Not all mushroom substrates require preparation ahead of time. However, certain types of material, such as sawdust or straw, are more prone to naturally occurring fungi of their own. This also makes them likely to grow microorganisms that could compete with the mushroom mycelia for dominion over the substrate.

With this in mind, you will need to sterilize these substrates before using them. This is an important step for how to grow mushrooms without losing part of your spawn to competition in the substrate.

You can do this easily via a microwave. Place the straw or sawdust in batches in a microwave safe bowl, add in just enough water to dampen the substrate material, and then microwave it on high for two minutes, or until all of the water in the bowl has boiled off.

You can also use an instant pot, pressure cooker, or even boiling water on the stove top to achieve the same desired effect.

5. Heat the Substrate and Spawn

This might seem like a redundant step to the previous one on how to grow mushrooms, but bear with us! This type of heating is necessary regardless of which type of substrate you use, because of that crucial temperature balance which is such a key component for how to grow mushrooms.

Heating your substrate will help the mycelia spread, allowing your mushroom spawn to disperse throughout the substrate and begin to grow mushrooms. Think of this as similar to transferring seedlings to your garden and getting the root system to adhere to the soil in their new home.

To accomplish this step for how to grow mushrooms, you will need to warm your substrate in a baking pan, a few handfuls at a time. Make sure you use a shallow pan that has a broad surface area, as this is the best environment for your mushrooms to grow!

Using a sterilized utensil, mix together the mushroom spawn and the substrate in the pan. Then, heat the baking pan to about 70 degrees Fahrenheit. This can be achieved with a heating pad, or by placing the baking pan in a warm area in your home.

Once the commingled spawn and substrate are warmed, please place them in a dark environment, such as in the back of a cabinet, for roughly three weeks. This will give the mushroom mycelia ample time to spread throughout, and bond with, the substrate.

6. Move to Their Growing Environment

How to Grow Mushrooms at Home: A Step By Step Guide - Minneopa Orchards (3)

After a couple of weeks, you should find your substrate coated in what looks like white fuzz. This is a key milestone in how to grow mushrooms; this means the mycelia has fully permeated and colonized the substrate!

If you check your substrate and notice a lack of white fuzz, fret not–just return the baking pan to its dark environment and let it sit a bit longer. By about four weeks, you should definitely witness this colonization, which means it’s now time for the next step in how to grow mushrooms from home.

(You may also find some brown or dark green spots among the white fuzz. These are simply an undesirable type of mold. You can pluck them from your substrate and toss them out.)

It’s now time to find an equally dark, but relatively cool, environment in which your mushrooms can thrive. Right around 55 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal, though they should thrive in anything below 70 degrees. This can usually be achieved in a basement, though if you don’t have one, a cabinet or drawer in an unheated room can work well in the winter.

7. Keep Mushroom Care in Mind

You must cover the substrate with some potting soil and dampen the mixture with water. If you want to achieve an especially moist environment, which certain mushroom types thoroughly enjoy, consider also placing a damp towel over the baking pan.

While your mushrooms will mostly take care of themselves, keeping them moist and cool is vital for how to grow mushrooms that thrive. Be sure to check in on them and moisten with a spray bottle as necessary.

You can also consider setting a low heat lamp near your baking pan, if possible. This can help the mushrooms orient to an upward growth position, which will make them easier to harvest in the long run.

8. Let Them Grow

This is the fun part of how to grow mushrooms at home. With these ideal environments achieved, and regular check-ins for care, you should find your mushrooms growing rapidly. Within just a few weeks, small mushrooms should appear in your mix.

You can tell a mushroom is ready for harvest once the cap fully separates from the mushroom stem. At this point, you can pluck or cut the mushrooms from the stem. Be sure to rinse them thoroughly before eating, and either cook them immediately or store them in a paper back in the fridge for a week at most.

Other Methods for How to Grow Mushrooms At Home

How to Grow Mushrooms at Home: A Step By Step Guide - Minneopa Orchards (4)

In Coffee Grounds

Another method for how to grow mushrooms from home is to grow them in coffee grounds. These steps follow much the same standard mushroom growing at home, except that you will need a slightly different container. A great option is an ice cream container with four holes poked in the side, filled with coffee grounds.

