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Comprehensive step-by-step guide to Home Mushroom Growing

How to grow mushrooms at home

How to start mushroom growing from scratch. Main stages in growing process every mushroom grower should know. How to use Shroomok Mushroom Cultivation Guide and succeed from the very first attempt. Entry point of the growing journey!
Stuff to buy for growing

Check the list of required stuff for your first mushroom grow! Mushroom growing supplies and equipment to buy or to skip. List of helpful stuff to make your mushroom cultivation easier
How to make spore syringe

STEP 1. Let’s make liquid Spore Syringe from a Spore Print. Life hack for noobs: spore syringe in zip bag without glovebox, still air box, or laminar flow hood
Choose substrate for mushrooms

STEP 2. Overall guide about substrate types for mushroom growing. The difference between substrates: grain for spawn, bulk and casing. Choose right grain for spawn. First step of grain substrate preparation
Cook the grain substrate for Spawn

STEP 3. Let’s prepare first substrate for magic mushrooms. Recipes and cooking time for different types of grain. Moisture level and useful additives for mushroom spawn
DIY Spawn jars & Spawn bags

STEP 4. How to prepare Spawn Jars and Spawn Bags by your own and save money. Spawn Jars types: autoclavable polypropylene and glass jars. Components for making Inoculation Port and Air Filter. Recommended volume for Spawn Jars and Spawn Bags
Substrate sterilisation

STEP 5. Sterilization in Pressure Cooker or Autoclave to eliminate all forms of microorganisms in substrate (molds, fungi, bacteria, spores). Time vs Pressure for sterilization process. Alternative thermal treatment in multicooker, instant pot and oven
Inoculation without glove box

STEP 6. How to introduce spores or Liquid Culture in sterile substrate. Sterility requirements. Inoculation process without glovebox, SAB or laminar flow hood
Incubator & Grain colonization

STEP 7. How to make incubator for mushrooms. Colonization conditions for mycelium. First signs of mycelium. When and why do we need Break and Shake? Colonization problems and solutions. No signs of mycelium growth or why mycelium grow too slow
Spawn to Bulk & Casing

STEP 8. How to make mushroom cake or spawn to bulk for MonoTub, Bottle-tek etc. How to prepare bulk and casing substrate. Advantages of bulk and casing. Substrate recipes. Additives for fruiting substrate and casing. Bulk and Casing colonization
Cold shock: pros & cons

One of the most debated topic among mushroom growers. Pros and cons of cold shocking in mushroom growing. Cold Shock and Heat Shock. Scientific studies on the effect of temperature shock in mushroom cultivation. Cold Shock Experiments by Shroomok
GrowBox Tek

STEP 9. GrowBox Tek. How to make GrowBox as a fruiting chamber for mushroom growing. Useful gadgets for GrowBox. Basic fruiting conditions in growbox: temperature, humidity, light, fresh air exchange
Pinhead initiation. Fruiting conditions

STEP 10. Basic principles of pin setting. Fruiting parameters for mushrooms pinning, primordia formation, and fruit bodies development of Golden Teacher, Thai and Brazil strains. Growing problems during fruiting period and how to trigger pinheads.
How to make mushroom spore print

STEP 11. Let’s make your own spore prints before harvesting! Save money and save mushroom genetic for the future mushroom cultivation and mycological experiments without fear of loss
Flush #1. When and how to pick mushrooms

STEP 12. What is the best time for mushroom harvesting: before torn veil or after torn veil? Twist and pull or cut? Why is it important to crop mushrooms in time?
How to dry and store mushrooms

STEP 13. Save your mushrooms after harvesting for a long time! How to dry magic mushrooms properly and save their potency. How to dry shrooms without dehydrator. The best tempretaure for mushroom drying. It is possible to store magic mushrooms for years!
Rehydration/soaking of mushroom cakes

STEP 14. What is rehydration? What is flushing? Why is it necessary to soak mushroom cake immediately after harvesting? How to rehydrate mushroom cake and trigger new rich flush of mushroom fruiting cycle
Flush #2 of fruiting period

STEP 15. Harvest results after first rehydration. Second flush of mushroom fruiting and crop weight
Flush #3 of fruiting period

STEP 16. Results of the most productive third flush of mushroom fruiting. Yield weight of 3rd flush. Rehydration and preparation for the 4th flush of fruiting cycle
Flush #4 of fruiting period

STEP 17. Results of the fourth flush of mushroom fruiting. Yield weight of 4th flush. Rehydration and preparation for the 5th flush of fruiting cycle
Flush #5 of fruiting period

STEP 18. Harvest results of the fifth flush of mushroom fruiting cycle
Flush #6 of fruiting period

STEP 19. Results and final harvest of sixth flush of mushroom fruiting cycle
Wasted shroom cakes

STEP 20. How to dispose of mushroom cakes or mushroom blocks, when the fruiting cycle is finished. How to bury mushroom cake and get harvest outdoor
Mushroom grow report in numbers

