Grow gourmet mushrooms at home.
Grow oyster, lion's mane, shiitake and other gourmet mushrooms at home: grow kits, spawn, substrate, logs and the conditions each stage needs, explained for beginners and hobby growers.
How mushroom growing works
Spawn
Spawn is the living mushroom culture, mycelium grown on grain or sawdust. It plays the part that seed plays in a garden.
Substrate
The substrate is the food: hardwood sawdust, straw or a log, prepared so the mushroom you want gets a head start.
Colonize
The mycelium spreads through the substrate. It is usually kept warm, dark and undisturbed until it has taken hold.
Fruit
A change in air, light and moisture tells the mycelium to form mushrooms. You harvest them, and many species fruit again.
Each species has its own conditions at every stage. We publish them species by species, with the source for every figure.
Gourmet mushrooms
Oyster, lion's mane, shiitake, enoki, king oyster, maitake, pioppino and more for the kitchen.
Button Mushroom
Chestnut Mushroom
Enoki
King Oyster
Lion's Mane
Maitake
Nameko
Oyster Mushroom
Pioppino
Shiitake
Wine Cap
Medicinal mushrooms
Reishi, turkey tail and cordyceps: how they're cultivated. Growing guidance only, no health claims.
Cordyceps militaris
Reishi
Turkey Tail
Latest growing guides
Gourmet mushrooms · Pillar guideHow to Grow Lion's Mane Mushrooms at Home
How to grow lion's mane mushrooms on hardwood sawdust: substrate, spawn, humidity, fresh air and when to harvest, with trial figures clearly labeled.
Gourmet mushrooms · GuideLion's Mane Grow Kit: How to Fruit One at Home
How a lion's mane grow kit works and what it needs to fruit (humidity, fresh air, dry spines), plus how to read the one-trial figures on this page with care.
- Gourmet mushrooms · Guide
When to Harvest Lion's Mane Mushrooms and How to Store Them
When to harvest lion's mane (teeth about 1 cm long and drooping), what one trial's yield was, how short its shelf life is and what we know on storage.
Wren Holloway
Wren Holloway is the editorial pen name of How To Grow Mushrooms. Grow kits, spawn, substrate and logs, explained step by step for beginners and hobby growers, with the temperature, humidity and timing each stage needs. Researched against university and extension sources and reviewed before publishing.
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