• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

sloely

enjoying life slowed down

  • clutter free
  • simply frugal
  • natural remedies
  • grow your own
  • non toxic living
  • Simple Parenting

How To Grow Your Own Mushrooms

February 23, 2018 by Alice 14 Comments

How To Grow Mushrooms At Home
Grow Your Own Mushrooms
How To Grow Mushrooms

Growing mushrooms with kids - a lovely simple gardening activity that lets kids explore the science of fungi #gardening #gardenwithkids #mushrooms #plants #fungi #science #STEMGrowing mushrooms is one of the easiest gardening projects to share with kids – or to try as a beginner – and is perfect in winter when it’s still too chilly to grow stuff outside.

You don’t have to be remotely green fingered to grow mushrooms and once started, mushrooms will literally grow before your eyes.

Every day they will be visibly bigger and in a fortnight you can harvest them and pop them in the pan for a yummy breakfast, lunch or supper.

Growing mushrooms with kids - a lovely simple gardening activity that lets kids explore the science of fungi #gardening #gardenwithkids #mushrooms #plants #fungi #science #STEM

Growing your own food quickly is the best motivation for kids and beginners starting a vegetable garden to grow more, so do give mushrooms a go.

And in this post I’ll take you through everything you need to know about growing mushrooms including:

  1. Growing mushrooms with kits
  2. The best mushroom growing kits
  3. Mushroom growing tips for beginners
    • Best temperature to grow mushrooms
    • How to water mushrooms
    • How quickly mushrooms grow
    • How to harvest mushrooms
    • Growing second & third mushroom crops

And as an added extra there are tips at the bottom on exploring fungi with kids to help them understand the weird and wonderful life cycle of fungi.

Growing mushrooms with kids - a lovely simple gardening activity that lets kids explore the science of fungi #gardening #gardenwithkids #mushrooms #plants #fungi #science #STEM

1. Mushroom Growing Kits

You can grow mushrooms from packets of spawn but the first time you grow mushrooms I definitely recommend buying a mushroom growing kit.

Mushroom kits will cost more than just buying spawned mushroom spore but they make a fun gift and you can support local jobs buying direct from small independent suppliers near you.

Mushroom kits come in different varieties – I’ll help you choose the best mushroom kit in a moment – but basically your kit will include:

  • a growing container, e.g. tub or box or log or even a book
  • mushroom substrate : mushroom substrate is the material the mushrooms feed on and could be manure, coffee grounds, straw or a log
  • spawned mycelium : the mycelium is the fungi itself and in a kit it’s usually been spawned so it is live and already mixed into and growing in the substrate

Kits with spawned mycelium will already be growing when you get them so you do need to start looking after it straight away.

Growing mushrooms with kids - a lovely simple gardening activity that lets kids explore the science of fungi #gardening #gardenwithkids #mushrooms #plants #fungi #science #STEM

2. The Best Mushroom Growing Kits

There are all sorts of different mushroom growing kits for growing everything from oyster and shiitake mushrooms to weird and wonderful – more than slightly psychedelic!! – enoki and lion’s mane mushrooms …

But to be honest the best mushroom growing kits to start with are the really simple reliable ones with:

  • Button, chestnut or oyster mushrooms
  • Spawned compost substrate in a tub or box

Growing mushrooms with kids - a lovely simple gardening activity that lets kids explore the science of fungi #gardening #gardenwithkids #mushrooms #plants #fungi #science #STEM

Other varieties of mushroom kit can be great fun but can have significant downsides for beginners and kids:

  • Shiitake mushrooms are often slower to grow.
  • Coffee ground mushroom kits are very trendy but the nutrients in coffee substrate are more likely to go off kilter and kill your spawn.
  • Kits for growing mushrooms on logs can do well but typically the mushrooms will grow much slower on the logs.

A simple mushroom growing kit will give you three quick growing mushroom crops and let you practice your mushroom growing skills before trying a more exotic mushroom kit or growing mushrooms from spawn.

I’ll now take you through mushroom growing tips for beginners and then show you how you can adapt these to grow mushrooms from spawn.

3. Mushroom Growing Tips For Beginners

Precise instructions will vary between mushroom growing kits but these are the essential mushroom growing tips for beginners you need to know for all kits and for growing mushroom from spawn.

Best Temperature To Grow Mushrooms

Mushrooms don’t like it too hot or too cold, so find a spot for your mushroom container that will be between 63-68 / 14-20 degrees.

How To Water Mushrooms

Mushrooms like soil damp but not soggy. It is best to use a spray bottle and very lightly dampen the growing surface twice a day.

How Quickly Do Mushrooms Grow?

Mushrooms typically grow from spawned mycelium within a week to 10 days and will be ready to harvest within a week of first appearing.

Growing mushrooms with kids - a lovely simple gardening activity that lets kids explore the science of fungi #gardening #gardenwithkids #mushrooms #plants #fungi #science #STEM

How To Harvest Mushrooms

Mushrooms are best harvested roughly a week after first appearing as this will increase the chance of more crops.

Although, they will be different sizes harvest all the mushrooms at once by cutting as close as possible to the substrate with a knife.