Follow the same steps for mixing the mycelia with the grounds and storing in a warm, dark environment until they colonize the grounds. Then, you can place this container in a bright area, but not in direct sunlight, to grow your mushrooms.

From a Kit

Many lawn and garden centers, both in person and online, will also sell mushroom kits–such as online retailerPark Seed. These typically come with everything you need for how to grow mushrooms–sometimes they even contain a growing bag you can use in place of a pan.

However, it is important to read carefully before purchasing any mushroom kits, as many of these contain spores rather than spawns.

In a Log

Another fascinating method for how to grow mushrooms from home is something called wood cultivation. This involves growing mushrooms in a log, which is done via inoculation and “plugs”. These plugs are already colonized with mushroom spores, and are inserted into a wild log to kickstart mushroom growth.

You can often choose a log right from your own yard. You just need to ensure the log is roughly 3 to 4 feet in length, no more than 14 inches in diameter, and cut from a non-aromatic hardwood tree, such as an elm, oak, poplar, or maple tree.

No less than two weeks after the log is cut, you can begin plugging it. This two week time passage is crucial to allow the die off of the tree’s inherent anti-fungal properties, which is what keeps healthy trees from being overcome by fungi while they’re alive.

The best method to prepare a log for colonization is to usea log plugging kitandprepared mushroom log plugs. This plugging kit comes with everything you need to prepare for wood cultivated mushrooms, including the drill bit and wax requires for the plugs. The log plugs themselves come fully cultivated and ready to be inserted.

Drill holes in the log about two inches deep and four inches apart, using the drill bit in the kit. Then, insert the mushroom plugs, tapping gently with a hammer to fully seat them. Finally, cover them with the wax from the kit.

Once the plugs fully colonize the log, you will see mushrooms start to sprout through the cracks. While this growing method can take up to a year to produce mushrooms, they are also likely to return annually.

Wrapping Up How to Grow Mushrooms At Home

Excited to continue learning how to grow mushrooms at home and put all of that knowledge to use? Be sure to check out ourMushrooms pagefor even more resources! This will help you choose a variety, grow it well, and enjoy delicious mushrooms in no time at all.

  • About the Author
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Renee Dugan

Renee Dugan is a lifelong writer, professional editor, and lover of all things nature, gardening and the big outdoors.

A Midwest girl who’s been in the garden since she could first hold a hand trowel, Renee’s love of growing things has bloomed into a passion for healthy living, holistic lifestyle, and knowing where our food comes from.

Now a mother and maturing gardener herself, Renee is passionate about channeling everything she knows and continues to learn about gardening into lessons for her son and others. Her excitement for sharing this knowledge is only superseded by her excitement about being able to finally grow her own citrus plants in pots.

Renee can be reached at renee.s.dugan@gmail.com

https://reneeduganwriting.com/

How to Grow Mushrooms at Home: A Step By Step Guide - Minneopa Orchards (2024)

FAQs

What are the steps in growing mushrooms at home? ›

Growing mushrooms at home in a bucket from spawn instead of spores is like growing from a cutting instead of from seeds.
  1. Step 1: Prepare the Bucket. For best results, start by sterilizing the bucket. ...
  2. Step 2: Prepare the Substrate. ...
  3. Step 3: Layer Substrate and Spawn. ...
  4. Step 4: Let It Spawn. ...
  5. Step 5: Harvest Mushrooms.
Mar 6, 2024

How do you grow mushrooms in 3 easy steps? ›

Sterilize your container by washing it with soapy water and rubbing alcohol. Mix the substrate with the mushroom spawn and pour it into your sterilized container. Cover the container and place it in a warm, dark place for the mycelium to colonize the substrate. Water as needed to keep the substrate from drying out.

