Basic Requirements For Growing Shrooms
Growing shrooms at home isn’t challenging if you follow their basic requirements. To get started, it involves utilizing a natural substrate, spores, mason jars, filtered water, perlite, and a few other materials. Getting these set up in the area you want to begin growing spores or mycelium to inoculate the substrate is necessary. It can also give you an idea of how large you want your grow area to be.
It takes effort and consistency to correct it the first time, especially for those just learning about the magic mushroom industry. After going through the procedures to grow magic mushrooms, you will feel confident and can soon grow varieties of them.
This article explores the methods of how to grow shrooms at home and answers common questions you may have about the growth process.
Step-By-Step Guide For Beginners
The step-by-step home mushroom growing guide provides adequate knowledge of getting proper shrooms to prepare them.
Choose The Right Mushroom Species
It’s best to pick the right magic mushroom species. Some are harder to grow with different environmental conditions than others. If you’re wanting to grow Penis Envy mushrooms, there are different cultivation processes for growing them.
Many species of shrooms don’t require the same temperature, humidity, and airflow to grow under. You need to research the best shrooms for your skill level and monitor them carefully. If you want to grow mushrooms for beginners, consider easy-growing mushrooms that don’t require extra attention to detail.
Gather Necessary Equipment
Make sure to get the basic equipment or supplies you need to begin the process of growing at home. You may have these at home or need to purchase from a store or online shop.
Select Your Cultivation Method
There are several cultivation methods you can use to grow mushrooms at home.
You can either utilize the following:
Magic Mushroom Grow Kit: You can buy magic mushrooms anywhere online from a reputable and trustworthy seller. The shroom kits provide instructions to grow magic shrooms at home.
PT-Tek: The method is known as Psilocybe Fanaticus. This can enhance the growth of the mushrooms once they start growing. This method uses brown rice flour and vermiculite as a substrate where mycelium can colonize.
The shrooms go through inoculation to fruiting, all while maintaining cleanliness, to provide healthy shrooms you can eat. PF-Tek is also great for mushroom cultivation for beginners.
Spawn and Bulk Substrate: This requires you to use a spawn or body of mycelium. The spawn colonizes the bulk substrate. Ideally, a smaller substrate is needed to add to the spawn or body of mycelium, which is a larger form of it. These can serve to provide you with a good starting point for growing magic mushrooms in the comfort of your home. Our step-by-step process explains the PF tek method for growing mushrooms at home that’s good for beginners.
Prepare Your Substrate
Start by preparing your substrate, which should take roughly around 30 minutes.
Your substrate feeds the fungi for them to grow well. Their mycelium grows very long while giving off enzymes. These enzymes help break down the food for the mushrooms to absorb the critical nutrients they need to thrive. You want to make sure you don’t introduce mould and bacteria into the substrate since it can eliminate the growth of the shrooms.
How To Mix and Sterilize:
Make substrate:
- Combine brown rice flour with vermiculite and water for your substrate.
- Mix about two parts vermiculite, two parts brown rice flour, and 1 part water.
- Start adding vermiculite first in a mason jar, then add water.
- Add brown rice flour.
It’s best to mix in between adding each ingredient.
Fill Jars: Fill the jars with the substrate you made and leave 3 centimetres of space at the top. To top off, you should fill the last 3 centimetres of fresh new vermiculite.
Place Mason Jar Lids Over: Put the lids over the jars and seal them upside down to prevent permanent locking of the lids. You need to be able to take them out after pressuring and heating them. Then, place aluminum foil over the lids to prevent excess water from getting inside.
Put in Pressure Cooker: Next, you need to place the jars within the pressure cooker and fill them up with water to the line on the pressure cooker. Jars should be halfway submerged inside.
Clean or Sterilize Jars: You need to sterilize the jars by turning on the pressure cooker with your mason jars inside. Allow it to steam, then start the timer for 30 minutes, then take it out carefully after the time is up.
Inoculation
The inoculation process should take 30 minutes, allowing your shrooms to be introduced to the substrate you made. Make sure to have spores ready to place or inject inside the mason jar substrate.
Sterilize Room: The first thing you need to do is to clean the environment you’re going to be transferring the mushroom spores into the jars. Use about 60% or 70% isopropyl alcohol on the surface area, walls, floors, or entire room. Clean the air with a disinfectant spray, and wear gloves and a mask.
Only wear clean clothes before you clean the room. Also, turn off vents, heaters, or any filtration system to prevent bad bacteria from entering the room.
Transfer Spores: An ideal way to put spores into your jars is to use an injection needle. It must be cleaned before transferring spores into the mason jars. Heat the top of the needle to sterilize it, then place 2 CCs of the spores inside.
Transfer them within the mason jar, bypassing the top vermiculite mixture into the actual natural substrate. Minimize the opening of the jar lid and seep in the needle carefully. Cover after you transfer the spores inside.
Incubation And Colonization
Ideally, your shrooms must thrive in the right growing conditions, including 80% humidity, 68 to 83 degrees Fahrenheit, and no airflow.
You can buy an incubator or make one from large buckets that fit your mason jars. These buckets can serve to create a perfect environment for your magic mushrooms.
