Mushroom Cultivation at Home
Last Updated: Mar 17, 2025As of March 28th, 2020, over 204 million Americans were living under stay-at-home orders due to the ongoing evolution of the Coronavirus pandemic sweeping across the world. While grocery store shelves across the country are still well-stocked (except for the periodic toilet paper shortage), many homeowners have personal resiliency in mind. Even if we only have a small front or back yard, many of us are aiming to grow some portion of our food this year.
As the colder winter temperatures are finally starting to give way to the warmer months of spring, producing a part of your food supply has never seemed like a better idea. Mushroom cultivation is extremely easy to do, and it is a great way to get inexpensive yet delectable organic food for your kitchen.
If social distancing and stay-at-home orders are beginning to drive you stir crazy, this guide explains the how-to of mushroom cultivation. It then goes on to expound on some of the benefits that come with growing your mushrooms.
How Gardens Help
During World War II, the possibility of food shortages became a national concern. As a result, over 20 million "Victory Gardens" were planted in households across the country. These backyards and front yard tiny garden plots eventually contributed over 40 percent of all the vegetables consumed in the country during the years of the war and played an important role in staving off any food shortage crisis.
Growing part of the food supply at home is not only practical, but it can also help connect people's homes and yards to their local ecosystems. Permaculture design principles and permaculture zones help to maximize the amount of food that can be sustainably grown. They can also increase the ecological resiliency of your home, increase soil fertility, and reduce erosion and stormwater runoff. Home scale mushroom cultivation not only increases your food security during these uncertain times but can also offer several critical ecological services to your yard.
Table of Contents
- Health Benefits of Mushrooms
- Ecological Benefits of Mushrooms
- How to Collect Mushroom Spores for Cultivation
- What Are the Common Mushroom Species?
- What Is the Easiest Mushroom Species to Grow?
- How Long Does It Take to Cultivate Mushrooms at Home?
- What Materials Do I Need to Cultivate Mushrooms at Home?
- When and How Do You Harvest Mushrooms?
- How Can Mushrooms Be Stored or Preserved?
What Is the Easiest Mushroom Species to Grow?
For beginners, oyster mushrooms are widely considered to be the easiest species to grow. This type of mushroom fruits relatively quickly (between 3 and 6 months depending on growing conditions), and can be grown successfully in a dark room in your basement. Oyster mushrooms also can be grown in several different types of easy-to-source substrates, including corn cobs, straw, sawdust, cardboard, coffee grounds.
You can also grow your mushrooms outside. Different species prefer different types of substrates - soil mixed with straw and woody debris are common. The benefit of cultivating outside, versus on logs, is that you can harvest them within a single growing season.
How Long Does It Take to Cultivate Mushrooms at Home?
The time needed to cultivate mushrooms at home will largely depend on the type of species and how you grow them. Some mushroom kits will be able to produce fruits in as little as 10 to 20 days, especially if you purchase mushroom spawn with large amounts of mycelium. For homeowners who self-collect mushroom spores from delectable species such as truffles might take over ten years before fruits emerge. Another commonly grown mushroom species, Shiitake mushrooms, take anywhere between 6 to 12 months for fruits to develop.
What Materials Do I Need to Cultivate Mushrooms at Home?
To grow mushrooms at home, homeowners need:
- Mushroom spawn (best if purchased from a mushroom growing company if you are a beginner)
- A disinfected substrate (usually by boiling and drying in a clean atmosphere)
- A small space to grow the mushrooms
For species like shiitake, certain species of logs are the best substrate and will need to be grown outside in a relatively shady, moist area of your yard. Other species, such as Lion's Mane mushrooms grow best with hardwood sawdust or wheat bran and can be grown inside.
Once you have all your materials, put the substrate in a large, clean plastic bag, and combine the substrate and the spawn. Then, hang the bags in a dark room. Small holes should be punched in the plastic bags, and after several months, fruiting heads should emerge.
Tobias Roberts
Tobias runs an agroecology farm and a natural building collective in the mountains of El Salvador. He specializes in earthen construction methods and uses permaculture design methods to integrate structures into the sustainability of the landscape.
