How to Completely Grow Mushrooms
- 1). Select a type of mushroom to grow. The type of mushroom you choose will determine how you grow these fungi. For example, if you decide to plant white button mushrooms, you will grow them most effectively on composted manure. On the other hand, shiitake mushrooms typically need hardwood sawdust as a growing medium, according to GardeningKnowHow.com.
- 2). Purchase the spawn or spores of the type of mushroom you select. Spores serve as seeds, and spawn act as seedlings. You can find a spore/spawn dealer online at websites such as MagicYellow.com, CenterForAgroForestry.org or MushroomsForSale.com (see Resources).
- 3). Buy the proper growing medium for your chosen mushroom. You can use a phone book to pinpoint a local sawmill to find hardwood sawdust, for example. You additionally can call a local tree-trimming company to see if they are willing to give you their unneeded sawdust. In addition, you can purchase composted manure at a local garden center, nursery or feed store.
- 4). Select a cool, damp, dark place in an area of your house that will serve as the growing area for your mushrooms. For example, you can use a closet, cabinet or basement in which you can control humidity and temperature. Place a home vaporizer in the area to add humidity.
Next, put your growing medium --- such as the hardwood sawdust --- in a pan, and put the spawn/spores on the growing medium. Use a heating pad to increase the temperature of the room to 70 degrees Fahrenheit just for the next three weeks, which will enable your mushrooms to begin sprouting. - 5). Remove the heating pad from the area after three weeks, which is about the time you should see filaments of the spawn/spores spread into the growing medium. This means they are taking root.
At this point, test the temperature with a thermometer to make sure the temperature ranges from 55 degrees Fahrenheit to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the ideal condition for growing mushrooms. Put a fan in the area to circulate the cool air. - 6). Place about an inch of potting soil over the spawn/spores, and then put a damp cloth over the spawn/spores and soil. Whenever the cloth or the soil become dry, spray these areas with water.
In three to four weeks, small mushrooms should begin to emerge and will be ready for plucking once their caps are open completely and have separated from their stems, reports GardeningKnowHow.com.
