Backyard mushroom growing

Backyard Mushrooms: What They Are + Why They're Growing There

For many people, the mushrooms that pop up in their backyards are mysterious, intriguing and sometimes worrying, and raise the question, “Why are mushrooms growing in my backyard?”

Beautiful and unique backyard mushrooms are intriguing but some are also poisonous, so it’s always best not to touch or eat any unknown wild mushrooms that appear in your yard.

But, most common backyard mushrooms are harmless and play an important role in your backyard ecosystem.

In this article, we explore what backyard mushrooms are, why they’re growing in your garden and how to identify them.

What Are Backyard Mushrooms?

Backyard mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of an underground fungus growing under the soil in your backyard.

These fungi play a crucial role in breaking down the woody organic material in the soil, making it more productive.

If you have mushrooms in your backyard, it’s usually a sign of healthy soil with lots of organic material that promotes the growth of lawn, shrubs and trees.

Why Do Mushrooms Grow in Backyards?

Most of the time, the fungi in your backyard stay hidden underground while feeding on the organic material in the soil.

They can stay dormant for years. But when conditions are right, they produce reproductive structures that we call mushrooms.

By this time, they’re well-established below the surface, and the mushrooms are simply a sign that there’s a thriving fungus in your backyard.

Mushrooms can grow so quickly that they often pop out of the ground overnight and seem to appear out of nowhere.

Why Do I Have Mushrooms Growing in my Yard?

If you have mushrooms growing in your backyard, it means the conditions are right for the underground fungus to reproduce.

The soil has enough food for the underground mycelium, and the temperature and humidity levels in the area are suitable for the fungus to fruit.

Mushrooms need specific conditions to thrive and reproduce, including:

Common Backyard Mushrooms

Wild mushrooms that grow in forests and meadows vary drastically from one country to the next.

But when you visit gardens in cities across North America, you’ll often find the same familiar backyard mushrooms. And mycologists have noted that this is a global phenomenon.

So, even though types of mushrooms vary from country to country, there’re common species that thrive worldwide in gardens with temperate climates.

Here are some of the common mushrooms found growing in backyards:

1. Ringless Honey Mushroom (Armillaria Tabescens)

The ringless honey mushroom is the same family as the honey mushroom, and both are very common in urban yards in late summer to fall.

They both have dry honey-colored caps on long stems often fused at the base. The only notable difference between the two is that the ringless honey mushroom does not have a ring on its stem. Hence the name.

These mushrooms grow in clusters at the base of trees or stumps, often in large quantities. They sometimes look like they are growing out of the ground, but they’re actually growing on roots or other buried wood.

Honey mushrooms are edible, but you should always cook them before you eat them. Even after cooking, some people still experience cramps, nausea and stomach pain.

Ringless honey mushrooms also have some toxic and even deadly look-alikes. So an experienced forager should confirm their identification if you plan on eating them.

2. Field or Meadow Mushroom (Agaricus Campestris)

The field or meadow mushroom is one of the most eaten wild mushrooms in Britain and Ireland. It’s closely related to the common button mushroom and has a similar taste and texture.

You’ll find them growing alone or in groups, arcs or gradually expanding rings called fairy rings, in fields, meadows and lawns.

Their caps are creamy-white and 1-4 inches (3-10cm) in diameter. The caps edges usually remain down-turned or rolled inwards even when the mushroom is mature.

When you cut the cap, the flesh should be thick and white, sometimes turning slightly pink but should never turn yellow.

Like portobellos, their gills start out deep pink becoming brown and eventually dark brown when the mushroom matures.

There are several species of mushrooms that you may confuse with field mushrooms, some of them are also edible, but others are poisonous.

3. Common Stinkhorn (Phallus Impudicus)

The common stinkhorn is part of a family of several different stinkhorns known for their foul odor and phallic shape when they’re mature.

They’re common in Britain, Ireland, Europe and North America from summer to late autumn.

You’ll find them growing in forests and mulched gardens where there’s lots of woody organic matter.

When a stinkhorn emerges, a smelly olive-green ‘gleba’ covers the cap and contains their spores.

They release a strong smell, described as smelling like rotting meat, that attracts insects who distribute the spores.

Despite their foul smell, they’re not usually poisonous. In some countries, people eat immature stinkhorns, which are called “eggs” because of their egg-like appearance.

Their smell does attract pets, and there have been reports of small dogs getting very sick after eating mature stinkhorns.

4. Mower’s Mushrooms (Panaeolus Foenisecii)

Mower’s mushrooms, also called haymaker’s or brown hay mushrooms, are common in lawns in summer throughout North America and Europe.

These small brown mushrooms have caps 0.4-1.2 inches (1-3cm) in size that vary in color from brown or orange-brown to light beige depending on how wet it is.

