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Mushroom Growing

Grow gourmet mushrooms on your counter. No sun needed.

3levels, ending in mushrooms from your own grows
25 mina Step, on average
$67to start Level 1
FreeLevel 1, always

The path

  1. 1
    Level 1Free

    Oysters at Home

    Harvests from a kit, coffee grounds and straw

    15 Steps, about 25 minutes each. Anyone curious about growing food indoors. No garden, sunlight or experience needed.

    1. Chapter 1: First flush. A grow kit fruited, mushrooms harvested and cooked, and a spore print made.
    2. Chapter 2: Coffee grounds. Used coffee grounds turned into a mushroom grow, colonized, and fruiting.
    3. Chapter 3: Straw bucket. Straw pasteurized, a bucket packed and colonized, and a mushroom dinner from your own harvest.
    1. 1
      Open your grow kit
      Your kit cut open, set in a good spot, and misted for the first time.
      Show your group
    2. 2
      Build a humidity tent
      A simple humidity tent over your kit, and a daily misting routine set up.
    3. 3
      Watch for pins
      Tiny mushroom pins spotted, and misting adjusted as they grow.
    See all 15 Steps
    1. 4
      Harvest your first flush
      Your first cluster of oyster mushrooms harvested at the right moment.
    2. 5
      Cook them and take a spore print
      Your harvest cooked, and a spore print taken from one cap.
      Show your group
    3. 6
      Gather for a coffee grow
      Fresh used coffee grounds collected, and a clean container and workspace ready.
    4. 7
      Mix and pack
      Grain spawn mixed into the grounds, packed into your container and set somewhere dark and warm.
    5. 8
      Check colonization
      Your coffee container checked for white mycelium and any signs of contamination.
    6. 9
      Soak the kit for a second flush
      Your first kit rested, soaked and back in its fruiting spot.
    7. 10
      Fruit your coffee grow
      Your fully colonized coffee container opened up to fruit, under a humidity tent.
      Show your group
    8. 11
      Pasteurize straw
      Chopped straw pasteurized in hot water, drained and cooled.
    9. 12
      Pack the bucket
      A bucket drilled, layered with straw and spawn, and set aside to colonize.
    10. 13
      Harvest flush two
      A second flush harvested from your kit or coffee grow, and cooked a new way.
    11. 14
      Check the bucket
      Your bucket checked for colonization and contamination, and readied to fruit.
    12. 15
      Bucket harvest and dinner
      Mushrooms harvested from your bucket and a mushroom dinner made to share.
      Show your group
  2. Level 2Unlocks after Level 1

    Grain and Jars

    Your own grain spawn and lion's mane

  3. Level 3Unlocks after Level 2

    Outdoor Beds

    Wine caps in the garden and shiitake logs

Where it ends: mushrooms from your own grows

Free lessons in Oysters at Home come from North Spore, Zombie Mycology, GroCycle, Grow with soil, Low Impact, GrowVeg, Mushroom Appreciation, mushroom shed, Epic Gardening, The Old Farmer's Almanac Garden Planner, Chelsea Green Publishing. We link to their work and never copy it.

Cover photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash