Wine Cap Wine Cap Shiitake
When starting to grow mushrooms remember this, the pictures you see online and on ads are usually from professional growers using the best high tech equipment and pristine sanitary conditions. You won't get the same results unless you fork out a bunch of money. My goal here is to provide beginners with the opportunity to be successful in growing mushrooms with minimal effort and expense. Let's have some fun! Here is my method: STOP if you are looking for an easy mushroom to grow, scroll to the bottom of this page
- Find a spot that is shady and moist, where nothing seems to grow...perfect for mushrooms
- Order your oyster mushroom spawn (kind like mushroom seeds but it is white mycelium). I have a local place here in central Virginia, sharondalefarms.com that I pick up from so I save on shipping. This is really the only expense (about $25 for a 5lb bag). I have also ordered some from northspore.com (in Maine so you have to pay shipping, but they are good people you can trust...usually about $30 for a 5.5lb bag). One bag will make about 5 holes.
- When you get your spawn, put it into the refrigerator...it will keep for months.
- Go to your local coffee shop, and ask them if they would be willing to give you their coffee grounds and used filters (I rip up the filter and mix them in so the grounds don't get too compacted (most shops are happy to give you their waste (I put 2 5 gallon buckets at Dunkin' Donuts so all the employees have to do is dump them in there instead of the trash...keep it simple)
- They should be fresh enough that you wouldn't need to sterilize them. If I need to, I put them in my microwave for 7 minutes to kill any bacteria.
- In that shady spot, dig a hole about 10" to 1 ft. deep
- Pour in about a 3" layer of grounds and filter mix, then about 2" of spawn. Continue alternating until you reach the top, leaving about 3" for the last layer of leaves and soil mixture.
- The coffee grounds and filters are usually pretty moist, so you don't need to water...give them a little water if the weather is extremely dry
- I put a small cage over mine because I have dogs, free range chickens, and squirrels
- In about 2 to 3 weeks, you will see mushroom growth (pinning). When they start growing, check them daily...mushrooms will double in size in a day!
- A "flush" of mushrooms is a cluster...oyster mushrooms usually grow in a group...pick them when they are still firm...the size will be determined by so many different factors it is difficult to use that as a rule. Just don't let them get mushy.
- Be sure to identify your harvest to make sure you didn't have something take over your bed...oyster mushrooms are aggressive growers so it is highly unlikely, but you always want to be sure (see my section on oyster mushrooms).
- Have fun and enjoy the taste and medicinal experience of the world of fungi.
I am trying a number of other methods to see what works for other types of mushrooms...more to come when I find out what works.
One of the easiest mushroom to grow...WINE CAP
You only need wood chips (hard wood is the best), old straw, and spawn...clean an area so there aren't any weeds, just dirt, lay down the wood chips, sprinkle the spawn over the entire area, cover with straw, and in about 3 to 6 weeks, you will be picking mushrooms (depending on the weather conditions). I also grew these inside in a tray. click here for more about Wine Cap mushrooms
You only need wood chips (hard wood is the best), old straw, and spawn...clean an area so there aren't any weeds, just dirt, lay down the wood chips, sprinkle the spawn over the entire area, cover with straw, and in about 3 to 6 weeks, you will be picking mushrooms (depending on the weather conditions). I also grew these inside in a tray. click here for more about Wine Cap mushrooms