How to Easily Reproduce / Grow Mushroom Spawn.

If vou like growing mushrooms and are sick of always buying expensive mushroom spawn, this will be the right project for you. In this Instructable I will show you how to spread / reproduce your mushroom spawn without having to buy any pro growing tools.

You will need:

200 g mushroom spawn (You can easily purchase every kind of mushroom spawn online.)

1 kg wheat grain

1 liter water

50 g plaster

a few jars depending on the size

micropore tape

Step 1: Preparing the Jars

First, take a clean jar. Second, poke 2-3 2mm holes into the lid of the jar. These holes will give the mushroom enough oxygen. They will also reduce any pressure that builds up inside the jar during the sterilization process (more on this under Step xxxx). Third, cover the holes with micropore tape (tape with pores smaller than 2 nanometers).

Step 2: Preparing the Wheat Grains

You need water, wheat grains and plaster to make a growing base for healthy mushroom spawn. Heat up the water in a cooking pot. When it starts bubbling add the plaster and stir. Then add the wheat grains. Keep on stirring until the water is absorbed and the wheat grains have a slightly moist texture.

Now the grains should be loose and you should see each grain coatedby a layer of plaster. The plaster creates a good growing enviroment for the mushroom.

Step 3: Jar Filling (and Sterilization)

When the growing base is still hot, put it into a cleaned jar and quickly close the lid. Fill the jar to 3/4 of its height.

Now you have two options:

1. You can let the base cool down and then mix it with a bit of mushroom spawn. With this option you do not have a sterile enviroment. Still, the mushroom will grow totally fine.

2. You can sterilize the jar with the growing base inside a pressure cooker (you have to use a pressure cooker because water can't get hotter than 100°C under normal pressure and sterilization occurs at temperatures above 121°C). For this option you need to cover the lid with aluminium foil to stop humidity from entering through the holes. Then put the jar inside the pressure cooker and sterilize it for an hour.

It is presumably better to sterilize the jar but you have to consider the high energy usage. In addition you still have to open the lid to mix in some mushroom spawn. I personally use the first method and it works totally fine.

After doing 1 or 2 above, let the jar cool down to room temperature. Now shake loose the mushroom spawn until it has scattered (picture on the right). For every 100g of growing base add 20g mushroom spawn. Keep the jar for two weeks at roomtemperature.

After two weeks of growing time you can use the mushroom spawn.

Thank you for having interest in my instructable :) .