Gourmet & Medicinal Grow Guides

Grow Guides

From Liquid Culture to Harvest

Step-by-step guides for growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms at home — from beginner oysters to advanced specialty projects, every one from liquid culture to harvest.

Pick a species below to get a complete, step-by-step grow guide — substrate, inoculation, colonization, fruiting, and harvest, written for real results at home.

Every guide starts from a liquid culture syringe. New to that step? Read how to use a gourmet liquid culture syringe first.

Grow Guides

Oyster Mushrooms

Fast, forgiving, and endlessly varied — the best place to start.

Pink Oyster

Pink Oyster →

Vibrant, fast, warm-loving — a great beginner oyster.

Blue Oyster

Blue Oyster →

Cool-weather classic; thick, flavorful caps.

Golden Oyster

Golden Oyster →

Bright yellow clusters that love warmth.

King Blue Oyster

King Blue Oyster →

Thick, meaty caps for cool climates.

Pearl Oyster

Pearl Oyster →

The dependable, all-round gourmet oyster.

Black Pearl Oyster

Black Pearl Oyster →

Cool-fruiting, with dramatic dark caps.

King Trumpet (King Oyster)

King Trumpet (King Oyster) →

Big, meaty stems; cool-weather fruiting.

Elm Oyster

Elm Oyster →

Fast and beginner-friendly on straw or hardwood.

Grow Guides

Medicinal Mushrooms

Prized for wellness — from Lion's Mane to Reishi and Cordyceps.

Lion's Mane

Lion's Mane →

Cascading white ‘teeth’ — a neuro favorite.

Red Reishi

Red Reishi →

Glossy, lacquered medicinal shelf (Ganoderma).

Antler Reishi

Antler Reishi →

The CO₂-driven, all-antler Reishi form.

Turkey Tail

Turkey Tail →

Colorful, immune-supporting bracket fungus.

Cordyceps Militaris

Cordyceps Militaris →

Bright orange clubs, grown in the jar.

Albino Cordyceps Militaris

Albino Cordyceps Militaris →

The pale, jar-grown form of cordyceps.

Ophiocordyceps sinensis

Ophiocordyceps sinensis →

Expert, multi-month cold-cycle cordyceps.

Grow Guides

Gourmet & Culinary

Chef's-table species with distinctive shapes, textures, and rhythms.

Shiitake 3782

Shiitake 3782 →

Rich umami classic; curing + cold-shock.

Enoki

Enoki →

Long, slender clusters via precision cold fruiting.

Maitake (Hen of the Woods)

Maitake (Hen of the Woods) →

Feathered clusters; long sealed maturation.

Brown Beech (Buna-shimeji)

Brown Beech (Buna-shimeji) →

A patience play, with a long maturation.

Chestnut

Chestnut →

Golden, scaly, nutty clusters; cold-triggered.

Pioppino (Black Poplar)

Pioppino (Black Poplar) →

Firm, dark-capped, cool-fruiting gourmet.

Portobello

Portobello →

The real compost-and-casing method.

Snow Fungus

Snow Fungus →

Advanced dual-culture jelly mushroom.

Black Fungus

Black Fungus →

The companion culture that feeds Snow Fungus.

Chicken of the Woods

Chicken of the Woods →

Bright shelf mushroom; experimental indoors.

Grow Guides

Specialty & Advanced Projects

Ambitious, long-horizon grows for the dedicated cultivator.

Amanita Muscaria (Fly Agaric)

Amanita Muscaria (Fly Agaric) →

A mycorrhizal host-tree project — observe, don't eat.

Black Truffle

Black Truffle →

A long-term orchard and host-tree project.

Giant Puffball

Giant Puffball →

A multi-year outdoor soil-bed project.

Golden Morel

Golden Morel →

A fall-to-spring outdoor soil-bed method.

Get Growing

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Not Sure Where to Start?

If it's your first grow, an oyster is the friendliest place to begin. Questions? Reach us any time at support@sporegenetics.com.

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