So you want to start growing edible mushrooms? That’s great! This page is designed to help you get everything you need to get started with helpful information and links to recommended products. All mushrooms listed are edible varieties. While these kits are the basics, if you want to get more advanced, head on over to the blog and start reading up on some manual cultivation techniques.
Start Simple: Mushrooms for the Absolute Beginner
If you’ve never grown mushrooms before, these are the easiest kits to start with. They are essentially fool proof and great if your want to start a mushroom farm as a family or project with your kids.
Back to The Roots: Pre-made kits
These come in a few varieties, but are all super easy to grow and a great place to start if you want to see if mushroom growing is a good fit for you. The kits are also a good litmus test for if your house is a suitable environment to grow mushrooms.
Different Mushroom Kits:
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Forest Origins: Pre-made Kits
Similar to the Back to Roots kits mentioned above, Forest Origins has a slightly more expensive and slightly more robust set of pre-made kits. Their pink and brown oyster mushroom kits are easy to setup and grow and have decent yield.
Mushroom Man Reishi Mushroom Kit
Finally, if you’re looking for something a bit more off the beaten path, Reishi mushrooms from Mushroom Man LLC have a great track record. The kits are easy to grow and the mushrooms have a coral like appearance when they grow.
Shiitake Mushroom Logs
Not all kits are bags and boxes. Shiitake mushrooms grow on logs, and you can buy these pre-inoculated and ready to go! These kits are simple compared to most, simple set them up in an idea location and wait for your mushrooms to grow. The biggest downside is that they are not suitable for all environments and typically need to grow outdoors.
More Advanced Mushroom Production
If you want to move beyond the kits, there’s plenty to read about in the blog that can help you get started. Regardless, here are some more advanced kits and top supplies to start moving beyond the pre-assembled farms.
Morel Habitat Kit
Morels need to be grown outdoors. They resist indoor cultivation for a variety of reasons, but if you’re ready to move onto planting your own and find yourself in the right climate for them a Morel Habitat Kit might be right for you. These kits give you everything you need to seed your yard with morels that will continue to grow and come back year after year.
While these kits are great, the morel is finicky, so remember that different seasons, temperatures, climates, and areas all yield different results.
Basic Supplies
Mushroom growing doesn’t have to be complicated. The easiest setups can be a bucket, wood chips, some spawn, and a bit of water. That being said before we pretend everything is super easy, let’s look at some absolute basic materials that will make your life as a mushroom farmer easier.
- Digital thermometer with a Hygrometer – This is essential if you want to grow your mushrooms correctly. Keeping curate temperature and humidity reading can make or break most mushroom products.
- Gloves – This one is a no brainer. Gloves help you keep your grow medium clean.
- Heating Mat – If you’re growing button mushrooms, you’ll want to be able to control temperature of your growth medium. A good heating mat will do this and have a built in temperature gauge.
- Grow Chamber – This is important part of a indoor home setup. Keep your mushrooms in a moist and controlled environment.
- Reliable Compost/Growth Medium – When you’re just starting out you should buy sterile growth substrate. Making your own isn’t hard, but it has a high risk of contamination.
- Heavy Duty Containers – Whether you use totes, jars, or bags, you can never go wrong with investing a bit more in reusable containers.
- Spray Bottles – You need to keep your mushrooms moist, and this is the lowest tech solution.
- Humidifier – When you can’t watch your mushrooms constantly a good humidifier will help you keep the area moist. This is also great if you plan on growing anything during the winter months.
- Coarse Perlite – This stuff is great when trying to keep a chamber moist, it holds water well and slowly releases moisture to the air.
This list isn’t exhaustive, but these are some simple starting items you’ll want. The hobby isn’t cheap to start, so make sure you’ve got a budget before you get started. When you’re ready to get growing, head on over to the blog and read up on some simple methods to grow your own mushrooms and find the method that will work best for you!
Advanced Supplies
If you’re ready to step up your game and really dig in, then you’ll want to start getting serious about reducing contamination. For that you can build a laminar flow hood, get a pressure cooker to sterilize your equipment, and then practice your ascetic technique. Any of links included here will get you on the right track to having a modern mushroom growers setup.