Growing mushrooms at home is an easy-to-follow procedure, which you can execute successfully with correct steps. This write-up will help you in that matter.

Mushrooms are healthy, tasty food items used in several cuisines. Be it a vegetarian recipe or non-vegetarian dish, mushrooms are a preferred ingredient. The high nutritional value and minimal fat content makes them a highly popular food for people of all ages. They grow rather easily, which is why many people grow them at home. It all depends on which variant you have opted to grow.

Required Supplies

• Mushroom spore
• Growing medium
• Water spray bottle
• Clean water
• Indoor thermometer

Growing Procedure

Prepare Compost
Prepare the compost as per the instructions provided in the kit. Mix the raw materials and moisten with water. Do not sprinkle excess water, as it is not desirable for germination of the spores. If you are planting in a jar, it is ideal to sterilize the jar in a pressure cooker. Allow the medium to cool down before inoculating the spores.

Spawning
After careful preparation of the compost and/or sterilization, sow the spores. Depending on which variety you have chosen, place the spores at a certain depth. You can refer to the kit for the preferable depth; the best way is to keep the kit with you while proceeding.

Growth Phase
Place the spore inoculated jar in a cool and dark corner of the house. Check and regulate the temperature within a range of 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit. In order to maintain maximum humidity, you can place a pan containing water, near the jar.

Harvesting
Within 6-8 weeks after sowing, some of the mushrooms will mature. Harvest only the fully developed ones. You can pick further crops after every week. The ones that are harvested after the first crop are called flushes. When you have finished harvesting from the jar (after about a month), discard the jar and start again.

Sterilizing Without a Pressure Cooker

As we have seen already, a pressure cooker is used for the sterilization process. So, if you have a fair idea about other options for sterilization, then you can successfully grow shrooms without a pressure cooker. The ideal method is steaming. A large cooking pot having a correct-sized lid that can hold the jars, is required for steam sterilization.

Add water (not much) to the pot and place a steel utensil (upside down) at the bottom. Place the jars over the utensil, ensuring that water from the pot does not enter the jar. For proper steam sterilization, allow the water to boil for about an hour and then cool down. You can inoculate the spores when the temperature inside the jar is about 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you want to grow shrooms without spores, then the answer is by using mycelia or by tissue culture method. For growing with mycelia, you can follow the procedure given above. Tissue culture method is usually done in well maintained laboratories under controlled conditions of light, temperature, and humidity. Therefore, the former method is more practical than the latter.