What You Need To Know Before Growing Mushrooms At Home

Mushrooms are tasty and extremely healthy. They are low in fat, calories, and filled with nutrients. They even keep your brain healthy. Sure, it’s possible to buy mushrooms at the grocer, but it’s also possible to grow mushrooms at home. Learn these great tips for growing mushrooms at home.

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Learn how to grow mushrooms at home with our recommended Best Mushroom Starter Kits.

Why Grow Mushrooms At Home

Growing mushrooms at home is more straightforward than most people think. It is rare to see people growing their own mushrooms. Stand out and grow them as a hobby, or still better as a small business.

There are several benefits of growing your own mushrooms. You don’t need a lot of space to grow mushrooms. Growing mushrooms is a fun and excellent learning experience. Mushrooms are expensive, and you will save a lot of money by growing your own at home.

Once you learn the basics of mushroom growing, the idea becomes less complicated and mysterious. You realize how easy it is to grow your own mushrooms. This article will teach you how to grow mushrooms at home.

How Do Mushrooms Grow

Growing mushrooms at home requires a cool, dark, and moist place. Mushrooms can grow anywhere you can control humidity, temperature and create near darkness.

It can be in a basement, unused cabinet, or closet. Small spaces such as a spot under the sink are also an ideal place to grow mushrooms.

Mushrooms grow from spores. You cannot see spores with the naked eye because they are so tiny. Spores are fungi, equivalent to seeds in plants. Mushroom spores rely on materials such as straw, wood chips, grain, or sawdust for nutrition.

A mushroom plug spawn is a combination of spores and nutrient sources. To understand this better, think of mushroom spores as seeds and mushroom plug spawns as seedlings. Plug spawns are easy for growing mushrooms at home.

You can plant Mushroom plugs outdoors on ordinary potting soil alongside your vegetables in a garden. However, you will need to add organic material for the spawn to feed.

Cutting coffee beans in half and soaking them in water for five minutes provides the best material. Mix the soaked coffee beans with the soil to give it nutrients for growing mushrooms.

Harvesting mushrooms is pretty straightforward. Gently twist or pull the mature mushroom cup from the medium it is growing on. The timing of your harvest will depend on the variety you are growing.

Learn more about growing mushrooms at home:

Are Mushrooms A Vegetable?

Tips For Growing Mushrooms Indoors

5 Steps For Growing Mushrooms In Coffee Grounds

Growing Mushrooms Indoors

Growing mushrooms is an excellent way of diversifying the types of crops you grow indoor. People have been growing mushrooms in small indoor spaces for over a century now. There is enough space to grow mushrooms even if you live in an apartment.

Growing mushrooms indoors is less messy because you will not be dealing with soil. For good mushroom growth, you need to have ideal conditions. Temperature, darkness, and humidity play an essential role in growing mushrooms.

Temperatures between 55 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit are optimal for most mushrooms. However, some types, such as the Enoki mushrooms, thrive well in cooler temperatures of about 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mushrooms thrive well in low light or dark conditions. If you choose to grow mushrooms in the basement, you may consider growing them in a closet where they won’t be disturbed.

Some mushroom varieties grow better outdoors. However, the process will take longer than in controlled environments indoors.

Mushroom Varieties

There are so many different varieties of mushrooms. One of the benefits of growing your own mushrooms at home is that you are sure you are growing edible mushrooms. You could end up with poisonous mushrooms if you decide to harvest from the wild.

The following are some of the most popular mushroom varieties suitable for growing at home:

• Oyster mushrooms: Oysters are the best variety for beginners. This variety of mushrooms commonly grows on the side of trees. They have little or no stem with a large flat cap.

• Button/Cremini/Portobello Mushrooms: The main difference between these mushroom species is the way they grow before harvesting. These mushrooms start off as button mushrooms. When they get bigger and develop a brown color, they become crimini. Finally, they transform to Portobello mushrooms when fully grown. Portobellos are big and grow with grills underneath. They are meatier and more firm.

• Shiitake mushrooms: Shiitakes have a texture similar to Portobello. They also have an earthy and smoky flavor. Shiitakes are very delicious and with health benefits. They have compounds that lower cholesterol levels. Stores sell dried shiitake mushrooms, but they are best when you eat them fresh. They usually grow outdoors on logs.

• Enoki mushrooms: Enoki grows together in clumps. They are small with long stems. Because they are very compact, you can grow Enokis in jars in tiny spaces.

• Maitake mushrooms: Maitakes are also very delicious, with nutrition and health benefits. Maitake’s name means hen of the woods. Not because they taste like chicken, but because they resemble feathers of a hen.

Best Starter Kit For Growing Mushrooms At Home

Mushroom growing kits offer a very convenient and quick way to grow mushrooms at home. You purchase the kits with everything prepared, from your growing medium to the mushroom plugs.

The following are the best mushroom growing kits to get started.

Back To The Roots Organic Mushroom Growing Kit

Back to the Roots kit is 100 percent organic. It has no intoxicants or genetically modified substances. The kit allows you to grow your mushrooms all year round. Place the kit next to a window and water twice a day.

Mushrooms will grow fast and will be ready for harvest in 10 days. The kit can grow up to two crops. Each crop can produce three to four servings.

Lions Mane Mushroom Growing Kit

Lions Mane kit contains everything you need for growing mushrooms at home. The kit has a humidity tent, a log, a spray bottle, and an instruction book.

Mushrooms will start growing in seven days from the day you begin to stray. The box is durable and will last for months if unopened.

Beginner Home Mushroom Kit

The Beginner Home mushroom kit provides everything you need to grow your own mushrooms. The kit produces organic mushrooms. All the products are natural and forest origins.

The kit is excellent for learning, and you can use it for school science projects. It is the best kit for beginners.

Growing mushrooms at home is easy. You can practice it as a hobby or do it as a business. A mushroom growing kit is excellent for beginners. If you have always wanted to grow mushrooms, this is the right time to get started.

Tips For Growing Mushrooms At Home

Growing mushrooms at home is very easy. They require very little space and thrive well when grown indoors. The following tips will assist you in growing your own mushrooms.

Tip 1: Grow Mushrooms Indoors

Mushrooms thrive well when you grow them indoors as opposed to outdoors. You will have more control over the environmental factors indoors. Growing mushrooms indoors will also make them grow faster.

Tip 2: Have The Ideal Light Conditions

Mushrooms grow well in dark areas or with low light. If there is a lot of light, create near darkness conditions for your mushrooms. Consider growing mushrooms in a closet.

Tip 3: Get The Temperature Right

Most mushroom varieties grow well in temperatures of between 55 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Growing indoors is excellent because you can control the temperature.

Tip 4: Grow In Humid Areas

It would be best if you grew your mushrooms in moist and damp areas. If you are using a growing medium instead of soil, make sure you soak it for up to five days. A growing medium is an alternative to soil, such as coffee beans and sawdust.

Tip 5: Get A Mushroom Growing Kit

Mushroom growing kits are the fastest and easiest way of growing mushrooms for a beginner. The kit comes with the growing medium prepared.  All you do is open your kit and spray some water every day.

FAQs – Growing Mushrooms At Home