How to grow mushrooms in bulk

September 9, 2012 7:12 PM

How to grow mushrooms in bulk
posted by Deathalicious (49 comments total)

How to grow mushrooms in bulk
posted by Deathalicious

Oooh, I get to say "Eponysterical"!
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:13 PM on September 9, 2012 [8 favorites]

I foresee some very memorable Halloween parties thanks to this FPP.
posted by hippybear at 7:16 PM on September 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

Oooh, I get to say "Eponysterical"!

Ace comment, that one.
posted by vidur at 7:28 PM on September 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

Goodness, that's complicated! And I say that as a home brewer who's experienced in culturing liquid yeast.
posted by The Sprout Queen at 7:37 PM on September 9, 2012 [4 favorites]

shroomology.com does it again
posted by the theory of revolution at 7:42 PM on September 9, 2012

And we were just talking about Mario!
posted by TwelveTwo at 7:58 PM on September 9, 2012

Put on freshly laundered clothes, if you are going to wear clothes at all.

I like this guy's style.
posted by lostburner at 8:08 PM on September 9, 2012 [6 favorites]

"Yo, Mr. White! I've got this great idea for the August best post contest..."

"It's September, you moron."
posted by R. Schlock at 8:08 PM on September 9, 2012 [7 favorites]

I love mushrooms enough to appreciate this FPP. But not enough to do it myself. But thanks to those of you that do it.
posted by Splunge at 8:09 PM on September 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Step 1: sterilize fifty tons of horse manure.
Step 1.5: give up and let the pro's do it. Buy your mushrooms at the store.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 8:12 PM on September 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

@Chocolate Pickle, you can only buy the mushrooms these guys are talking about in stores in Victoria, BC.
posted by clvrmnky at 8:21 PM on September 9, 2012

Buy your mushrooms at the store.

It's gettin' weird in the Whole Foods parking lot.
posted by R. Schlock at 8:22 PM on September 9, 2012 [13 favorites]

I was sorely disappointed that this was about the groovy kind of mushrooms, which I'm not so interested in. I was hoping that the FPP was pointing me down the road to cheap, homegrown pierogi filling.
posted by LiteOpera at 8:25 PM on September 9, 2012 [16 favorites]

Depends on the kind of pierogi your makin'.
posted by sendai sleep master at 8:28 PM on September 9, 2012 [5 favorites]

The pierogis I make negatively impact my grasp of basic grammar!
posted by sendai sleep master at 8:28 PM on September 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Are these guys talking about growing psilocybin? I didn't pick that up.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 8:29 PM on September 9, 2012

There are sections devoted to growing gourmet & medicinal mushrooms such as oyster, shitake, enoki & reishi. But most of the users are probably just interested in the blue ones.
posted by scalefree at 8:37 PM on September 9, 2012

This is not about minecraft?
posted by yeolcoatl at 8:43 PM on September 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

I thought you just use the mushroom method: Feed them shit and keep them in the dark.
posted by Dr Dracator at 9:15 PM on September 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Alright, I update:

Step 1.5: give up and let the pro's do it. Buy your mushrooms from the Mysterious Magic Mushroom Man.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:15 PM on September 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Many years ago I lived with a bunch of law students in Berkeley. The most conservative future corporate lawyer of all of them used to grow shrooms in the attic crawlspace. This is just the kind of finicky perfectionist prepwork he would have loved.

I was sorely disappointed that this was about the groovy kind of mushrooms, which I'm not so interested in.
Second that emotion
posted by Isadorady at 9:19 PM on September 9, 2012

Isadorady: "I was sorely disappointed that this was about the groovy kind of mushrooms, which I'm not so interested in.
Second that emotion"

Oh my goodness. Thirded. This is awkward, but it never occurred to me that this was for anything other than your garden-variety edible mushrooms. I was thinking about what we could do with our large but unused basement and I thought, "ooh! grow mushrooms!" then found this article.

Looking back on it, the constant references to "shrooms" should have been a hint.

I'll leave this up for those who are interested but just for prospective employers coming across this page: my interest in fungi extends solely to those used for culinary, not recreational purposes, okay? And if you ever see me happily showing off a jar of homegrown mushrooms, they will be chanterelles, oyster mushrooms, or something similar.

Hope that clears everything up. And now, exit stage right.
posted by Deathalicious at 9:28 PM on September 9, 2012 [14 favorites]

Oh hey, you guys, before I head out: does anyone know if you could use this technique to make tasty mushrooms? Or only mess-your-head mushrooms? Because I'd still love to grow my own if possible.
posted by Deathalicious at 9:30 PM on September 9, 2012

Ok, now this is funny. I was wondering just which upcoming holiday this post was timed for.

The reverse happens a lot. I'll be talking to an acquaintance about hunting wild mushrooms and the first thing they think is that I'm talking about "shrooms" or psilocybin mushrooms.

