3 Cheap and Easy Ways to Grow Your Own Mushrooms
Why spend lots of money on mushrooms at the store when you can grow them yourself? Though they’re not plants, they can grow throughout your yard next to vegetables, herbs, and wildflowers. Try these three cheap and easy ways to grow mushrooms from the Epic Gardening team.
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There are many types of mushroom varieties to choose from! Some types sprout well indoors, while others thrive in the garden between veggies and fruiting crops. Which type is the best one for you depends on your climate, the garden, and how comfortable you are cultivating mushrooms.
Wine cap mushrooms are ideal for beginners to start with in outdoor gardens. They’re easy-growing, self-replenishing, and quick to sprout from straw or woodchips. Pink oysters work well in mild winter regions, while shitakes thrive on logs instead of chips. Choose a mushroom that you like eating so you don’t get tired of them!
Aside from varieties, you also have to choose how you’re purchasing the fungi! They come in spawn blocks, fruiting blocks, and plug spawn. Fruiting blocks sprout mushrooms from the blocks themselves, while spawn blocks are best for spreading in beds, containers, and pathways. Plug spawn comes on wooden plugs that you hammer into logs.
Let’s learn how to grow cheap and easy mushrooms almost anywhere!
Organic Wine Cap Mushroom Sawdust Spawn
Organic Wine Cap Mushroom Sawdust Spawn
Organic Shiitake Mushroom Sawdust Spawn
Organic Shiitake Mushroom Sawdust Spawn
Organic Pink Oyster Mushroom Sawdust Spawn
Organic Pink Oyster Mushroom Sawdust Spawn
3 Cheap and Easy Mushroom-Growing Methods
These three methods are superb for beginner growers just starting their mushroom cultivation journey. Whether you have an empty bed, a full garden, or lots of pathways, these techniques will work well for you.
Buried Blocks
This technique works well with fruiting blocks rather than spawn blocks. It’s perfect if you have space in your raised beds, containers, or in-ground beds. You’ll bury the block and cover it, then wait for mushrooms to sprout out of the top.
Start by opening the block out of the packaging, then set it aside while you prepare the hole for planting. Dig a hole as deep and wide as the block, then place the block inside it so it’s level with the soil surface. Cover the sides with soil until it blankets the edges of the block, then cover the surrounding area with woodchips.
The last step is covering the top of the block. Coco coir is an excellent material to use, though straw works well too. Try coco coir, as it tends not to stick to the mushrooms as much as straw does. After covering the top, water the site well and keep it consistently moist after planting. You’ll see mushroom fruiting bodies pop up in a few weeks!
Rather than planting a whole block in a single spot, you can also break it up and plant pieces throughout your yard. This works well if you have many empty spaces between your veggies and flowers.
Mushroom Bed
If you have the space for it, why not dedicate an entire bed to growing mushrooms? With straw, wood chips, and spawning blocks, this cheap and easy method allows you to create a bed that sprouts mushrooms annually during the growing season. Some mushrooms, like wine caps, persist year to year so long as you feed them with fresh chips, straw, or logs.
First, break up your spawn block into many pieces. Set the pieces aside, then gather your chips and straw. Place a layer of chips, then straw, then the pieces of the spawn block. Repeat this layering process, then top off the final layer with plenty of straw. Keep the bed moist while the fungi establish themselves, and wait for fruiting heads to appear.
A mushroom bed is incredibly easy to maintain. Simply add fresh chips and straw annually or twice a year to keep it full. As the fungal mycelia, or root-like structures, spread throughout the bed, they eat the woodchips and straw and break them down into smaller pieces.
Mixed in the Garden
If you lack the space for an entire mushroom bed, try the garden mixing method instead so you can grow cheap, delicious fungi straight from beds where you cultivate crops! This technique works especially well with wine caps, as they intermingle with vegetables better than most other varieties. You’ll mix a spawn or fruiting block with straw and spread it in pathways, between crop rows, and under herbs.
Start by breaking up your spawning block into a large bucket with straw. Mix the two materials, then bring the bucket over to the garden. Find shady areas protected from intense sunlight. Under tomato vines, next to ornamental perennials, and beneath tall corn stalks are some ideal locations.
Once you find the best spots, lay down a thick layer of the straw and spawning block mixture. Alternate layers of the spawn mixture with layers of straw. Once you run out of spawn, place a three-inch-thick layer of straw on top. Dust some compost into the straw for a microbial boost, then cover it with another inch of straw. Water the site well and keep it moist while the fungi establish themselves.
Mushroom Growing Guidelines
Mushrooms prefer cool, moist, and shady sites. Grant them what they need to thrive, and they’ll reward you with flushes of tasty fruiting heads. Whether indoors or outdoors, most fungi prefer these mild conditions to thrive.
Light
Mushrooms don’t need light to grow like plants. They decompose organic materials for food rather than using photosynthesis. Most prefer growing in partially or fully shaded beds, though some can tolerate full sun if they have access to consistent moisture.
Water
Consistent moisture is key when it comes to growing mushrooms. The tender mycelia will die if they dry out, causing low yields and fewer heads to sprout during the growing season. Grow mushrooms in the shade if you can, as you’ll have to water the beds less often than in full sun sites.
Soil
Because mushrooms are decomposers, they don’t need soil to grow like plants do. They benefit from a substrate made of grain, straw, wood, or other organic materials. Some prefer leaf litter to thrive, like blewits, while others need broken logs to grow on, like oysters and lion’s manes.
Though mushrooms don’t need soil to grow, some benefit from the microbial presence in soils. Wine caps are one notable example, as they love compost and rich soils. This is why some growers call them garden giants!
Fertilizing
Mushrooms don’t need fertilizer! They require raw, organic materials to break down rather than the decomposed ones present in most fertilizers. Avoid adding excessive amounts of fertilizer to your veggie beds, as it’ll affect the mushrooms growing nearby.
Maintenance
Annual upkeep is key in maintaining a perennial mushroom crop. Add woodchips, straw, or logs as necessary to continue feeding your fungi the raw materials they need. You’ll know it’s time to replenish the beds when they sink a few inches into the ground. As the mushrooms eat the raw materials, they break up and sink into the soil.