Mower’s mushrooms are inedible but not highly toxic, which is fortunate as they’re one of the mushrooms children frequently eat.

But, some look-alikes are very dangerous, and identifying small brown mushrooms is not easy.

So it’s probably best to remove any in your garden if you have children or pets.

5. Shaggy Ink Cap (Coprinus Comatus)

The shaggy ink cap, also known as the shaggy mane or lawyer’s wig, is another mushroom that often appears in backyards.

They first appear as white cylinders emerging from the ground, and then a bell-shaped cap, covered with scales, opens.

When this mushroom is ready to spore, its gills secrete an inky black liquid filled with spores that drips to the ground.

What makes shaggy ink caps even more unusual is the fact that a few hours after releasing their spores, they turn black and dissolve.

The same thing happens when you pick them.

Shaggy ink caps are edible when they’re young, but you need to cook them quickly before they turn into an inky mess.

Something to note is that some mushrooms in the same family as shaggy ink caps don’t mix well with alcohol, and when consumed with alcohol, produce a mild poison.

6. Fly Agaric (Amanita Muscaria)

When you mention the word “toadstool,” the fly agaric mushroom is the one that comes to mind.

This large red or yellow mushroom is easily identified and has a white stem and gills and white scales on the cap.

Although classified as poisonous, there have not been many reported deaths from consuming it, and it’s more of a narcotic or hallucinogenic mushroom.

Fly agarics are fascinating because they’re poisonous, but in some countries, people eat them.

Before eating them, you need to boil them repeatedly to weaken the toxicity, and even then, they could still make you sick.

7. Fairy Ring Mushroom (Marasmius Oreades)

Also known as fairy ring champignons or scotch bonnets, fairy ring mushrooms are very common. They thrive in lawns and parks throughout North America, Europe, Britain and Ireland.

Fairy ring mushrooms occur in gradually expanding rings in lawns.

They have domed caps 0.8-2 inches (2-5cm) across and pale brown with wrinkled or grooved edges.

Their gills are free of the stem and white, turning pale tan or cream as the mushrooms mature.

Fairy ring mushrooms are edible and sweet-tasting and often used in soups, sauces and stews.

Be careful when identifying them as there are similar poisonous mushrooms.

8. Giant Puffball (Calvatia Gigantea)

The Giant Puffball (Calvatia Gigantea) grows all over North America and other temperate regions worldwide and can get extremely large. It can grow anywhere from 8-24 inches (20-60 cm) wide and 3-12 inches (7.5-30 cm) high.

Unlike other mushrooms, puffballs grow as solid spheres without any gills, caps, or stems.

While some people are lucky enough to have giant puffballs in their backyard, smaller puffball species up to 2 inches (5 cm) in size are some of the most common backyard mushrooms.

There are several different species of puffballs, and they’re all edible when young and still white inside.

Correctly identifying young puffball mushrooms before you eat them is crucial as several poisonous Amanita mushrooms look like puffballs during their early growth stages.

To be sure you have the right mushroom, cut your suspected puffball in half. The flesh inside should be thick, hard and solid white.

If the inside contains a mushroom shape, gills or any black, brown, yellow, or purple coloration, discard the mushroom.

9. Green-Spored Parasol (Chlorophyllum Molybdites)

The green spored parasol, also called green lepiota or false parasol, is very common in garden beds and lawns during wet periods throughout spring, summer and autumn.

They appear in groups or fairy rings and have large white caps, 4-12 inches (10-30cm) in diameter.

Their caps have concentric circles of pinkish to brownish scales and gills that are white at first, becoming greenish to greenish-grey as their spores mature.

Green-spored parasols are easily mistaken for edible mushrooms as their appearance is similar, and they smell and taste mushroomy. But they’re extremely poisonous.

The most obvious feature that distinguishes them from edible mushrooms is the greenish gills of a mature green-spored parasol.

These are only a few of the mushrooms that thrive in urban conditions, and if the mushrooms in your backyard are not one of the above, no problem. Urban Mushrooms have put together a helpful index with pictures to help you identify the mushrooms in your backyard.

And, if you’re an app person, there are several excellent mushroom identification apps that can help you identify backyard mushrooms.

How to Tell if Backyard Mushrooms Are Poisonous

If you enjoy eating mushrooms, you may be wondering, “Are mushrooms in your yard edible?”

Some of your backyard mushrooms may be edible, but never eat a mushroom unless you can positively identify it and are 100 percent sure it’s safe.

Although less than five percent of known mushrooms are poisonous or of uncertain edibility, several toxic mushrooms do grow in backyards.

And, while most adults know not to eat unknown mushrooms, children and pets may sample them out of curiosity.

If you have small children or pets, it’s best to remove any unknown mushrooms that appear in your backyard.

