Mushroom Growing Kits

[dale2242]

Does anyone have any experience with these?
I am considering trying them.
Tips?
Where to buy?
Which kind?
I am considering Lions Mane to start with.

[MaryB]

Reliable company, I did a button mushroom kit from them that turned out okay https://territorialseed.com/products...oom-lions-mane

[BABore]

Field and Forrest Products out of Wisconsin. I bought ****ake spore from them 20+ years ago. Good place.

[Wayne Smith]

If you plan to establish them outside make sure you have the appropriate environment. If you are going to grow them on logs make sure you have the logs!

[Swineherd]

Ordered some spores and growing instructions from psilocybe fanaticus a little over 20 years ago. Great product. Not sure if they're in business anymore though.

[Coopaloop86]

Lions mane is pretty simple to grow. The kits are good as gifts and to tinker with but if you plan on doing it for your own cultivation, I would suggest investing in some mason jars and unicorn bags. A $20 bag of rolled oats and grill pellets from tractor supply will give you a lifetime of grain spawn. You'll also need a pressure cooker. Once you have those few things, the investment is over and you can keep producing mushrooms year round. I use Mushroom Man Mycology. He is always running freebie programs and you'll end up with more spores and cultures than you can feasibly use and if you're feeling like really cutting corners, you can order ready to spawn bags.

[georgerkahn]

Does anyone have any experience with these?
I am considering trying them.
Tips?
Where to buy?
Which kind?
I am considering Lions Mane to start with.

One of my #1 seed companies is Territorial (in Oregon) and, like MaryB [Post #2] -- I bought the button mushroom kit from them. It worked well, and I grew mine in an open (roof only) at the time empty woodshed. They came up and were a tad smaller in size that I had envisioned. BUT -- they were good. Again, to repeat, they were good and kind of a fun project for me (with sons here at the time). However, in retrospect, buying the pint-boxes at supermarket was/is less work as well as less costly way to get mushrooms! Just my thoughts..
geo

[dale2242]

I am a native Oregonian and order my specialty seeds from Territorial.
I`ve stopped by their store in Cottage Grove a few times on my way north on I5.
Stop by there if you get a chance.
I will give them a try.
It`s all about the fun for me, not the cost so much.

[MaryB]

One of my #1 seed companies is Territorial (in Oregon) and, like MaryB [Post #2] -- I bought the button mushroom kit from them. It worked well, and I grew mine in an open (roof only) at the time empty woodshed. They came up and were a tad smaller in size that I had envisioned. BUT -- they were good. Again, to repeat, they were good and kind of a fun project for me (with sons here at the time). However, in retrospect, buying the pint-boxes at supermarket was/is less work as well as less costly way to get mushrooms! Just my thoughts..
geo

If you cut them instead of pull they grow back so the kit I bought gave me 5 cuttings before my idiot cat got in it... after that I was NOT eating a mushroom from it! Technically yu can keep it going forever if you add sterilized horse manure... Goodwill pressure canner can be used to sterilize it...

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I've considered this. I did buy a couple $9 boxes "mini grow kit" for oyster mushrooms, but haven't started them yet.

[georgerkahn]

If you cut them instead of pull they grow back so the kit I bought gave me 5 cuttings before my idiot cat got in it... after that I was NOT eating a mushroom from it! Technically yu can keep it going forever if you add sterilized horse manure... Goodwill pressure canner can be used to sterilize it...

Of (both sides ) Czechoslovakian decent (A prime food for Czech's is the houba (Czech word for mushroom) I pretty much grew up with weekend hikes in search of 'shrooms as the target. My very first pocket knife was gifted to me (I think I was 8 or 9 years old) for mushroom harvesting! Thank you, MaryB for educating me -- I honestly always cut the mushrooms to keep dirt from getting into the harvest basket. As a lot are kind of "sticky" in nature, my mom & dad stressed cutting with a clean knife blade and immediately placing the cut 'shoom in my basket. I never had any idea that there was/is an effect on future production. (I picked primarily the sponge-bottomed one, which I could clearly identify and harvest as safe. The webbed-bottom ones needed an "OK" from a parent -- they claimed there is a mushroom growing named "The Angel of Death" -- and hence checked all picked by me 'shrooms out. I must have been lucky, as I must have picked many hundreds! One of our favourites was a dish my mom made with barley and mushrooms... yum! (I made this with the Territorial kit -- 'twas OK, but no wheres as good as what my mom made ).
geo

[brassrat]

Don't attempt Black Morel. Wasted $40, ripoff. Lions Mane great idea

[deces]

Just look under the cow patties.

[dale2242]

Thanks folks.
Keep the comments coming.
I just ordered 1 lions mane and 1 blue oyster kits.

[deces]

Mushroom kits are pretty fun to experiment with. Enjoy.

[GregLaROCHE]

I tried an all in one kit. It worked, but I didn’t get that many from it. I can’t remember what kind they were. I gave a kit to my brother in law once for Christmas and he was thrilled with it.

[kerplode]

The kits are neat to mess around with. I've done a few from Field and Forest as well as a couple home-rolled ones.

Don't expect massive yields unless you're growing them under environmental controls, though. And take caution if you do more than a few flushes in your living space...Breathing the spores can be harmful over time, especially if you are at all immunocompromised.

It's definitely fun, though...Pretty amazing how fast they grow.

[delftshooter]

Its very easy to screw them up. I did mushrooms for a few years before some unknown strain turned everything into slime mold.

Also, dont try to cut corners. Just because something online says you can make your own this or that.. please remember that the big companies are using equipment that make your pressure canner look like an easy bake oven.

[Idaho45guy]

My daughter gave me a kit for my birthday, which was on December 15th. I followed the instructions and misted them with water twice a day and now they look like this...

[deces]

A neat thing about them is you can put them in a green house to increase carbon dioxide and a side bonus is something to eat for the munchies.