Growing Mushrooms at Home
Information and tips from Fred-in-the-shed
Updated 7th February 2025
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Button Mushroom Kits and Spores
Exotic Mushroom Kits and Spores
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Mushroom Kit based on straw Ideal season Aug - Dec
Shiitake impregnated logs Growing White Mushrooms from Kits or Spores I have always been interested in growing mushrooms and as a child I grew them in sealed bin bags behind our shed. My dad (big Fred) used to buy a lorry load of spent mushroom compost from the nearby mushroom laboratories every year to use as manure. I would then rake through the compost, to find the white blobs of heavily "concentrated spores. I would then put these spore constellations in a bin bag with some compost, soak it in water and wait 2 or 3 weeks. The size and number of mushrooms was incredible using this method. Sadly I no longer live near a mushroom laboratory so I am now trying other methods. Mushrooms grow from microscopic spores that like stable, moist conditions. In the wild mushrooms grow on the forest floor and on the lower parts of trees. They feed and grow on decomposing material. If you can replicate these conditions then you can grow exotic mushrooms in your own garden, shed or cellar. To grow mushrooms at home you can buy the spores or you can buy kits containing spores and sterilised compost. I have grown the mushroom kits many times with good results. I have also bought a few that were totally useless. The hard truth about home grow kits is that although you can get a lot of mushrooms, they tend to come all at once in declining flushes. Typically around 250g of mushrooms. Usually my mushroom kits have 1-3 flushes of mushrooms then go mouldy and get chucked onto the compost heap. (where they can crop again) Mushroom kit boxes are the easiest way to get started but a more expensive way of doing it than buying the spores and adding them to your own substrate. The kits are easier and if you get ones from a good supplier that are reasonably fresh they generally work if you follow the instructions.
If you found my page helpful then please use the links below when purchasing your spores or kits as this will help to pay my hosting costs. thanks, Fred. USE THE LINKS BELOW FOR Oyster Mushroom Spawn
Kits Including Spawn Merryhill Pink Oyster Mushroom Gift Kit
Merryhill White Lidded Mushroom Kit USE THE LINKS BELOW FOR MUSHROOM SEEDS, INCLUDING SHIITAKE SPORES , PEARL OYSTER, PINK OYSTER, AND GOLDEN OYSTER MUSHROOM SPORES (Spawn is not available at all times so buy now if it is and use it soon) The Urban farm kits provide the freshest spores sent separately when you want them
Oyster Mushroom Growing Kits (Pink) | Grow Your Own Mushrooms Kit
That INCLUDES FRESH SPAWN VOUCHER
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Growing Shiitake Mushrooms from Spores in Logs Recently I tried a new technique that involves impregnating a hardwood log with mushroom spores. I used Shitake spores and a freshly cut oak log. (Do not attempt to grow mushrooms on conifer wood as it will not work). Alder and Oak are prefered and you need fresh cut logs. A 100g bag of Oyster or Shitake mushroom spawn costs around £10 inc postage so if it works this will be a good investment if the log produces a crop for up to 5 years. You must be patient though as it can take up to 10 months for a crop to appear. The technique is to drill holes into the log, insert the spores, plug hole with tissue paper then wax. Soak the log and leave in a cool, damp place until the mushrooms erupt from the exterior like pimples on a teenagers face. There are other techniques that involve splitting logs, wetting cardboard and even putting a wet loo roll in a plastic bag with spawn. It can take years for the mushrooms to emerge so patience is required. Over 2 years my logs have yielded half a dozen mushrooms - a disappointment but I live in hope.
Drill 10mm diameter holes in deciduous hardwood log, Fill holes with spore grains or spore impregnated dowels. Then seal hole with wet cotton wool or wax.
Seal plugged hole with wax - I used candle wax but cheese wax is preferred.
Stack logs in sheltered damp area, or half bury in soil. This stack is from the Mushroom valley at Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir organic garden. After 3 years under a dozen of the shiitake mushrooms have emerged.
This stack is from the Mushroom valley at Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir organic garden. After 3 years under a dozen of the shiitake mushrooms have emerged so this was not a great success. As the home grown market has developed new ways of growing shitake have emerged and the Merryhill Mushrooms kit is one of the best .
The kit comprises a log which has been impregnated with spores and is best kept inside in a shady, not too hot room. You keep the log in the supplied plastic bag with top ventilation and mist with water twice daily . My kit produced dozens of shitake within a few days and is a joy to see. Use this link to buy Shiitake kit for Indoor growing
Great books for DIY mushroom growers Growing exotic mushrooms at home requires a good understanding of the biology of Fungi and conditions that they grow in. Each variety requires specific conditions and are very fragile organisms when compared to your average garden plant. To gain this understanding I strongly recommend some reading on the subject. This will save you time and money, and you will become more of a clever dick. If you can't understand all of the data you may still be inspired by the pictures. This book contains the most comprehensive information on amateur and professional techniques for growing mushrooms.
Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms This "bible" of growing mushrooms has superb photographs and a wealth of technical advice for the scientifically minded. Mushrooms Knives for Countryside Foraging Strictly speaking I don't think you really need a special knife for collecting wild mushrooms but it is always nice to have the right tool for the job. The main feature of a mushroom knife is the curved blade for getting under the cap and cutting around the stalk. The other feature is the little brush for cleaning off any soil and the best ones have a brush that folds into the handle so that it does not get bent. The 3 knives opposite are all good examples and some come with built in compass and bottle openers.
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Foraging for Mushrooms and Food in the Countryside If you cant be bothered with growing your mushrooms at home then how about getting them for free from mother nature? The obvious pitfalls are dying from poisoning but this can be, and is largely avoided by arming yourself with some knowledge and taking extreme caution. The following books may be of interest - and save your life! If you are foraging for Mushrooms to eat then be extremely careful and one Golden rule is to always use at least 2 books for identification to help cover any omissions. The 2 books shown below are some of the best, and well priced books and are small and easy to take with you.
Mushrooms
- a book by Roger Philips The River Cottage Handbook No.1
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Find Edible Plants in the Countryside
Referred to as the
foragers bible this little book is the ideal companion
for walks and some of the plants may be easier to find than edible fungi.
Each of the 240 types of fruit, nut, flower, seaweed, fungi and shellfish
featured in this book have clear identification criteria and recipe ideas.
Eat Everything in the Countryside! (Plants and Animals) Ray Mears is a
master of surviving in the wild and making tasty meals from whatever is at hand.
As wild food is completely natural it is healthy and a few days in the wild should leave you looking svelt and feeling good.
However, ss Ray is a bit of a chubster I reckon he probably downs a few Kebabs or Curries when he gets home.
His TV shows were enormously popular and this book is a great reference to food in the wild.
An ideal book to read on a plane to reassure
yourself that if you survive the crash you will be able to knock up a Witchetty
Grub Resotto and impress your fellow survivors with similar culinary
delights until help arrives. |
If you found my advice helpful and would like to support my work, please return to this page and use my links when purchasing your tools.
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Thanks - Fred
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© Fred Walden 2025
and the Roger Phillips book are
classic guides for foragers.