Yes, any "saprobic" or dead-stuff-eating mushroom can be grown like "shrooms". Lots of good instructional vids on youtube last time I looked. Examples: oyster mushrooms, shiiitake, herecium.
posted by telstar at 9:34 PM on September 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

But the "dead stuff" that the mushroom species prefers determine the growing method. For example, you can grow oyster mushrooms using the same methods as these psilocybin mushrooms because they both grow on decomposing grasses and grain (e.g. horse/cow dung, used coffee beans, cooked straw). But if you want shiitakes, they grow on decomposing hard wood and these methods wouldn't work at all.
posted by peeedro at 9:50 PM on September 9, 2012 [4 favorites]

Boys! Raise giant mushrooms in your cellar!
posted by The Deej at 10:07 PM on September 9, 2012 [8 favorites]

I would probably give this a try were it legal.
posted by whorl at 12:44 AM on September 10, 2012

Is growing your own muchrooms (for eating, not, um, "medicinal" purposes!) actually illegal where you are whorl?
posted by pharm at 12:54 AM on September 10, 2012

Psilocybin is, yes. Only place it isn't illegal in the states is New Mexico.
posted by whorl at 1:06 AM on September 10, 2012

Noting the fact that different edible mushrooms require different substrates, here is some detail on growing common field mushrooms in bulk, and a 100-hour distance learning course if you're really serious...
posted by cromagnon at 1:47 AM on September 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

Deathalicious, yeah, you can adapt the technique for eatin' mushrooms simply enough. The cubensis mushrooms you use for wizardry are more hardy than some varieties of foodshrooms though, you might need a different nutritive substrate and different humidity conditions.
posted by nicolas léonard sadi carnot at 1:59 AM on September 10, 2012

Thank you for this. Mrs MM bought a home growing mushroom kit and after a lot of care and attention it yielded about four mushrooms. Price per mushroom: £0.75.

This was marginally cheaper than the home grown potatoes - 12 potatoes grown from seed in new potato growing bags and fresh compost. Cost: £0.90 per potato.
posted by MuffinMan at 2:32 AM on September 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

That's not bulk. This is growing mushrooms in bulk (skip to 0.40 for the start of the cool stuff).
posted by bap98189 at 3:36 AM on September 10, 2012 [5 favorites]

There are a fair number of countries where growing psilocybin mushrooms remains legal, even if selling them has been outlawed, just like with marijuana.

There are various studies suggesting that psilocybin has less harmful potential than alcohol, cannabis, tobacco, etc. And the lethal dose is apparently higher than caffeine.

I'm personally not terribly fond of drugs that keep you awake all night, including psilocybin, but imho society should encourage psilocybin as an alcohol alternative : small quantities do make you more sociable, supposedly it doesn't mix well with alcohol, etc.
posted by jeffburdges at 3:49 AM on September 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

"....and after a lot of care and attention it yielded about four mushrooms. Price per mushroom: £0.75."

I've had mixed success with the kits, of the two I've bought the first produced about 3 flushes, the second (from Dobbies IIRC), produced about 3 mushrooms.

The wood grown ones do look less hassle, especially if you just upcyle a paperback to grow them in.
posted by titus-g at 4:44 AM on September 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

(Reading peeedro's link on growing your own shitaakes)

Alternatively, you can try shocking the fungi into fruiting - this involves submerging the logs in cold water for 24 hours, and then bashing the log with a mallet or dropping it on a rock. Nobody is quite sure why this induces a flush of fruiting - but it may have something to do with fungi suspecting that a tree nearby has fallen, and hence sensing that it's a prime time to spread its spores.

The more I read about mushrooms, the more convinced I become that they are 1/3 of an evolutionary step away from taking over the entire goddamned world.
posted by Mayor West at 5:56 AM on September 10, 2012

You can grow a variety of edible fungi using techniques much simpler than those described in the article, but if you wanted to make proper pierogi stuffing, you'd be out of luck. Cultivation attempts of the wild mushrooms used in it have failed so far. It is, however, possible to spread them to your part of the forest if you own one.
posted by hat_eater at 5:59 AM on September 10, 2012

The more I read about mushrooms, the more convinced I become that they are 1/3 of an evolutionary step away from taking over the entire goddamned world.

Done it before, can do it again.
posted by cromagnon at 6:07 AM on September 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

A mycologist friend once gave me a pile of inoculated white oak logs. They produced many delicious shiitakes over several years.
posted by Jode at 6:52 AM on September 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

Getting to this post late, let me just reemphasize: this technique can be used for the legal, edible, feed-it-to-a-child kind of mushrooms that you get at the store.
posted by wormwood23 at 7:34 AM on September 10, 2012

Price per mushroom: £0.75

Any time you can keep the total price* of do-it-yourself projects below, oh say, £75.00 per mushroom you're really doing quite well.

* Including such incidentals as emergency room visits, replacement of roof and household belongings after the fire, etc., etc. . . .
posted by flug at 8:15 AM on September 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

scalefree: There are sections devoted to growing gourmet & medicinal mushrooms such as oyster, shitake, enoki & reishi. But most of the users are probably just interested in the blue ones.