Let’s sum up! Yield data by flushes and by strains in graphs, charts, statistics. The most popular Q&A about mushroom growing cycle
Grain to grain transfer

Fast and easy Inoculation and Mycelium Multiplication method both for newbies and experienced growers
How to grow magic truffles

Magic Truffles is a true neglect tek that newbies fall in love with. It’s a stealth growing method that easy to manage. No need to use fruiting chamber to get sclerotia harvest. This article covers Tampanensis and Mexicana psilocybe strains

Shiitake growing guide

Step by step growing guide and report by mrzimm. Substrate recipe for shiitake. DIY shiitake grow kit or how to make mushroom block by your own. Fruiting conditions for shiitake. Shiitake growing in the basement
Liquid Culture

Liquid culture is a quick way to save and multiply mushroom mycelium. With this technique you can turn one syringe into dozens of them and inoculate hundreds of grain jars! Here we cover LC media recipes, liquid mycelium daily growth, LC contamination
Coffee grounds as a substrate

Is it possible to grow mushrooms on ground coffee substrate? Check out the story about growing magic mushrooms Albino Penis Envy on coffee grounds
Agar Recipes

Types of agar media and over 60 agar recipes for mushroom cultivation. Choose the right media for your needs: spore germination, strain isolation, long-term storage. Get tips on how to speed up mycelium, prevent culture aging, inhibit contams on agar
Charcoal Manure Agar

Dung agar media recipes based on dry manure (horse, cow, elephant, camel, zebra, turtle etc.) for cultivation of Panaeolus aka Copelandia mushrooms and other species that love manure substrates
Agar Slants

Agar slants in test tubes allows you to save mycelium for 1-3 years. No pour agar and tips on how to store mushroom culture in agar slants for longer: low nutrient agar media, using wooden sticks, mineral oil or liquid paraffin for long term storage

Useful tips on dealing with problems that appears during Mushroom Cultivation

Mushroom contaminants

Short library with TOP non-contam problems and common mushroom contaminants
Overlay & Stroma

If you find Overlay and Stroma symptoms: cottony, cloudy, mat-like or crust-like dense mycelium. Contamination or not? Why overlay appear? Is it possible to fix overlay and stroma?
Bruises or contam?

Why magic mushrooms turned blue and have bruises? Why mycelium bruised? The main differences between bruising and mold contamination in mushroom growing
Mushroom aborts

If you find your pins and mushrooms have stalled, stopped growing and their caps turned black
Fuzzy feet and caps

Long stems, Fuzzy Feet, White Dots on mushroom caps or Fluffy Caps. What all these symptoms mean to a mushroom grower
Black spots on shrooms & mycelium

Strange black spots suddenly appeared on mushroom caps and mycelium. Why is this happening? Is it contamination or not? Is it safe to take such mushrooms?
Mushroom metabolites

Yellow liquid appeared on the mycelium, mycelium turned a yellowish color, strange yellow-brown line appeared on the mycelium. What could it be? Contamination or mycelium metabolites aka mycelium piss?
Cracked & split caps

A split or cracked mushroom caps and stems are neither contamination nor a disease. These symptoms indicate dehydration or imbalanced parameters in the fruiting chamber, which can be fixed. It can also be a genetic mutation that cannot be fixed
Green mold aka Trichoderma

Signs of Trich contamination. Why Trich appear on the 2-3 flush? Add one magic component and forget about Green Mold contamination in mushroom growing. What to do with mycelium contaminated by Trichoderma Mold
Mycogone aka Wet bubble

Shapeless masses, fluffy blobs of mycelium ooze with amber yellow orange brown liquid. Mycelium piss or wet bubble disease aka Mycogone perniciosa? Symptoms of wet bubble contam. Why mycogone appeared on mushroom cake? How to treat wet bubble disease?
Cobweb mold

Cobweb mold contamination is one of the few molds are possible to treat. Cobweb disease symptoms. Cobweb mold treatment guide. How to prevent cobweb contamination. How does cobweb look like vs mycelium

Bacterial blotch disease

Bacterial Blotch disease in mushroom cultivation with photo examples for identification. Main causes of Pseudomonas tolaasii contamination. Tips on using WD-40 for prevention condensation issues. Chlorinated water for bacterial blotch treatment
Help! Overheated mycelium

What if I overheated mycelium in jars? What temperature kills mycelium? Is it possible to save spawn jars if incubation box had high temperature for a few hours?
Natalensis: fruiting & overlay issues

All-in-one grow bag is not a magic pill, especially, when it comes to Natalensis cultivation. Aggressive behaviour of mycelium leads to overlay which is a common issue for Natal. Here we talk about what can be done if growbag already suffers from overlay
DIY Mold Test on Agar

Mold spores are everywhere. But how do you know what airborne contaminants are present in your home? Make a simple air sampling test on agar to check the air quality in your workspace for mycology or any other places
Side/Bottom Pins

Side and bottom pins are totally normal mushrooms. However, zero pins on top of mushroom cake and side pins is a sign of microclimate issues. Explore main causes of side/bottom pinning, harvesting tips and photo examples with Q&A

