Growing Lion's Mane Mushrooms at Home

Pro Tip

• ALWAYS use sterilized grain. This helps tremendously when avoiding contamination. Use trusted kit companies like midwestgrowkits.com or mycolabs.com for rye or 5-grain bags/jars.
• You may also sterilize grains from home! Just be sure to cook them for the appropriate times depending on your grain ratio.

Pro Tip

After puncturing the injection port, hold the syringe at about a 45° angle (jar or bag) and spin the container in a full 360° circle carefully. This helps spread the liquid culture and cover more of the grain.

(You can go a step further with grain jars and shake vigorously after inoculating — this won't harm the liquid culture.)

Lion's Mane isn't a slow grower unless given the wrong conditions. For its incubation/colonization phase, keep it around 70–75°F (21–27°C).

This is a time it can sit in darkness — no need to worry about humidity or light. Check the bag daily for contamination. You can safely expose it to light while checking (a common question) — we promise it won't hurt the mycelium.

You may break and shake your bags/jars at around 50% mycelium coverage. This exposes colonized grain to new areas and kickstarts vigorous growth.

In the right conditions, you'll see a fully colonized bag in roughly 2–3 weeks.

Lion's Mane has a very unique mycelium — faint and wispy — but up close during colonization you'll spot the faint white color against the brown of your grains.

Since Lion's Mane is a wood-loving mushroom, it needs a substrate with hardwood sawdust and soy hull. Master's Mix is the best substrate for this gourmet mushroom.

A common question: "Can I grow Lion's Mane in a tub for bulk growing?" From our findings, we recommend growing from bags, as this needs to be in block form. Bulk grows tend to produce extremely small fruits and low yield.

You can always transfer your fully colonized cake to a monotub to remove the bag entirely and get growth from all sides of your block when moving into fruiting.

RULE OF THUMB — one colonized grain bag can be split among 6 bags of Master's Mix. For quicker colonization, split between 2.

Congrats on getting this far in the life cycle of your Lion's Mane! You'll soon be reaping the rewards of your hard work.

Once your Master's Mix bags are colonized and ready, there are a few things you can do to bring these mushrooms to viable life.

These apply to every method below:

• 8–12 hours of light per day. Sunlight isn't necessary but works — rotate the cake each day. LED or any overhead light gives directional growth.
• Spray your cakes once daily. In a drier climate/home, you may need to spray 2–3 times daily.
• For finer, coral-like growth, keep cakes at 70–75°F (21–27°C).
• Aim for 80%+ humidity.
• For compact, shaggy-tooth growth (the classic Lion's Mane look), pull temps back to 60–68°F (16–20°C) during pinning/fruiting.
• Fresh air exchange differs per method (below).
• After your first flush, rehydrate for a second/third flush by dunking your block in water for 18–24 hours. Don't exceed 24 hours or the cake disintegrates.

Method 1 — Monotub / Tote

Wash and spray the monotub with isopropyl alcohol and let it fully dry before placing your cakes in. Cut a few "X's" or a "window" in your grow bags — that's where the Lion's Mane will search for oxygen and fruit from those incisions.

If the bag top is heat-sealed, cut it open to spray water on the cake easily, then clip the top when done.

Using a monotub? Put the filter patches on to help with fresh air exchange.

No holes for fresh air? That's okay — leave the lid open for a few minutes 2–3 times a day to release CO₂ and introduce fresh air. Aim for 2–3 lid-opens per day to exchange CO₂ and oxygen.

Method 2 — Automated Tent

Another great way to fruit from the best angles: place your colonized cakes in an automated tent. You don't need a tent just for Lion's Mane, but it helps if you already have one — just keep like-climates between your Lion's Mane and anything else growing in the tent.

Open the tent for fresh air exchange, or amplify with a fan that pulls outside air in. Automate with a timer for 15 minutes every 3–4 hours. Observe and adjust time based on humidity — aim for 80%+.

Method 3 — Incisions in a Tote

You'll need a tote/monotub. Make small "X" incisions or a "window" through the sides of the bag — these are the holes your Lion's Mane will fruit from.

If the top is heat-sealed, cut it open to spray water on the cake, then clip it closed. For rubber bands/clips, just undo them, spray directly onto the cakes, and reapply.

Those cuts are the ports your Lion's Mane reaches out from for air.

You won't need to worry much about contamination here unless cakes go above 80°F (a danger zone) or stagnant water sits at the bottom of your bags for days. It's normal for water/yellow liquid to collect at the bottom — just dump out excess whenever you notice it.