Ask Kitty
Dear Kitty,
Could you please give me some mushroom growing advice or info? I want to grow my own mushrooms at home.
Thanks
Growing in the Dark
Dear Growing in the Dark,
I have to say I have never grown mushrooms at home. However, the answers I got from a mushroom grower makes me want to try too! Here’s what I found out:
White button mushrooms are the easiest to grow. They grow in composted manure, which is quite easy to get hold of.
You will need spawn (mushroom seedlings) or spore (mushroom seeds). Spawn is easier to work with and you will have a better success rate. I understand from the mushroom grower these can be ordered online.
You will need a moist, cool, dark, and humid place to grow your mushrooms. The temperature should be around 15 C or as the mushroom farmer said, 60ish degrees F.
A dark corner of a basement would be a great spot to grow your mushrooms. It doesn’t have to be pitch black — mushrooms apparently can tolerate a little low light. Put the composted manure in a tray that’s about 6 inches deep (like a plant flat). Wet the soil gently and put the tray on a heating pad to heat the soil to about 70ish degrees F (21C) for 3 weeks or so until thread-like roots are seen. When you see the thread-like roots (called mycelium) remove the heating pad and place tray on newspapers. Keep the soil spritzed with water and cover the tray with a light weight damp cloth (cheese cloth might work). Spritz the soil every day. In about a month you will have your own mushrooms! Cut the stem with a knife to harvest so you don’t disturb the other mushrooms coming. More mushrooms will grow every day for about 6 months.
I hope you try this. I am going to venture into growing this myself, thank you for the inspiration!
Happy mushroom growing,
Kitty
