Description

Liquid culture is the most affordable, consistent, convenient and efficient way to produce mushroom spawn at home, without any specialized equipment. Each culture is packaged in a syringe for safe transport and ease of use, and comes with a sterile needle, alcohol swab and instruction pamphlet. We brew fresh batches constantly and maintain a small inventory for the fastest possible fulfillment. Liquid culture is a slurry of pure mushroom mycelium in water. It is made by vigorously fermenting a mushroom culture in a nutritious broth with constant agitation, which induces a frenzy of new growth. The result is pure leading-edge mycelium with thousands of tiny, free-floating cellular clusters per gram. (The leading edge of mycelium contains the highest number of hyphal tips, which are the locus of growth, where all the magic happens.) Liquid culture syringes are most often used to inoculate sterilized grain in jars or bags fitted with injection ports, which can be purchased or easily made at home. (Include a DIY grow bag kit with your liquid culture for just $1!) A single 10cc syringe can inoculate about 6 quart jars (about 5 lbs. / 2 kg) of grain spawn, which can then be expanded by several orders of magnitude, ultimately to produce hundreds of pounds of mushrooms. It can also be used to start petri dishes, cardboard spawn or more liquid culture. We verify every batch redundantly before and after packaging to ensure that it is pure, healthy and free of contaminants, and you can trust our guarantee. While liquid culture is best used fresh, it can be stored for months under refrigeration with little decline in vigor. Download the liquid culture pamphlet here (PDF) →

Description

Dowelling is a simple, affordable and low-impact approach outdoor mushroom cultivation. It is a highly scalable method for commercial mushroom farming, a joyful addition to any wayward hike or foraging excursion, a neat way to rope the kids into some good, old-fasioned fun in the backyard, or a great gift for the mycophile in your life. To use plug spawn, drill holes in logs or stumps, tap the dowels in, and seal the holes with wax. For best results, make sure your wood type is compatible with the species you want to use. Fresh wood works best; the ideal window for inoculation is 1-3 months after cutting. Logs typically produce mushrooms within a few months and can continue to do so 2-4 times per year for several years to follow. Requires a 5/16-inch drill bit and wax (not included). All plug spawn is made to order. Usually inoculated within 24 hours, it is incubated under observation for 10-12 days before shipping. It comes in a reuseable spawn bag with a brief guide, which you can download here

Description

Grain spawn is probably the most widely-used, consistent and effective starting point for mushroom cultivation projects. One bag of spawn can inoculate 10 times its weight of bulk substrates such as straw, sawdust and wood chips. It can also be used as a spawn "master" to first inoculate more sterilized grain, then substrate, resulting in a 10,000% increase in biomass! Because the mycelium has had a running start in sterile conditions, mature grain spawn is naturally resistant to contamination and can be handled directly for spawning bulk substrates like sawdust, wood chips, dowels, and straw. Rye is a favorite of the cereal grains. Its dense structure and high nutritional content supports the luxuriant growth of most desireabe mushroom species. USDA certified organic grain, grown in Oregon.

Description

Sawdust spawn is versatile. It can be used outdoors for starting mushroom patches and inoculating logs, and indoors to spawn bulk substrates or as a stand-alone "fruiting block" for simple, small-scale mushroom cultivation. Our hardwood-based substrate is lovingly mixed by hand in small batches using wholesome, natural and organic ingredients. High in nitrogen and packed with nutrients, this wood-lover recipe is formulated to maximize biological efficiency and keep the mycelium thriving for many consecutive harvests. All sawdust spawn bags are made to order. Usually started within 24 hours, they are incubated under observation for 2-4 weeks before shipping.

Description

Agar plates are the standard method for isolating, maintaining and breeding most microorganisms. The clear lid allows for easy viewing of the mycelium without exposing it to potential contamination, and all plates are double-wrapped in Parafilm for safe transport. Every batch of medium is lovingly prepared from scratch using high-grade agar agar and a wide variety of wholesome organic ingredients. We constantly vary recipes to keep the fungi well-fed and on their toes to prevent senescence. We take great care to maintain cell lines as close as possible to their wild origins, regularly returning to backups, cloning foraged specimens, breeding new isolations from spore and growing them to fruition in the lab to ensure their vitality and evaluate their commercial potential. Generally, plates are made to order within 24 hours and incubated for several days under our observation. We strive to time shipment so that plates arrive in a state of active growth, ready for extensive cloning.