Responsible and careful attitude to Mushroom consumption

Mushroom tea

The most enjoyable way to consume magic mushrooms is a shroom tea
Mushroom chocolate recipes

Delicious magic mushroom chocolate and psilocybin candy recipes
Mushroom microdosing guide

Stamets and Fadiman microdosing protocols, main difference and schedule. Individual microdose calibration and recommendations. Positive effects and possible side effects
Mushroom capsules for microdosing

Capsules with mushroom powder is the most convenient way to take microdoses. How to choose capsule size for mushroom microdosing and how to make mushroom capsules
How to get ready for psychedelic trip

Useful tips you better known before psychedelic journey. Preparation for tripping, right dosage, set and setting, trip with sitter, group trip, trip in nature, recovering after psychedelic trip
How to deal with bad trip

Must read before consume if you care about the mental health. What to do if psychedelic bad trip happen? How to reduce the effects of psilocybin mushrooms?

There are a lot of wonderful Mushroom species and strains

Golden Teacher

Story about the most popular Psilocybe Cubensis mushroom in the world. All about Golden Teacher strain: potency, effects, tripping, microdosing and cultivation
Pink Buffalo

Legends about Pink Buffalo mushroom. True story by John W. Allen and How to find this mushroom on Koh Samui island. Main features of Pink Buffalo strain and How to grow these mushrooms at home
Albino Penis Envy (APE)

Shroom story about the most provocative mushroom strain. Albino Penis Envy in books and journals. APE stronger than other Psilocybe Cubensis strains? The most common problems with APE cultivation and the best teks to choose for APE growing
Shrooms and high temperatures

To grow shrooms is a real challenge when you got constant high environment temperature. I've collected a few solutions for successful hot season cultivation: heat tolerant species, cooling system, work on mushrooms genetic, outdoors growing
Two strains in one mushroom cake

TOP-3 stories about mushroom strains and species mixed in one cake

Frequently asked questions regarding Mushroom cultivation and other related topics

How to store spore syringe

How to store mushroom Spore Syringe for a long time? How to identify whether spore syringe contaminated or not?
How long can you store mushrooms

Is it safe to take shrooms after 2-3-4 years? Powdered mushrooms lose potency faster than whole mushrooms? Fortunately, dried shrooms do not go bad after time!
How to freeze fresh shrooms

You can freeze mushrooms to prolong their activity. It's not a rocket science, however it's easy to fail and spoil magic mushrooms by freezing. Here we talk about main aspects of refrigeration of fresh psilocybin mushrooms to save their potency
How to store mushroom spawn for a long time

How long can Grain Spawn be stored? How to store Mushroom Spawn properly?
Spore print storage

How long can I store mushroom spore prints? How to store spore prints properly?
Liquid spore VS Liquid culture

What is the difference between Spore Syringe and Liquid culture aka Liquid Mycelium?
Terminology & Abbreviations

Mushroom cultivation glossary and basic mycology terminology with simple explanations. Popular abbreviations and acronyms are used in mushroom growing communities and cultivation guides
Sterilization vs Pasteurization for bulk substrate

Pros and cons of Sterilization and Pasteurization for preventing green mold Trichoderma contamination in mushroom growing
Best grain spawn to bulk ratio

Discussion regarding the optimal ratio of grain spawn to bulk substrate for mushroom cultivation

Helpful DIY equipment for mycological manipulations

MonoTub Tek

How to make an effective Monotub and forget about manual misting and FAE. Fruiting chamber configurations: Modified monotub, Unmodified monotub, Double Tub or Twin Tub, Shoebox or Mini-tub, fully Automated MonoTub and modifications
Bottle Tek

Complete guide on how to grow mushrooms in plastic bottle. Bottle-Tek is a newbie friendly method for mushroom growing at home. Such simple fruiting chamber is a cheap alternative for monotub, shoeboxes, growbox and other teks
Cooling & heating with Peltier

How to cool down mushroom fruiting chamber in hot season and vice versa keep incubation chamber warmer in a cold season? Let's figure out DIY cooling and heating for mushroom growing in one solution with using Peltier element. Ultimate guide by @mrzimm
Incubation Chamber with °t control

How to make an Incubation Chamber with automated temperature control for mushroom growing. List of components for Incubator
Laminar Flow Hood for $99.86

Cheap and simple DIY guide on how to make Fan Filter Unit as a alternative option for Laminar Flow Hood for mushroom growing at home for under 100$ by PsychonautJim
Still Air Box (SAB)

Still air box is a simple device aimed to prevent contamination during mycology manipulations. SAB is a cheap alternative to laminar flow hood. Make step towards advanced cultivation level: agar work, cloning, agar to agar, g2g transfer, etc
DIY magnetic stirrer for liquid culture

How to make a magnetic stirrer for home mycology: list of materials, step-by-step guide and video demonstration

News, public discussions, discord digests, raw content

Publications related to the technical part of Shroomok web project