To be safe, use gloves or a small spade, and pull or dig up as much of the mushroom as possible, not just the cap, and immediately put it into a plastic bag.

Close the bag tightly to prevent any spores from being dispersed, and place it in a bin. Make sure to wash your gloves, tools and hands thoroughly after handling unknown mushrooms.

Identifying mushrooms is not always easy, and many edible and poisonous mushrooms are very similar. People use the different parts of a mushroom to identify them.

Here are a few tips to help you tell if your backyard mushrooms are poisonous:

Check for white gills: Look underneath the mushroom cap. If the mushroom has white gills, there is a good chance it’s poisonous, as most mushrooms with white gills are.

Look for a partial veil or ring: Some mushrooms have rings around their stem, and although a few edible species have this feature, they’re common on poisonous mushrooms. To be safe, avoid any mushrooms with rings on their stems.

Is the mushroom red?: Mushrooms that have red on their caps or stems are either poisonous or hallucinogenic.

9 Ways to Prevent Mushrooms Growing in Your Backyard

Fungi play a vital role in your backyard, breaking down decomposing matter and creating healthy soil, and they often only last a short time.

So, if possible, make peace with them and enjoy these amazing organisms.

But, if you have small children and pets or suffer from mycophobia, you may want to prevent mushrooms from growing in your yard.

The best course of action is to make the environment in your backyard less appealing to mushrooms and reduce the fungi’s food sources.

Here are nine ways to keep backyard mushrooms from appearing so frequently and reduce their numbers:

1.Improve Soil Drainage

If your garden and lawn have patches of standing water or remain damp for long periods after rain, you may have compacted soil. Aerating helps to improve drainage, which decreases the moisture levels in these areas and discourages mushrooms.

2. Increase light and Air Circulation

Trim back and thin out trees and shrubs to let in more sunlight and increase air circulation in shady, damp areas.

3. Remove Wood and Tree Stumps

Remove any stumps, rotting branches or lumber to reduce the fungi’s food supply. If you have an area where there used to be a tree, even without a stump, the dead roots may still encourage mushroom growth.

4. Limit Irrigation

Sodden lawns encourage mushrooms, so limit irrigation to 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water a week. To establish a new lawn, you may need more water, but reduce the amount when you can.

5. Remove Excess Thatch in Lawns

Thatch is the tightly intermingled layer of living and dead leaves, stems, and roots that accumulates between the layer of growing grass and the soil.

If you have excess thatch, more than 0.5 inches(1.3 cm), it absorbs moisture and provides a food source for mushrooms. Dethatching your lawn can help to discourage mushrooms.

6. Clean up Pet Waste

Pet waste is another food source for mushrooms, so remove pet poop frequently.

7. Remove Immature Mushrooms

Picking or mowing mushrooms does not change the conditions in your yard or discourage growth.

But, if you pick or mow over mushrooms before they release their spores, you can prevent them from spreading.

If you have children or dogs, rather pick the mushrooms and safely discard them. Mowing may leave mushroom pieces that dogs and children could find.

8. Apply a Nitrogen-Rich Fertilizer

When you apply a nitrogen-rich fertilizer to your lawn, it speeds up the decomposition of organic matter in the soil.

Doing this reduces the fungi’s food source and can slow or even prevent fungal growth.

9. Balance the Bacteria and Fungi in Your Soil

Bacteria-rich soils have more leafy food present, and fungi-rich soils have more lignin-based foods like decaying wood and tree leaves.

If there is a neutral balance of fungi and bacteria in your soil, there’ll be fewer mushrooms.

If you have a lot of mushrooms adding more leafy material like grass clippings and vegetable leaves to your soil may help. Mulching with grass clippings is one way to do this.

Natural Ways to Kill Mushrooms Growing in Your Backyard

It’s easier to reduce or prevent mushrooms by managing the conditions in your yard than to kill them.

Underground fungal mycelium networks are widespread and well hidden, so digging them up or using commercial fungicides will not remove them.

Fungicides often don’t work well on mushrooms because they don’t penetrate the soil deep enough to reach the mycelium and kill the fungus.

It’s also not advisable to use toxic chemicals and fungicides in areas where children or pets play.

But, if you really want to get rid of the mushrooms in your backyard, try these natural methods:

1. Vinegar

One way to kill off mushrooms growing in your yard is to spray them with a vinegar solution.

Household or cooking vinegar is usually not strong enough. Horticultural vinegar is very potent, so find some if you can and follow the directions to dilute it to the right strength.

Using a spray bottle will make it easier to apply the vinegar to the mushrooms but be careful where you spray as the vinegar may also kill the surrounding grass or plants.

2. Baking Soda

Baking soda is a gentler approach, and while it’s not a fungicide, it will increase the pH of the soil, inhibiting the mushroom’s growth.

