How to start growing mushrooms at home

The easiest way to start is a tabletop kit: a block of sawdust or straw that's already fully colonized and ready to fruit. Add water and fresh air, and a week or two later you have mushrooms. If that goes well, outdoor logs are the next step.

Tabletop kits

A kit is a sealed bag or box of substrate that the grower has already inoculated and let the mycelium colonize. Your part is the easy one: getting it to fruit.

1. Pick an easy species. Oyster mushrooms are the most forgiving. Lion's mane is a close second.
2. Open it as directed, usually by cutting an X or a slit in the bag where the mushrooms will grow.
3. Keep it humid. Mist the opening a few times a day, or cover it loosely with a humidity tent. Dry air is the most common reason kits stall.
4. Give it fresh air and indirect light. A kitchen counter away from heat vents and direct sun works well.
5. Harvest on time. Pick oysters when the caps flatten but before the edges curl up. Pick lion's mane once the spines have lengthened and before it starts to yellow.

Many kits produce a second, smaller flush if you rest the block for a week or two and then start misting again.

Where to get kits

These US companies and farms sell kits, blocks or spawn. We don't use affiliate links and don't earn anything if you buy.

• Farm On Central (Carlisle, Ohio): lion's mane and oyster blocks for pickup at the farm store.
• Miller's Mushrooms (Hartville, Ohio): grow kits alongside fresh mushrooms.
• North Spore (Maine): kits, spawn and supplies for indoor and outdoor growing.
• Field & Forest Products (Peshtigo, Wisconsin): spawn, outdoor kits and workshops, selling to growers since 1983.
• Cascadia Mushrooms (Bellingham, Washington): organic grow kits and plug spawn.
• Capstone Mushroom (Virginia): grow kits and spawn.

Prefer a farm near you? Several growers in our directory sell kits or blocks; search for "kit" or "block."

A note on golden oysters

Golden oyster kits are popular because the mushrooms are so bright. The species is native to East Asia, and researchers at the University of Wisconsin and the US Forest Service reported in 2025 that it has escaped into North American forests and is disrupting native fungal communities. If you grow goldens, keep them indoors, and bag spent blocks for the trash instead of composting them outdoors or tossing them in the woods.

Outdoor logs

Shiitake on logs is a slower backyard project that can keep producing for several years. Ohio State University's fact sheet on shiitake mushroom production walks through the steps. In short:

• Use freshly cut hardwood logs (white oaks are preferred) about 3 to 4 feet long and 4 to 6 inches across, and inoculate them within a few months of cutting.
• Drill holes in rows, fill them with sawdust or dowel spawn, and seal them with wax.
• Stack the logs in a shaded, well-drained spot and keep them from drying out.
• Wait. Colonization takes six months to two years. After that, soaking a log in water for a day or two can trigger a flush.

For more depth, the Cornell Small Farms Program has extensive guides to outdoor and indoor production, including log-grown shiitake.

Grow it, don't forage it

Growing your own is a good way to learn mushrooms without the risks of foraging. Only eat mushrooms that came from your kit or log, and if something unexpected sprouts, don't eat it. Never eat a wild mushroom you cannot identify with certainty.