How hard is it to grow mushrooms at home?

QUESTION: How hard is it to grow mushrooms at home? I keep reading about all the health benefits of mushrooms, but they’re pretty expensive at the store and I’m interested in growing my own.

ANSWER: Growing mushrooms can be as simple as the method you choose. Some people like to grow mushrooms outdoors in logs.

This method is a little more difficult as you have less control over the elements. Therefore, if you’d like to grow mushrooms using an easier method, consider growing them indoors.

You may do this from scratch or by purchasing a kit. Let’s discuss how to grow mushrooms indoors without a kit first.

When growing mushrooms, they don’t need any sunlight. All they need is a cool, damp growing location and the right substrate (or planting medium).

Start by choosing a cool location such as a basement, garage, or temperature controlled shed. The idea is for the location to maintain temperatures around 55- to 60-degrees Fahrenheit.

Then select a substrate. You may grow mushrooms in mulch, compost, straw, or coffee grounds. Choose what you have on hand and fill the growing container with approximately six-inches of the substrate.

Next, decide if you want to grow mushrooms from spores (which is similar to planting seeds) or spawn (which would be like planting a seedling).

Spawn is an easier starting method, so it’s recommended that beginners start here. There’s no actual planting with mushrooms.

Instead, you sprinkle the spawn over the planting medium and cover it until the spawn is approximately ¼ inch deep.

From there, place the container on a heating pad to boost the temperature to around 70-degrees Fahrenheit. Keep it like this for two to three days.

This will help boost your chances of mushrooms growing. Mist the planting medium with water after sowing spawn. The idea is for the substrate to be damp without becoming oversaturated.

You can then cover the growing container with a plastic bag, plastic wrap, or even a damp towel to provide a greenhouse effect.

Check the soil regularly to ensure it never fully dries out. In one month, you should be ready to harvest mushrooms.

The other easy method to growing mushrooms is to purchase a kit. There are many options to choose from.

However, most of them provide the growing container, growing medium, spores or spawn, provide instructions, and some even offer a money-back guarantee if your mushrooms don’t grow.

If you’d like to grow mushrooms outdoors, there are kits which provide plugs to help you grow them using this method as well.

Mushrooms are a great crop to grow because they can easily be grown indoors or out. Plus, you can purchase different kits which can help you grow numerous types of mushrooms.

Growing something new can be a fun adventure. Use this information to decide the best method for growing mushrooms and give it a try.