Baking soda is not a permanent solution, but it is safe and effective. There are two ways you can go about applying baking soda to your mushrooms.

The first is in liquid form using a spray bottle. Mix two tablespoons of baking soda per gallon (5 liters) of water and stir until it’s dissolved. Spray the mixture onto the mushrooms and the surrounding soil.

Over time, this will reduce the mushroom’s growth and possibly even kill them.

The second method is to sprinkle baking soda directly onto mushrooms and surrounding soil and water it in.

You’ll need to repeat these methods regularly to see results, but they’re inexpensive and safe to use around pets and children.

Something to consider is that any significant changes in the soil’s pH level may inhibit the growth of nearby plants.

3. Soapy Water

Commercial dish soap is another easy solution to killing mushrooms in your backyard.

Mix one or two tablespoons of any commercial dish soap with up to three gallons (15 liters) of water.

With a screwdriver or something similar, poke holes in the soil around the mushrooms. Pour the soapy water over the mushrooms and into the holes.

Repeat the process several times a day for a week, and you’ll see a dramatic reduction in mushrooms.

For this to work, soapy water needs to get deep into the soil where the fungi live.

But, not everyone wants to get rid of mushrooms in their backyards.

For those of you who want an ongoing supply of fresh mushrooms, let’s take a look at the different ways you can grow mushrooms in your backyard.

How to Grow Mushrooms in Your Backyard

If you enjoy the umami taste and health benefits of mushrooms, you may be wondering if you can grow edible mushrooms in your backyard.

The answer is yes, and there are a couple of easy ways to grow mushrooms in your backyard.

Which you use will depend on your climate, mushroom type and how quickly you want your first harvest of mushrooms.

If you have a spot with moist conditions, you can grow species like the wine cap, oyster, or elm mushroom outdoors in a mushroom bed using wood chips and mushroom spawn.

You can also grow mushrooms on logs in your backyard. It takes longer to get your first harvest, but you can continue to harvest for many years until the mushrooms have totally decomposed the logs.

Some mushrooms commonly grown on logs are oyster, shiitake, lion’s mane and reishi mushrooms, but you can also try maitake, nameko, chicken of the woods, and pioppini.

Another fun way to grow reishi mushrooms is to grow them outdoors in soil using a fully colonized fruiting block.

Try experimenting to see which types of mushrooms grow best in your region and which methods work best for you.

Learn how to grow mushrooms in an outdoor garden bed in your backyard

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About Backyard Mushrooms

Below you’ll find answers to some frequently asked questions about backyard mushrooms.

1. Are Mushrooms in Your Yard Bad?

Mushrooms in your yard are not bad and will usually go away relatively quickly once their life cycle is complete.

But, if you have small children or dogs, it’s a good idea to remove and discard any unknown mushrooms to prevent accidental poisoning.

2. Are Mushrooms a Sign of a Healthy Lawn?

Mushrooms are a sign of healthy soil with lots of organic matter, which usually also means a healthy lawn.

As the fungi break down the organic matter in the soil, they make nutrients available for themselves and other plants.

Healthy fungi-rich soils are a good sign and promote strong, healthy lawns, trees and shrubs.

3. Can You Eat Mushrooms From Your Backyard?

Some of the mushrooms in your backyard may be edible but as a rule, never eat a mushroom unless you can positively identify it as being edible and safe.

Several poisonous mushrooms look the same as edible mushrooms to the untrained eye.

4.

Are Backyard Mushrooms Poisonous to Dogs?

Mushrooms that are poisonous for humans will also be toxic for dogs, but most common edible mushrooms will not be harmful.

If you see any poisonous mushrooms or mushrooms you are unsure about in your backyard, be sure to remove them as soon as possible to prevent poisoning.

For more information, read our article, “Can Dogs Eat Mushrooms? Learn What’s Safe for Your Pet.“

Final Thoughts

Not all backyard mushrooms are bad or dangerous, and some are even edible. What’s more, many people intentionally grow delicious edible mushrooms in their backyards.

When mushrooms pop up in your backyard in moist conditions, it’s an indication that you have healthy soil with lots of woody organic matter.

Changing the conditions in your backyard to be less favorable for mushrooms is one of the best ways to reduce their numbers over time. But, it isn’t necessary, unless you have children or pets to protect.

To learn more about mushrooms and how they reproduce, visit our Mushroom Education Hub.

How to Grow Specialty Mushrooms in Your Backyard

Growing mushrooms is easier than you might think! In today’s post, you will be able to learn how to grow mushrooms of all varieties such as shiitake, oyster, and wine cap in your own backyard.

Growing Mushrooms You Can Cook With

Do you have a really shady section of your garden that doesn’t get a whole lot of sunshine? If so, you should consider planting and growing some specialty mushrooms in this area.

