How to grow and harvest Lions Mane mushrooms

Lion’s Mane Mushrooms (Hericium erinaceus) are a somewhat common wood-decomposing mushroom that can be found throughout the Northern Hemisphere in hardwood forests. It is a choice edible mushroom hunted by many-a mushroom enthusiast and grown commercially worldwide. Our Lion’s Mane Mushroom Growing Kit is a colony of Lion’s Mane Mushroom mycelium (the white thread-like fungus) growing on sterilized alder sawdust. This mix, called substrate, serves as food for the fungus and provides the necessary nutrients to produce mushrooms, much like they would grow from a log in the forest. 

1.  About a gallon of non-chlorinated water (To de-chlorinate tap water, let a bucket of water sit out in an open container overnight)
2.  A plant sprayer or misting bottle for the water
3.  Three or four plastic or metal forks
4.  A plastic grocery sack or other clean plastic bag to loosely cover your kit
5.  A growth chamber (see ideas below)

CREATING THE MUSHROOM HABITAT:

Mushrooms can be grown indoors year-round or outdoors in the Spring or Fall if you live in a mild climate. An effective growing chamber can be constructed from a plastic bag and a few chopsticks. The plastic tent provides a humid environment and allows you to easily monitor your kit for growth and watering.

Cut four 3-inch diameter holes in the plastic bag for ventilation. Once you have initiated mushroom growth (next step), stab the chopsticks/ skewers into the top of the kit and drape the plastic bag over the entire kit like a tent. 

There are many options that work well as a growth chamber, get creative — a glass terrarium; a large clear plastic bin with a vented lid; a dish tub covered with a loosely fitting plastic bag. The key ingredients the mushrooms need in their growing environment are:

High humidity, indirect light, a good amount of air or breathing holes and temperatures ranging from 55 to 75 degrees F. 

 Lion’s Mane is our INTERMEDIATE GROW KIT! Growing mushrooms is a delicate dance between high humidity and good airflow. Lion’s Mane can be unforgiving of an imbalance. 

INITIATING MUSHROOM GROWTH:

To get your mushrooms to start growing you need to cut an X in the bag it came packaged in so the mushrooms can get out. We have marked an X on your kit that’s an ideal place to cut.

With a clean, sharp knife carefully cut the black X on your kit.  If a large amount of dense mushroom-like tissue is growing on the top of the kit, feel free to make extra holes in this area. 

Now all you have to do is place the kit in the growing chamber you made for the first week or so, keep it out of direct sunlight, and make sure it stays nice and moist. Most kits require a generous misting with your spray bottle about 2-3 times per day. Spray the kit so the surface is slightly wet, you do not need to spray inside the cut holes and you do not want the kit to be completely saturated or sitting in a pool of water. Mushrooms will begin to form over the next 1-2 weeks! 

CARE & WATERING:

To harvest the mushrooms simply grasp them at the base where they are emerging from the bag, gently twist and pull to remove the entire mushroom. Pull away any extra mushroom bits that remain sticking out of the hole, the second flush will form from the same holes. 

After harvesting, replace the humidity tent and continue to mist your kit daily. In another 10-14 days, the next crop will begin growing. Two – six crops can be harvested from one kit, each about two weeks apart. 

If your growing mushrooms take on a yellowish tint to them they are probably ready to harvest or the conditions are too dry. Mist more often. If the mushrooms appear soggy and are wet to the touch, mist less often.