For the record: not all blue ones are psychedelics, and some blue mushrooms are poisonous. Just like with hunting mushrooms for eating (w/o the trip), it's important to be sure before you consume.
posted by IAmBroom at 8:40 AM on September 10, 2012

bap98189: "That's not bulk. This is growing mushrooms in bulk [yt] (skip to 0.40 for the start of the cool stuff)."

We covered this video a little bit ago.

Havatec, always. My partner. Every day, every week, every year.
posted by gilrain at 2:33 PM on June 7

posted by wcfields at 8:48 AM on September 10, 2012

I have grown mushrooms before. Let me tell you it was so much fun! Yes it seems kike a lot of work, but to see the process up close and personal you get attached to it. I can fondly remember getting out the pressure cooker, cleaning EVERYTHING, setting uo the substrate, and of course innoculating the jars.

Fungus is fascinating. And the process wss like a complicated version of gardening. It is a ton of fun and it is so awesome to grow your own mushrooms. Plus you get to enjoy breathing out the containers and maintaining humitity levels during fruiting.

Oh hkw I do miss the process. Very rewarding hobby!
posted by handbanana at 9:39 AM on September 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Step one:Ponder getting hot nutrient soups, manure, compost, or a variety of disinfectants all over your laptop or computer.

Step two: If you're actually serious about this go buy a couple appropriate books by Paul Stamets.
posted by nanojath at 10:17 AM on September 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

If you're interested in just growing mushrooms at home with a simple and easy kit check out http://www.mushroomadventures.com/
I gave some a few of these to family as x-mas gifts last year and at first they were like "uh ok, weird gift" but once they started growing they were thrilled.
posted by edmo at 2:08 PM on September 10, 2012

Its easier to to buy a kit.

gmushrooms.com sells them fairly cheap. Coincidentally gmushrooms.com website was also created using a mixture manure, nutrient soup and sterilized needles.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 2:24 PM on September 10, 2012

Isadorady: "I was sorely disappointed that this was about the groovy kind of mushrooms, which I'm not so interested in.
Second that emotion"

Oh my goodness. Thirded. This is awkward, but it never occurred to me that this was for anything other than your garden-variety edible mushrooms. I was thinking about what we could do with our large but unused basement and I thought, "ooh! grow mushrooms!" then found this article.
...

And if you ever see me happily showing off a jar of homegrown mushrooms, they will be chanterelles, oyster mushrooms, or something similar.

Hope that clears everything up. And now, exit stage right.
posted by Deathalicious at 9:28 PM on September 9 [13 favorites +] [!]

Oyster mushrooms, yes, but not chanterelles -- they've not yet been successfully cultivated.

The process outlined in the link wouldn't be that different most kinds of Agaricales (i.e., gilled mushrooms). Gilled mushrooms are the easiest to get spores from (slice them across their equator, place face down on a piece of glass or paper, cover with a bowl, and come back the next morning).

Problem 1 in cultivating culinary mushrooms is in finding the right growing medium, since marny of the mushrooms we consider edible and choice have a mycorrhizal association with a particular species of tree and won't grow unless that tree's living (or dead) roots are present.

Problem 2 in cultivating culinary mushrooms is that while getting spores from gilled mushrooms is easiest, most of the mushrooms that are valued culinarily aren't gilled mushrooms. Chanterelles, morels, boletes/porcini -- none of them have gills. And, among the three, boletes are the only ones that easily drop their spores.

Thank you for indulging me in some late-afternoon myco-pedantry.

*Is getting itchy for bolete season to start up again in a couple weeks, and chanterelle season to start up in a month or so. Itch itch.*
posted by mudpuppie at 3:28 PM on September 10, 2012

Here is a story reported to me by my best friend in college. One evening, J was hanging out with some friends and at least one guy was tripping on shrooms. Apparently a little too literally because he sprained his ankle very badly. J was worried that it was broken, so they did the most responsible thing a college student could do: they loaded him in a borrowed shopping cart and pushed him to the ER. J warned the ER doctor, a young German MD, of the victim's state and that he should be a little careful approaching him. The doctor assured him, ja, that he wouldn't startle ze patient. So the doc leaned over him a little too closely and said, "zzoooo, you're on ze magic mushrooms, eh?" The patient turned white, his jaw dropped and he started screaming. They never did find out what he saw.

The college was notorious for the mushrooms class. They had labs that consisted of an unknown sample that you needed to key out. One guy and his partner keyed out magic mushrooms. They couldn't believe it because they were looking at thousands street value, so they keyed again: same result. They asked the professor and got a resounding "YOU'RE RIGHT!"

One student after taking the course found a nice patch of Big Laughing Gym and after double checking they keying, he convinced a freshman to try it out. It is literally eponysterical. I saw this guy sitting in a chair swinging one arm back and forth and laughing to no end. He thought he was swinging his arm through the chair.
posted by plinth at 9:08 PM on September 10, 2012 [1 favorite]