If you are really curious and ready to take the next steps towards growing your own mushroom logs, you should take a moment and read Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist by Fungi Fun Guy, Michael Judd!

Michael’s book is a unique how-to manual for the budding gardener and experienced green thumb alike, full of creative and easy-to-follow designs that guide you to having your yard and eating it, too.

This guide takes tips and pointers directly from his book. I hope you find it informative, useful, and fun!

This book is distributed by Chelsea Green and is for sale at ecologiadesign.com

Different Varieties of Mushrooms You Can Grow

Judd says he often hears these words from many newbie gardeners, “My yard is so shady that I can’t grow anything.” To which he always replies with an “Oh yeah you can! Mushrooms love the shade!”

Growing mushrooms outdoors is much easier than you may think.

There are three types of mushrooms that you can plant in your garden- shiitake, oyster, and wine cap. These specific types are easy to grow, tasty, and versatile!

Shiitake and oyster mushrooms grow well on logs and the wine cap mushroom, also known as King Stropharia or Garden Giant, grows really well on wood chips.

All three of these have a wide temperature range for growing as long as there is moisture—make that moisture, moisture, moisture! If you retain nothing else from this project, simply remember moisture = mushrooms.

The Best Types of Trees For Growing Mushrooms

Many types of trees can be used for growing edible mushrooms.

In general, you should use hardwoods like:

maple
poplar
willow
birch
beech

In doing so, you should avoid species such as:

black locust
black walnut
most evergreens

Tulip poplar and hard maple are perfect for oyster and shiitake, respectively. Oak is the best wood for shiitake mushrooms, with its thick, protective bark and strong, long-lasting wood. A good oak log can produce beautiful shiitakes for up to eight years, whereas a softer wood like poplar may produce for only three to four years.

Now, you might be thinking, “How is cutting down trees to grow mushrooms ecological?”

A practice of sustainable forestry is the thinning of small-diameter trees to allow the larger, more mature trees to grow and to let in more sunlight that helps regenerate the forest floor.

These saplings are the perfect size for mushroom log cultivation!

Can You Use Old Firewood to Grow Mushrooms?

Simply grabbing some old firewood off the pile to grow your mushrooms won’t work, since the wood already has its own funky fungi going on. Mushroom logs need to be freshly cut from healthy trees.

Cut your wood at winter’s end before sap rise, which is around the end of February/early March.

The Best Size of Logs For Growing Mushrooms

According to Michael, trees or branches, approximately six inches in diameter, are best.

A larger diameter is fine if you have the brawn; however, smaller diameters are not recommended, as the wood will dry out too easily. Once down, you can mark and cut the logs at about 40 inches in length, which makes a manageable size to move around.

Judd then recommends you leave the logs where they are, slightly lifted off the ground, or move them where it is moist, leaving them for about three weeks. This period allows the tree’s natural anti-fungal properties to die off and the temperature to warm up for inoculation in late March or early April.

Note: If you have healthy wood that was downed during the winter, it is usable as long as you inoculate in the early spring.

Ninja Move: Put spore-inoculated bar oil from Fungi Perfecti in your chainsaw so that as you cut wood, you seed the stumps and surrounding debris. Throw some sawdust back on the stump to help keep in the moisture.

Fungi Mycelium

Fungi, the mushroom body, is made up of thread-like cells that weave together to make a network. When ready to fruit and release spores (seed), up pops the edible shoots we love so much!

If you have ever kicked aside the leaf litter in a forest and seen the white webbing, then you’ve seen fungi. We call these threads “mycelium.”

For mushroom cultivation, you are going to want specific fungi mycelium (i. e., shiitake and oyster strains). The mycelium growth is started on sawdust, straw, grain, or little wooden plugs. When inoculated with mycelium these mediums are called “spawn.”

Think of them as kindling to get the mycelium going.

For beginning ease, I suggest purchasing spawn with mycelium on them from one of the many fine mushroom supply outfits; ideally, one close to your weather range.

I am a big fan of Field & Forest! Their claim is: “Proud to be part of this rotting world.” Their website and online catalog are a perfect package of how-tos and materials for beginners.

There are numerous spawn options, but for small-scale use, Judd says he prefers the plug spawn. Plug spawns are little birch dowels that arrive covered in the mycelium variety you choose. These spawns will be inserted into the logs.

Mycelium Tips To Grow Mushrooms

Here are some tips that will help you grow mushrooms easily.

A log roughly 6 inches in diameter by 40 inches long will take between 30-40 plug spawns. 250 plugs run about $20.
There are shiitake and oyster varieties that fruit at different temperature ranges, offering extended harvest throughout the growing season (early spring to late fall).
Spawn can be ordered a month or so in advance and kept refrigerated.
You can also collect your own spores from local fruiting varieties (which has the benefit of being a more resilient strain).
I highly recommend reading Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World by Paul Stamets. I consider this to be the bible on mushroom cultivation and use.