How easy is it to start a mushroom farm? ›

Mushroom Farming is Difficult

Despite how easy it is to start growing oyster mushrooms or lion's mane from ready to fruit blocks, other mushrooms can be very difficult to grow successfully. Mushroom farming can be very labor-intensive as well.

How to start a mushroom grow kit? ›

Give your block some fresh air
  1. Take the mushroom block out of the box (and recycle the box!)
  2. Leave the block in the plastic bag.
  3. Place the block cut side up in a shady area where it will receive rainfall.
  4. Check on the block periodically, especially after rain or humid days.

What are the 5 steps to growing mushrooms? ›

The six steps are Phase I composting, Phase II composting, spawning, casing, pinning, and cropping. These steps are described in their naturally occurring sequence, emphasizing the salient features within each step. Compost provides nutrients needed for mushrooms to grow.

Do mushrooms need sunlight? ›

Unlike plants, mushrooms are fungi and they do not perform photosynthesis, so they don't require sunlight for energy. Instead, they obtain their energy from the organic matter they grow on. However, some light can help guide their growth direction.

What is the cheapest way to grow mushrooms? ›

Another easy, inexpensive option for growing mushrooms at home is inoculated sawdust in a plastic bag. These come in kit versions, but you can also make them yourself. Store them in a bathroom where it is dark and moist and you'll start to see flushing pretty quickly.

Is it safe to grow mushrooms indoors? ›

One of the benefits of growing your mushroom varieties instead of wild-harvesting them is that you can be sure you're not picking a toxic mushroom. Cremini, enoki, maitake, portobello, oyster, shiitake, and white button mushrooms can all be grown indoors, but each type has specific growing needs.

Is mushroom farming difficult? ›

Growing mushrooms from spore to fruit is a rather complex process which requires a lot of things to be done just right in order to achieve consistent and predictable results.

What is the best mushroom to grow to sell? ›

Shiitake and oyster mushrooms are the best choice for small-scale production, since they don't require a lot of equipment and space. Shiitake mushrooms are often sold in grocery stores, health food stores, and farmers' markets and are also quite popular for their flavor and consistency.

What conditions are needed for a mushroom to grow? ›

The ideal growing conditions for mushrooms are around 70 degrees Fahrenheit and greater than 90% humidity. Natural logs work well and oaks and maples serve as the best hosts. For natural logs, it is best if the log is newly cut so that it hasn't dried out.

How much money can a small mushroom farm make? ›

You could make over $60,000 a year growing gourmet mushrooms for profit. If you have a few hours a week to spare and a growing area where you can control the temperature, humidity, and light, then you can be a successful grower.

What is the easiest mushroom to grow? ›

The 3 types of mushrooms that are easiest to grow at home are oyster, white button, and Shiitake. The method for growing each mushroom is similar, but the ideal growing medium differs. Oyster mushrooms grow best in straw; Shiitakes grow best on hardwood sawdust; button mushrooms grow best in composted manure.

How do you start a mushroom bed? ›

How to build a mushroom bed
  1. Find a spot to place your mushroom bed. The first thing you will need to figure out is where to place your mushroom bed in your outdoor space. ...
  2. Building the base of the mushroom bed. ...
  3. Layering your mushroom bed with hardwood woodchips and spawn. ...
  4. Cover The Mushroom Bed with Straw or Mulch.
May 30, 2023

Is a mushroom growing kit worth it? ›

Should You Try a Kit? If you have any interest in growing mushrooms at all, and you aren't ready to do it from scratch, then most definitely yes- you should try a kit! It will give you an idea of how mushrooms grow, and what requirements they need in order to fruit properly.

How long do indoor mushrooms take to grow? ›

Mushroom cultivation from inoculation to harvest typically takes around 3 to 4 weeks. However, the duration varies based on factors such as mushroom strain, environmental conditions, and substrate quality. Some strains may fruit faster than others, resulting in a shorter growth period.

Can you grow mushrooms from store-bought mushrooms? ›

Store bought mushroom propagation is quite easy, but you should choose fungi from organic sources. Propagating store bought mushrooms from the ends just requires a good fruiting medium, moisture, and the proper growing environment.

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