Try your hand at mushroom growing

The demand for mushrooms has grown steadily over the past several years, transforming them into a major part of many people’s diets. They are also used as a cheap source of protein for animal feed. The high demand has led to the creation of numerous growing operations all around the world where produce is specially grown in controlled conditions rather than in nature. This allows producers to meet the high levels of demand.

A side effect of the booming popularity of mushrooms is that people want to sample a wider range of different varieties. Unfortunately mass producers tend not to grow them as their main focus is on produce they can grow easily in bulk. Rarer varieties are typically trickier to cultivate and may not provide the same profits that the more popular species of mushroom offer. This means you’ll need to look carefully when you want to buy them. A better option may be to try your hand at growing them yourself.

It may seem hard to learn how to grow mushrooms at home, but the process can actually be very easy, especially if you have a sheltered area in your garden or a shed you can use. There are many varieties you can grow very easily with a fresh cut log, mushroom spawn, a drill bit and a little wax. Once you prepare the log all you need to do is put it in a shady spot where it will be protected from the sun. An open shed or a space under evergreen trees is a good idea. Check the log periodically and keep it damp and you’ll soon find that mushroom mycelium has started to grow. You need to keep the internal moisture of the log between 45% and 60% for the best results.

Freshly cut logs are always the best to use because they won’t have dried out too much.  Inoculate each log within four weeks of cutting it to maximise freshness. Make sure the drill bit you use is the right size when drilling; you want the plug spawn to fit snugly.

If you want a little bit of help getting started with learning how to grow mushrooms, you can purchase a mushroom grow kit via our website. We have a selection available with spawn to grow different varieties. As well as the kits, we also have spawn for additional species of mushrooms so you can choose the one you want to cultivate.