Setting Up the “Shroom Zone”

Before the big bucks start to roll in from your mushroom sales, a bare-bones work area is needed!

Come late March/early April, Michael has a set up of a super low-tech inoculation area outside the garage. It’s comprised of a few straw bales laying flat, a strong electric drill, a hammer, an old camping stove, and a nasty old fondue pot.

Materials List

Here is the list of materials you will need to create a bare-bones work area:

Hardwood logs (6 inches by 40 inches)
5/16″ wood drill bit
Electric drill
Straw bales as a workbench or other low surface to work on
Hammer
Camping stove or another outdoor heating source
Wax (cheese or bees)
A small bristle brush, small paintbrush, or wax dauber
Spawn
Metal label tags (optional)

Drill Logs In A Diamond Shape to Grow Mushrooms

Once you have your shroom zone set up, it’s time to arm yourself with a drill. The logs are going to be drilled in a diamond pattern for the plug spawn.

Start the first row two inches from the log’s end. Space the holes every six inches. The depth of the hole is important. Ideally, the plug will be inserted to a depth just below the bark, almost flush, but not sticking out, about 1 inch deep.

Field & Forest sell ninja drill bits that have stoppers on them for the correct depth, but I have used a piece of tape or a pen mark on the bit to eyeball the depth. It’s good to drill a few holes and check the depths by tapping in the spawn to see how it fits. Soon, you’ll get the feel for it.

Use caution not to drill too deep, as that leaves a dry air pocket.

Once you have your first row done, rotate the log two inches and begin the next row, starting between the first two holes of the previous row, approximately five inches down.

Continue rotating the log two inches for every new row and offsetting the holes to create a diamond pattern. The inches here are approximate, so don’t get worked up, just pull on the brew for balance. Drilling this many holes is a bit overkill, but it’s necessary to make sure that our chosen fungi are the one that colonizes and out-competes any other funky airborne fungi.

Whack In Mushroom Spawn Plugs

Whacking in spawn plugs can be very fun! Those skills you built up playing the fair game ‘Whack a Mole’ are about to pay off.

As fun as whacking stuff might be, we need to be careful not to damage the bark. The bark on your log is the skin that keeps the moisture in, so handle it gently. Oaks, with their thick bark, are favored in this process; poplars, with thin and brittle bark, not so much.

Some folks recommend using rubber mallets, but I find workshop participants tossing them aside in favor of the metal hammers.

Now, armed with your hammer and a bag of spawn, let’s get to it. Keep in mind that the bag of spawn is sensitive to drying out and should be protected from sun and wind while working.

Set Up A Wax-Melting Station

About the time you’re ready to start whacking in spawn, set up your hybrid wax-melting station. This station I set up uses an old Coleman two-burner propane gas stove. I set this up about 20 feet from the drilling and whacking stations, as the wax smoke can get thick and the wax will inevitably drip.

I’ve seen set-ups in the garage with a plug-in burner and tarp underfoot, but that somehow loses the outdoor mystique. Both approaches work.

For a pot, I use an old fondue pot, but really any pot will do. Some more legit folks might recommend using a double boiler and putting water in the bottom of the first pot or even just placing a metal bowl in a pot with water in the bottom as a makeshift double boiler.

I use a cheese wax that I get in big chunks cheaply from Field & Forest, and it seems to last forever. Start off with a fist-sized chunk and crank the heat to medium-high and watch until the wax melts clear and starts to fine bubble. Then, turn the heat to low, around 300 degrees. You want the wax to be as hot as possible without catching on fire!

I judge the heat by the smoke; a thin smoke is good, while a thick one is getting close to the flashpoint. Often during workshops, where I have a small army of first-time drillers and whackers, I forget to turn the wax down and it catches on fire. It’s no huge blaze, but you cannot salvage the wax once it’s caught fire.

Carefully take it off the burner, dump it on the gravel drive, and start again.

The flashpoint is easier to control with a double boiler set up. The trick is to have the wax as hot as possible to ensure a good seal that traps moisture and keeps critters out; otherwise, the wax can dry and peel off. Once your wax is hot, use a small bristle brush, a steel baster, or wax daubers (which are a dollar a pop from Field & Forest) to dab the wax over each spawn.

Label the Log With the Mushroom Type

If you have (or plan to have) multiple types of mushrooms, it is a good idea to label the logs with aluminum tags nailed into the log’s end.

Make sure to put the type, variety, and date. It will help to track what does well, to make recommendations to others, and be sure you are harvesting the right fungi.

Shade Is the Best Place for Growing Mushrooms

The next stage in the fungi journey is one of the most critical: the spawn run. This is when the mycelium jumps off the spawn into the log and begins to colonize it. This can take anywhere from six to eighteen months.