To make an incubator, get two buckets or containers, then stack them on each other. Fill the bottom container with water before placing the top container on top. You can put an aquarium heater or a different type on the bottom container. Your jars can be placed in the full container.
Lastly, place the bucket or container lids on top and wait 1 or 2 weeks until the mycelium grows well. Make sure to look for signs of mould and or contamination. The colours should appear blue, green, or a fuzzy white coat. You may have a contaminated mix if the mycelium doesn’t look like threads but has fuzz.
Fruiting And Harvesting
Your jars should be completely done growing with a healthy mycelium network. At this point, you can conduct fruiting.
Fruiting
Fruiting is where the mushrooms begin to appear and have slightly different environmental conditions. These conditions are 80% humidity, 50 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit, minimal indirect light, and moderate airflow. You want to keep these conditions for your shrooms by creating a fruiting chamber.
Fruiting Chamber Procedure
Utilize a clear container with a top lid, then drill tiny holes for the shrooms to receive quality air.
Clean the container with isopropyl alcohol. Wait a few minutes before moving forward to the next step.
Mix in perlite at the bottom of the container between 2 to 3 centimetres. Then, add water to the perlite until moist.
Put your mushrooms inside the container with the mason jar lids off and place the lid on. You can watch them grow by checking on them daily and spraying the perlite with water to retain moisture. Be sure to avoid touching mushrooms once they begin growing.
Harvesting
Some of your mushrooms should show signs they’re ready to be removed during harvesting. Make sure to grab the ready ones and pull them out by the base of their growth.
Care For Your Mushroom Culture
Now you have your magic shrooms grown and harvested, you need to care for your mushroom culture. Keep a continuous eye on it, monitor it closely, and give it vital nutrients for the culture to thrive.
The Bottom Line
Now you have gone through our home mushroom growing guide; you can start growing shrooms at home. Growing magic mushrooms at home is a fun process to navigate. Picking the right mushroom species that are easy to start growing with can give you a good start in your cultivation adventure and allow you to eat magic mushrooms.
It’s essential to follow the correct procedure and pick the right cultivation method for your experience level. When you become aware of growing shrooms, you can harvest them all year round. You’re soon going to prepare for a mushroom trip that enhances your mental and physical functions.
How Long Does It Take To Grow Magic Mushrooms At Home?
It can take between 4 to 6 weeks from inoculation to fruiting and harvesting your mushrooms at home. The mushroom species and cultivation method factor into how long it takes for your shrooms to grow.
When To Harvest Psilocybin Shrooms?
You can harvest psilocybin mushrooms before the veil tears, and it’s lightly coloured. It could be too late if you harvest when the shroom’s veil tear and drops or become dark.
What Is The Best Mushroom Substrate?
There isn’t an ideal substrate for growing magic mushrooms, but a general substrate would be brown rice flour, vermiculite, and water. You can also use brown rice flour, vermiculite, sawdust, and water. The substrate can depend on the strain you are growing since not all mushrooms are going to have the same natural substrate to grow well.
Are There Legal Restrictions On Growing Shrooms?
The mushroom legal status in Canada is illegal. You can’t possess, transport, and distribute psilocybin shrooms. If you file for an exemption with Health Canada, you may be allowed to consume the shroom, according to Health Canada, “Psilocybin And Psilocin (Magic Mushrooms).”
What Types Of Mushrooms Can I Grow At Home?
You can grow most types of magic mushrooms if they’re easy to cultivate and do well to grow at home on a natural substrate. Shrooms like Golden Teacher mushrooms and Wavy Caps are great for beginners to start growing at home since they don’t require too much effort.
There are over 180 species of magic mushrooms around the world, including Psilocybe, Gymnopilus, Panaeolus, Copelandia, Hypholoma, Pluteus, Inocybe, Cnocybe, Arocybe, Galerina, and Mycena, according to Iceers, “Psilocybin Mushrooms: Basic Info”.
Do I Need A Special Environment To Cultivate Shrooms?
Yes. All magic mushrooms need a distinct environment to grow under, and they won’t all have the same environment required to grow. Many species need a unique environment, and it’s best to understand the mushroom strain’s substrate you’re growing.
Can I Use Store-Bought Mushrooms To Start Growing My Own?
No. If you want to grow your mushrooms from the ones you got from the store, they will give you little success since it’s almost impossible to grow from dried mushrooms. If you’re growing from magic mushroom kits, you can buy these from the store since they ideally have spores for you to grow at home.
Are There Any Safety Concerns?
Yes. Growing magic shrooms can provide a risk of contamination that can ruin your crop. If you grow fully to harvest, you should look for any signs of mould or contamination. Carefully inspect your magic mushrooms and keep them in their healthiest state possible.
How Do I Prevent Contamination During The Growing Process?
To prevent contamination, sterilize the area throughout the entire process, from inoculation to fruiting. Cleaning often and cleaning the equipment throughout the stages of cultivation can minimize contamination.
Can I Grow Shrooms Without Prior Gardening Experience?
Yes. You can grow shrooms without prior gardening experience, especially if you have a magic mushroom grow kit. Grow kits offer you everything you need to grow, along with critical growing instructions. The kits are also the best mushroom cultivation for beginners.
