Growing gourmet and edible mushrooms at home is an easy and fun hobby many amateur mycologists enjoy. The growing of mushrooms can be fun for all ages, grown both indoor and outdoor, depending on the type of mushroom Mushroom spores and cultures can be used to create spore or culture syringes which are injected or inoculated into a sterilized jar containing sterilized medium called a substrate. Here we will discuss a common mushroom growing substrate you can use to grow mushrooms at home.

1. Growing mushrooms with the PF-Tek

The PF-Tek was invented in 1991 by Psylocybe Fanaticus, and was used mainly as a substrate to grow Magic mushrooms (psilocybe cubensis) but can be adapted to grow many other kinds of edible mushrooms as well. This technique is most preferred by beginners as success rates and supplies are easily obtained. FungiFun.org has a great instructional guide that can be found at there site. click to check it out. Growing mushrooms with the pf tek Once inoculated and placed into a warm environment (temperature will vary depending on the kind of mushroom) the spores will germinate and the jars will slowly grow with a strandy white growth known as mycelium. When fully grown (usually about 1-2 weeks) the jars should look like this:

At this point the jars can be placed into a fruiting chamber, this involves a clear plastic bin with a clear lid, with a half inch of wet perilite to keep humidity high. The mushrooms will need 8-12 hours of light per day, 15- 30 watt fluorescent lights are recommended. The fruiting chamber will also daily need to be opened to be misted with a spray bottle and fanned to release Co2 buildup which can inhibit mushroom growth. After 4-6 days mushroom pins should appear, this are the start of your mushrooms to be. In the following days fully grown mushrooms will appear. There are many more ways to grow mushrooms. Using sterilized grains such as rye grain or wild bird seed as the substrate. Spawning that grain or even pf tek cakes to pasteurized woodchips for outdoor beds.