How to Grow Your Own Mushrooms

Published on Thursday, April 22, 2010, by CHOW Video Team / Edit Post

How to Grow Your Own Mushrooms

Author and urban gardener Maria Finn shows a cool technique for growing your own mushrooms at home.

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  • you should only have to plug the mushrooms once. The log should sprout mushrooms for all of the five years or until the log has been used up. Do not use live oak logs. Other oak logs work better. Weigh the log when it is first cut and then wait until some of the moisture has evaporated.(Determine by weighing the log again and again) keep trying or buy a Shitaki log and avoid all the work.

  • http://mushroompatch.com/plugs.htm

  • for 4 to 5 years. Where did that come from? I watched this twice and it's just a remark thrown in at the last without any explanation. Do you continue to order mushroom spores for 4 to 5 years but use the same log for 4 to 5 years - do the spores continue growing mushrooms for 4 to 5 years, in which case we would want to know how to care for them overnight? Really frustrating

  • That would be _shitake_ mushroom plugs. Can't figure out how to edit my post.

  • I saw shitake mushroom plugs for sale at Richters. Website is Richters dot com.
    I order seeds from Richters every year, but have never tried to grow mushrooms. Might give it a try. The info on their site states that only fresh cut logs should be used.

  • Should the log be 'fresh' or will a dead branch out of a tree work as well?

  • Mushroom spore plugs!?!? I can't wait to try! Where would such a thing be ordered? Any recommendations on which work best?