How to Grow Organic Mushrooms

Last Updated: March 31, 2022 Approved

Mushrooms are a culinary treat and many varieties contain beneficial vitamins and nutrients like vitamin D, vitamin B, selenium, antioxidants, and iron. Purchasing mushrooms can be hard on your budget, though, and harvesting wild mushrooms often proves to be a hazardous venture. To save yourself money and peace of mind, you can grow organic mushrooms that offer you all of the benefits with few of the risks.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

On Logs

1
Buy organic mushroom spawn. Mushroom spawn is specially harvested and grown fungal tissue that can be used to grow mushrooms. For the log method, select spawn in the plug form, which is basically spawn contained inside short wooden dowels.
- You can buy mushroom spawn at many garden stores or online. To grow organic mushrooms, you may have better luck shopping at online shops that specialize in organic mushroom spawn.
2
Choose a good log. The wood should be taken from a hardwood tree like oak or sugar maple. If cutting a branch or log from your own tree, make the cut between late fall and mid-spring for ideal moisture content and select a portion that is 3 to 8 inches (7.6 to 20.3 cm) in diameter. Each log should be 3 to 5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 meters) long.
- If you do not have trees on your property that you can take wood from, buy logs from sawmills or home improvement stores.
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3
Inoculate the logs within two weeks. The longer you wait to use your logs, the more you risk having the wood rot. Moreover, logs that have rested for too long can sometimes react poorly to inoculation and may grow inedible fungus rather than edible mushrooms.
4
Drill holes in the logs. The spawn plugs should come with instructions about how big the holes should be, but for many plugs you should use a 5/16 inch (7.9 mm) drill bit.
5
Drill holes in a diamond pattern. Keep a margin of 2 inches (5 cm) at the top and bottom of the logs. The top and bottom of each diamond should be between 6 and 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) apart and the sides of the diamonds should be about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart. Make as many diamonds as will fit or as many diamonds as you have plugs for.
6
Insert the plugs into the holes. The package should come with instructions, but essentially, you just need to fit a plug into each hole.
7
Seal the holes. Heat organic beeswax in a double boiler until it becomes pliable. Remove the wax from the heat and spread a little wax over the top of each plug.
8
Store the logs. Store your logs outside in a location that receives partial sun and partial shade. The logs should be stored vertically, leaning against one another or against another object.
9
Check regularly. The mushrooms can take 8 to 16 months to appear.
10
Harvest quickly. After mushrooms emerge, you only have about one week to harvest them before they go bad. You can either pluck the mushroom by twisting and pulling it up, or you can cut the mushroom at the point where the stem meets the log.
11
Spur activity after the first harvest. Allow a vertical log to topple over and slam on the ground horizontally. Doing this is said to spur activity and encourage further growth in logs that have already produced mushrooms.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Using Coffee Grounds^{[1]
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1
Collect coffee grounds. To grow organic mushrooms, you should use grounds from organic coffee beans. Keep the coffee grounds fresh and free of mold by storing the grounds in a sealed plastic container in the freezer. Thaw the grounds to room temperature 24 hours before using them.
- If you do not drink coffee or do not drink enough to collect the grounds, go to a local coffee shop that sells organic coffee and ask if they would be willing to give you the grounds or sell them.
2
Dump the grounds into a 5-gallon (20-liter) plastic bucket. The bucket should only be filled about halfway.
3
Moisten the coffee grounds. Dry grounds do not work well. Add a little bit of water to the grounds. Just add enough to moisten them, then drain off any excess.
4
Obtain organic mushroom spawn. For this method, spawn that comes in the form of sawdust mix works better than spawn plugs. You can usually find this spawn at garden supply stores or online specialty shops.
5
Add the spawn to the coffee grounds. Break it up by crumbling the spawn in your hands and sprinkle it over the surface of the grounds.
6
Mix the spawn into the grounds. Use your hands to gently stir the spawn/sawdust mix into the moistened coffee grounds until they are thoroughly combined. Use your hands to gently pat the surface, compressing the spores into the grounds.
7
Continue filling the bucket with grounds and spawn. There should only be about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of empty space in between the surface of the mixture and the rim of the bucket.
- If you do not have enough grounds and spawn to fill the bucket, drill a few holes into the side of the bucket about 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the surface of the grounds and spawn.
8
Cover the bucket with plastic wrap. The plastic wrap helps the mixture retain moisture. Puncture the wrap, poking several holes in it. This will prevent the build up of carbon dioxide.
9
Spray the top of the grounds with water. The grounds should be misted twice a day. You can spray the mushrooms through the holes in the plastic wrap, or you can remove the wrap temporarily to spray the grounds, then replace it when you are finished.
10
Monitor the coffee grounds. Mushrooms should begin to grow within one or two weeks.
11
Pick the mushrooms quickly. You only have about one week to harvest fully mature mushrooms before they go bad. Snip them off at the point where they come out of the surface or twist and pluck them by hand.

Community Q&A

Question

Can I use other food items for growing mushrooms?

Community Answer

Mushrooms are usually grown in soil, wood shavings or as plugs in solid logs.
Question

Where and at what temp do I keep mushrooms at?

Community Answer

While the mycelium are developing, it needs to be around 20°C (not in direct sunlight). Once there is lots of mycelium, move them somewhere a bit cooler (basement, cupboard, etc.) so the mushrooms can fruit.
Question

What can I use instead of coffee grounds if I don't have access to them?

Community Answer

You can use straw, cardboard without ink, or sawdust from untreated wood.

Warnings

Be careful about which mushrooms you pick. If you purchased spawn from a certified source, there is a good chance that you will not need to worry about poisonous mushrooms getting thrown into the mix. Just in case, you should invest in a mushroom guide with color photos and compare your mushrooms to the images to make sure you are picking what you expect and that they are safe to eat.

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