Growing mushrooms with kids - a lovely simple gardening activity that lets kids explore the science of fungi #gardening #gardenwithkids #mushrooms #plants #fungi #science #STEM

Growing Second & Third Mushroom Crops

To grow second and third mushroom crops make sure to keep spraying the compost lightly twice a day after your first harvest.

Subsequent crops can start to appear after 7 days but it can be 3 weeks so do keep lightly spraying to keep damp and don’t forget about them.

Growing mushrooms with kids - a lovely simple gardening activity that lets kids explore the science of fungi #gardening #gardenwithkids #mushrooms #plants #fungi #science #STEM

And there you go, all the mushroom growing tips for beginners you need to know for multiple bumper crops. For tips on exploring fungi with kids, whiz to to the bottom.

And for more simple grow your own food tips for beginners check out these posts:

  • Growing Vegetables For Beginners On A Budget
  • 5 Quick Growing Vegetables
  • Growing Vegetables From Scraps
  • Vegetables To Plant In Early Spring

So as you are growing your mushrooms encourage your little naturalist to mull over these questions …

  1. Do mushrooms have a seed?
  2. Do mushrooms have roots?
  3. Do mushrooms need light?
  4. Do mushrooms need water?
  5. Where do mushrooms get energy from?
  6. Where does the next crop come from?
https://sloely.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/GrowingMushroomsWithKids.mp4
Mushroom Growing At Home
How To Grow Mushrooms With Kids
Mushroom Growing At Home

Filed Under: Grow Your Own Food, kids gardening, Plant Life Cycle Activities For Kids Tagged With: grow your own

Previous Post: « Oxleas Wood London
Next Post: Exploring Catkins With Kids »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jan Mckenzie says

    July 25, 2019 at 12:39 pm

    Where can i buy mushrooms spawn please Jan

    Reply
  2. Marieta Boshoff says

    January 26, 2023 at 9:01 pm

    Where can I buy mushroom spawn or steeds.

    Reply
    • Alice says

      January 27, 2023 at 9:15 am

      Hi there – you can buy spawn on Amazon but I would go to a local mushroom farm / specialist near you as you’ll usually get better quality. If you pop “mushroom spawn” and your state or county into Google you’ll should get a good few choices. I would then check out their About pages which should make clear whether they really know their stuff or are just a fly-by-night business jumping on a trend. Hope that helps Alice

      Reply
  3. Marialena says

    October 8, 2022 at 6:36 pm

    Here in South Africa one cannot find mushroom kits.
    So how do I start to grow mushrooms

    Reply
  4. Alice says

    October 10, 2022 at 8:22 am

    You need to get some mycelium – the fungi spawn itself – and then decide on a substrate to grow it on. The substrate could be manure / compost, coffee grounds, a log, newspaper. Manure / compost is probably easiest to begin with. The mycelium comes spawned and unspawned. If it’s spawned you can follow the instructions in section 3. If it’s not spawned your mycelium should come with instructions on how to spawn it and you can then pick up from section 3. Hope that helps, Alice

    Reply
  5. Norm says

    December 14, 2022 at 11:40 am

    Amazon should have access to kits

    Reply
  6. Vivienne Bennett says

    September 6, 2020 at 9:03 pm

    I would love to start growing mushrooms

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Growing mint in water says:
    March 5, 2019 at 2:54 pm

    […] Growing Mushrooms With Kids says: February 23, 2018 at 1:04 pm […]

    Reply
  2. Growing Courgettes With Kids says:
    March 7, 2019 at 1:09 pm

    […] Mushrooms: part of the mind boggling fungi kingdom, you can have mushrooms on your plate in less than 2 weeks […]

    Reply
  3. Recycled Gifts says:
    September 6, 2019 at 2:40 pm

    […] kit : growing mushrooms is super fun for kids and this kit lets them grow their crop in the leftover coffee from a hundred […]

    Reply
  4. Kids Gardening Growing Vegetables says:
    April 20, 2020 at 3:33 pm

    […] had an ongoing crop of mushrooms in our kitchen this […]

    Reply
  5. Quick Growing Vegetables says:
    April 20, 2020 at 4:35 pm

    […] get started read these How To Grow Mushrooms For Beginners […]

    Reply
  6. Growing Vegetables From Scraps says:
    April 30, 2020 at 4:08 pm

    […] Growing Mushrooms With Kids […]

    Reply
  7. Growing Pussy Willow Catkins says:
    January 9, 2021 at 8:49 am

    […] Growing Mushrooms With Kids […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Jan Mckenzie Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar



PRIVACY - DISCLOSURE - ADVERTISE - COPYRIGHT

Footer

Clutter free …

Gentle Declutter Method - Just 10 Things
Declutter List Of Things To Declutter Right Now

Grow your own …

Spring Vegetable Planting List
Natural Mosquito Repellents For Garden And Camping
How To Grow Raspberries In A Small Garden
Growing Rosemary From Cuttings In Water

Natural remedies …

Instant Heartburn Relief Naturally
Natural Gastritis Treatments
PRIVACY - DISCLOSURE - ADVERTISE - COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT