How do I grow mushrooms at home?

February 20, 2006 11:41 AM

Has anyone tried growing edible mushrooms in their garden? I can't find much info online apart from commercial sites selling fairly expensive growing kits (and a heap of sites on psychedelica). I figured there must be a more economical method ...
posted by bcveen to Home & Garden (22 answers total)

Mushrooms are better grown in a basement or dark garage. You'll just need trays, mushroom spawn, and the right substrate.


This is a great page about getting started, and this place sells spawn and kits at a reasonable price.
posted by Alison at 11:49 AM on February 20, 2006

I had a friend grow non-pschedelic mushrooms using psychedelic methods. From what I could tell, it's not really worth it. Fungi does not easily grow in what can be termed a traditional cultivation environment, meaning you can't really plant it like carrots or lettuce. I would recommend going to the Shroomery FAQ. Basically you'll need bulk substrate, a pressure cooker and a few other things. The idea is to grow the mushrooms in a sterile environment in order to not encourage the growth of toxic bacteria or fungus.

I may be wrong, but my impression from him was that fungus were one of the more labor and capital intensive agricultural products to grow.
posted by geoff. at 11:52 AM on February 20, 2006

Response by poster: ... my impression from him was that fungus were one of the more labor and capital intensive agricultural products to grow.

I was afraid of that, and Alison's links seem to bear that out. Makes me wonder, though, how pre-industrial societies cultivated mushrooms without thermostat controllers, heating mats, agar culturing kits, etc. ... Oh well, mushrooms may have to wait until I have the money ...
posted by bcveen at 12:13 PM on February 20, 2006

My boyfriend has gone mushroom hunting with his grandfather and uncle. (Of course you have to know exactly what you are looking for to avoid poisoning). They could sell some varieties to local grocery stores for $100 a pound. So my guess is that pre-industrial societies didn't cultivate them and just found them.
posted by Airhen at 12:20 PM on February 20, 2006

Go to your local library and check out books ont he subject. It isn't all that hard to grow mushrooms from what I have read. Good luck.
posted by terrapin at 12:26 PM on February 20, 2006

I wouldn't eat edible mushrooms grown in a garden. When you grow mushrooms, you do it in a mostly sterile environment, because the growth medium, because bacteria and other fungus are just as likely to grow on it.

If you just want mushrooms in a garden because they look cool, or whatever, you could probably inoculate a growth medium as normal, and then take the stuff out once your ready to have the bloom.

But, the medium, out in a garden, would probably only last a few days, before being infected with some other fungus that would probably take over.
posted by Paris Hilton at 12:36 PM on February 20, 2006

I was afraid of that, and Alison's links seem to bear that out. Makes me wonder, though, how pre-industrial societies cultivated mushrooms without thermostat controllers, heating mats, agar culturing kits, etc. ... Oh well, mushrooms may have to wait until I have the money ...

You can make do without that stuff, but it would be more difficult. I imagine you could use a sealed clay pot, and a fire to steralize it. Then just throw some caps in, and hope for the best.
posted by Paris Hilton at 12:41 PM on February 20, 2006

er, sterilize it.
posted by Paris Hilton at 12:42 PM on February 20, 2006

Not really about growing mushrooms in a garden, but you can get pre-spawned shiitake logs that produce every couple of weeks for a few years. Try shopping around for the best price.
posted by subtle-t at 12:44 PM on February 20, 2006

I've studied a little mycology and have tried growing a half dozen species. In terms of the potential yield effort necessary, shiitake (and maybe others that will grow with the plugs in the log method) is the only one worth trying. Morels are near impossible.

Hunting is more fun.
posted by glibhamdreck at 1:04 PM on February 20, 2006

Most gardening catalogues like Park Seed, etc sell mushroom growing kits.
posted by JJ86 at 1:06 PM on February 20, 2006

Did pre-industrial societies actually cultivate mushrooms? I thought you just went into the forest and picked the ones you knew wouldn't kill you.
posted by smackfu at 1:35 PM on February 20, 2006

Check out Fungi Perfecti.
posted by Araucaria at 1:50 PM on February 20, 2006

Oyster mushrooms are also supposed to be quite easy to grow and will withstand less ideal conditions.
posted by Alison at 1:55 PM on February 20, 2006

It is very much possible to grow mushrooms (safely) outdoors in your garden, the idea being that the mycelium -- if it survived to that point -- has successfully out-competed all the other spores and whatnot in the area. Provided you only eat clean and fresh fruitbodies, there ought to be no problem eating garden grown mushrooms.

That said, natural culture of most varieties is a bit of a pain. I'd probably culture under sterile conditions then spawn to an outdoor medium, either that or do what people did for hundreds of years... find a patch of mushrooms, section of some mycelium, then transplant it (which, in part addresses smackfu's question I suppose).

The best book I've ever read on the matter is The Mushroom Cultivator, which will tell you just about everything you need to get started. Particularly if you're interested in cultivating agaricus bisporus (common brown mushroom).
posted by Matt Oneiros at 2:30 PM on February 20, 2006

smackfu writes "I thought you just went into the forest and picked the ones you knew wouldn't kill you."

Yes mushrooms often have a season and will grow in the same place year after year. We used to harvest Morels from an abandoned orchard at the same time every year.
posted by Mitheral at 2:33 PM on February 20, 2006

Preindustrial societies did not cultivate mushrooms as the word is being used here. France led the development of true msuhroom cultivation starting in the 16th century - its said Louis XIV was big on mushroom cultivation. England advanced the science of cultivation quite a bit. The first book on the subject was printed in 1891.
posted by nanojath at 6:39 PM on February 20, 2006

Oh and second Matt O's suggestion. Paul Stamets is the man when it comes to cultivation books.
posted by nanojath at 6:45 PM on February 20, 2006

Response by poster: That's really interesting, Nanojath. And thanks so much to everyone who responded. A lot of good info here. I didn't expect such a great response ...
posted by bcveen at 6:55 PM on February 20, 2006

Mushrooms are like fruit. The thing they grow out of is actually beneath the soil; the mushroom itself that you pick doesn't kill the fungus. This is why they tend to crop up in the same places. Also, they grow very quickly (just a day or two), so if you go to a wooded area a few days after it rains, you'll probably find mushrooms. Knowing which are edible, though, is why you'll probably want to bring someone with you.
posted by wanderingmind at 7:57 PM on February 20, 2006

I've tried mushroom growing kits where they give you a big white block and you mist it with water and keep it under a bag and, if you're lucky, mushrooms grow. It was fun and worth doing once, but, really, I think you'd need to have an automatic mister to make it really work well - I just couldn't keep up with the every-4-hours misting schedule they apparently needed.
posted by soplerfo at 6:42 AM on February 21, 2006

nanojath writes "Oh and second Matt O's suggestion. Paul Stamets is the man when it comes to cultivation books."

The Fungi Perfecti link I provided above is Paul Stamets' company.

If you're interested in growing mushrooms in your garden, as opposed to your basement, you can try out the outdoor kits. Stropharia Annulata Rugosa is the most reliable, and is quite unlikely to be mistaken for anything else that might be growing in your region.
posted by Araucaria at 1:17 PM on February 21, 2006