How To Grow Mushrooms.

Do you love mushrooms sauteed beside your steak? Or maybe stuffed with crab atop a plate of greens? How about on a pizza, in your favorite soup or stir fry. But they are expensive. Especially the gourmet varieties. So what’s a person to do? How about growing your own? Wouldn’t it be awesome to walk out to your back yard and pick your own mushrooms? You can you know. Almost everywhere there is some variety that will grow. When you grow your own you can enjoy the freshest, best quality mushrooms anywhere and at a far better price than from a store.

Part one of this series on growing your own mushrooms.

One word of caution before we begin. This series is about growing your own mushroom with spawn from a reputable dealer. NOT about harvesting wild mushrooms. Many mushrooms look alike and many are deadly poisonous! If you grow your own you can avoid collecting the wrong kind.

My Adventure In Growing Mushrooms.

First I’ll tell you my story. It started a few Christmases ago. My S-I-L gave me a mushroom growing kit. I put it on my kitchen counter, watered it and in a few weeks watched the most amazing mushrooms grow out of the side of the box. I had never seen oyster mushrooms before and with the first sauteed bite, I was hooked! There was a deep meaty flavor that button mushrooms only wish they had! So having looked on pinterest and seeing people growing mushrooms on oak logs, I thought I would do the same. Little did I realize that just as some plants like a low PH soil to grow in (blueberries), and some prefer a higher PH (radishes), mushrooms have preferences too. One of these preferences is that oyster mushrooms apparently are not fond of oak trees…but shiitake’s are! So with the help of my mushroom friends at Field and Forest Products, I got my first batch of mushroom plugs and started to grow mushrooms in my own backyard.

Learn Which Mushrooms Grow Well In Your Area.

This experience made me realize that I really didn’t know as much as I should about mushrooms, so I took the opportunity to enroll in a mushroom class. (I’m really trying hard to resist the urge to refer to the instructor as a real fun-guy (fungi). But I digress.) I learned so many things about mushrooms. Probably more that I have any desire to know. But there are a few things you need to know before you take the plunge to grow mushrooms of your own.

[Tweet “Each mushroom variety has different growing needs.”]

Each variety of mushrooms have different specific needs.

• • Some like it warm, some like it cold.
  • Some like hard wood logs to grow in. Others prefer straw and still others prefer horse manure, sawdust or compost. Some will even grow in coffee grounds or toilet paper!
  • Some like it very dark others prefer dappled light.
  • All will need good air circulation.

When you are first starting out, the best idea is to contact a supplier. Let them know where you live and find out what grows best in your area. And while you are at it, find out what they will like to grow in. Then, before you buy anything, see if you can locate the substrate your mushrooms need.

Even among one cultivar, such as oyster mushrooms, there are many varieties and each one likes different things. For example, there are oyster mushrooms that like it much too cold to grow here in southern Florida.

What do all mushrooms need?

All mushrooms, at least any I have studied so far, need at least partial darkness and water. You will need the place for them to grow close to where you can get water to them every day. Some people will set up an automatic sprinkler or mister system. I just use a hose and when I water my ducks, I water my mushrooms too. I have them located under dense trees so they only get dappled light. This method is much easier than growing them inside the house. But if you do want to grow them inside, remember, they will have to be watered everyday so they will need to be in a container that will hold the water, but still allow good air circulation. Very doable, but it will take a little more forethought.