Mushroom Spore Print Storage

Mushroom spore print lifetime and storage

Spores is the best way for mushrooms to save their population in nature. It is also the best way to save collection of species and strains for mushroom cultivator.

How long can I store mushroom spore prints?

☝️The guaranteed shelf life for spore prints is up to 5 years. For the first 2 years spores almost completely remain viable. Each spore print contains millions of spores (about 3-5% are capable of continuing life for the first 2 years of storage.

🔬 A laboratory case of spore germination after 20 years of storage is known. It means mushroom spores can be viable up to 20 years (maybe more, we know about 20 years experiment so far)

If spore print has been stored for 2 years or more a longer spore rehydration required for Liquid spore syringe. It helps to germinate spores faster. Each year of spore print storage increases the time of rehydration by 1 day. For example, 2 years of storage is 2 days of rehydration, 3 years is 3 days of rehydration, etc. Or you can just leave spores in sterile water in syringe for a week to let them wake up before further mycological manipulations.

How to store mushroom spore prints properly?

✅ Spore prints should be stored in sealed airtight zip bags in a cool dry dark place, preferably in the refrigerator or room temperature (+20°..+25°C or 68–77°F).

Once you get your first crop you can easily make your own spore prints and provide yourself with mushroom spores for years to come.