Place the logs flat during the spawn run, just off the ground an inch or two. Moisture during this time is key. The logs want to be placed in a shady place that imitates a forest setting, out of the wind, and, ideally, close to the house and watering source.

If you have a naturally moist, shady area around your house, that is a good spot. My new favorite place to stash logs is under the deck, where water falls through and the house blocks the wind. The fungi love it!

Another good spot is underneath evergreens that are porous and allow enough water to fall through. You can create your own shade with a 60-80 percent shade cloth draped over straw bales with logs laid in between.

Keep The Logs Moist

Make sure to keep your logs moist; you can water them like the rest of your garden. If there has been no rain, they need the equivalent of about one inch of water a week. You can either hose and the area around them down once a week, or set up a sprinkler and run it for 15-20 minutes.

Once the logs fruit, lean them up to view and easily harvest the mushrooms.

How To Harvest Mushrooms

When the logs fruit, usually after a warm spring or fall rain, simply cut the mushrooms off at the base, being careful to not pull off chunks of the bark. Then, the sky’s the limit for enjoying and preserving them. You will be amazed at the abundance a log produces at once!

If you can get past sautéing them in butter and garlic or making some stuffed mushrooms with spinach and ricotta, then they are easy to dry and store. My personal favorite preservation is shiitake vodka! But, for you teetotalers, a mushroom-infused olive oil with peppercorns and hot peppers is a tasty treat and great gift.

A Word About Mushroom Safety

You may be wondering if it is safe to eat any ol’ mushroom that grows out of the log. The answer is an emphatic “Heck No!!”

If your spawn variety has not successfully run and colonized the log, it’s possible that another airborne fungi has set up shop. Only harvest the type that you inoculated the log with and have a picture of what that is.

If you inoculate a shiitake, only harvest a shiitake. Thankfully, oysters and shiitake are easy to identify. The beauty of growing your own mushrooms versus hunting for them is that you know exactly what is supposed to pop out.

an easy way to grow mushrooms at home

Mycorrhizal fungus forms a fungus root with all trees of the preferred species within a radius of several tens or even hundreds of meters. Transplanting a small tree from the forest, under which the desired mushroom is already growing, is a proven method. After transplanting a pine, spruce or birch about a meter high, mushrooms may appear in 4-5 years.

The type of wood should be selected according to the preferences of the fungus:

Birches get along well with porcini mushroom, black mushroom and dry mushroom, red boletus. Before replanting a birch with a porcini mushroom, you need to make sure that oaks do not grow nearby in the forest, otherwise the porcini mushroom forms mycorrhiza primarily with oak.
With pine, you can try to transplant the pine form of the boletus. It is well possible to transfer a small pine tree to the garden with a granular oiler.
Mushrooms are transplanted with spruce - delicacy and spruce (just keep in mind that he does not like calcareous soil).
With aspen - red boletus.

Among the listed mushrooms, rapid fruiting can only be expected from red boletus - the rest form fruiting bodies under mature trees.

Sowing mushroom spores

Edible mushrooms growing on dead trees bear fruit 2-3 times a year for 5-7 years.

They can only be grown on hardwood logs: birch, willow, alder, maple. Trunks of coniferous trees and stone fruits are not used for these purposes. It is better to harvest and store logs for sowing in late autumn and winter (in the warm season, putrefactive microflora quickly occupies the wood) from the trunks of living healthy trees in order to populate them with mycelium in the spring. Deadwood, trees infected with stem rot, and old semi-decomposed wood are not suitable for breeding such mushrooms - there are too many competing fungi in their tissues: the cultural mycelium will develop poorly or not be able to take root at all.

When planning to do "mushroom business", the gardener should think about how this can affect the appearance of his garden. Another important consideration is: will it be convenient to work with cut logs? After all, they are quite massive and voluminous: the thickness of the logs should be at least 20 cm, the length - from 40 cm.

mycelium substrate from ground branches. With this technology, mushrooms give a greater yield and bear fruit more often - from spring to late autumn. The growing mycelium fastens and “cements” the particles of the substrate, making it homogeneous and durable. Substrate blocks sprouted with mycelium can be freed from polyethylene and covered with a shell of kraft paper or burlap.

Growing mushrooms on logs

What you need:

logs of hardwood trees with a diameter of 20 cm or more
mushroom mycelium (200 g per linear meter)
strong polyethylene bags 0.5x1.0 m
garden hose clippings 4 cm long, hole diameter 3-4 cm
5 cm pieces of foam rubber
garden pitch

Action plan:

Place the bags of logs in a woodpile in a shady place. In the spring, make sure that the ends of the logs and the places where the bark is damaged are covered with mycelium. Install them in the place of fruiting - quite moist, sheltered from wind and sun.
The mycelium of summer and winter mushrooms penetrates into the soil and receives additional moisture from it, so dig the logs into unfertilized soil at 2/3 of their height at a distance of 10-15 cm from one another.
In hot and dry weather, logs and the ground near them should be watered several times a day, from 12.00 to 17.00. The best way is a five-minute sprinkling once an hour. Watering can be plentiful, but by night the surface of the logs and mushroom caps should dry out.
Mushrooms will benefit from a breathable shelter made from loose planks, slab, agril, paper, or burlap. Do not cover with plastic wrap.


Saw logs 50-60 cm long. Drill holes on the side with a diameter of 2 cm and a depth of 4-6 cm in a checkerboard pattern with a distance of 15-30 cm along the length of the log, 10-15 cm in diameter. Deepen them to the center of the trunk with a thin drill with a diameter of 8 -10 mm.	Lay the log pieces on a large sheet of polyethylene. Wash your hands thoroughly. Fill the holes with mycelium and compact it so that there is 1 cm of free space up to the edge of the hole.

Pour a teaspoon of potato starch solution (40 g/l) or clean water at room temperature into each hole on the mycelium. Cover holes and other damage to the bark with garden pitch.	Place log cuts in plastic bags.

Thread the neck of each bag through a piece of garden hose.	Plug the resulting holes with pieces of foam rubber with a side of 5 cm.

. Let's take a look at each.

From "wormy"

Old worm mushrooms - ideal for propagation! So collect a few in the woods and bring home. And then there are several options.

Scatter. It is enough to break the mushrooms into small pieces and scatter them under the trees. Spores will gradually fall out of the hats, they will fall into the soil and germinate. At first, a mycelium will develop underground - you can even see it if, for example, you decide to plant something in this place. White threads in the soil, somewhat similar to mold, are the mycelium. It will develop when there is a rainy year, or you begin to actively water this area, fruiting bodies will appear - the very mushrooms that we were waiting for.

But this option is risky, because dry weather can set in, and then the spores will not germinate. And often not everyone has the opportunity to water.

In bulk. This method is more reliable, but more troublesome. Caps of old mushrooms (8 - 10 pieces, but the more the better) should be put in a bucket, poured with water and left for a day. Then, directly in the water, knead them with your hands until a homogeneous mass.

For sowing around young trees, it is necessary to remove a layer of earth 15–20 cm deep in diameter at a distance of 1 m from the trunk. Do not dig a depression, but carefully remove the earth in a layer. Pour the mushroom mass with water evenly onto the bottom of the trench. One bucket should be enough for 3 trees. After that, the layer of earth must be returned to its place, slightly compacted and watered.

Such crops will need to be watered all summer, once a week, 4-5 buckets per tree. And for the winter cover with fallen leaves.

This type of mushroom propagation usually gives a 70 - 75% chance of a crop.

From forest mycelium

This method gives more security, but it will require physical strength. The bottom line is this: around the mushroom found, you need to remove a layer of sod 20 cm thick and about 30 cm in diameter (but more is better). And move this layer to your garden.

In the garden, you need to dig a hole for it, but with a larger diameter and a little deeper - about 22 cm. Put wet sawdust in a layer of 1 cm at the bottom of the hole. The sawdust should be from hardwoods, if the mushroom grew under deciduous trees, or from conifers, if you find it under conifers. On the prepared bed, install a forest turf with a mycelium. And the gaps that have formed along the diameter should be tightly filled with a mixture of sawdust and forest land (1: 1). Of course, plantings need to be watered.

With this method, the mycelium will gradually grow in the garden and, most likely, will provide you with a harvest already in the current season.

From mycelium

Mycelium of a variety of mushrooms is now sold in garden centers and online stores - the package is similar to seeds, but slightly larger. Mycelium happens on a different substrate (it depends on the type of fungus), so the sowing methods also differ.

On a grain substrate. In this form, chanterelles, white and Polish mushrooms, boletus, oaks, goats, birch boletus and aspen mushrooms are sold. Seeding scheme is indicated on the package.

First of all, around the selected tree, you need to remove the top layer of soil with a depth of 10 - 20 cm and a diameter of 1 - 1.5 m. Soil with a high peat content is poured into the prepared area with a layer of 1 - 2 cm (soil for houseplants from the store is suitable). Pieces of mycelium from the package are laid out on it (1 package for 1 tree). The removed soil is returned back. The sown area is carefully watered so as not to erode the ground.

For the winter, the crops need to be insulated - mulched with moss, leaves, branches, coniferous spruce branches.

In subsequent years, the plot must be watered if there is no rain. It is also useful to feed the mycelium with a solution of sugar: 1 tbsp. spoon for 10 liters of water.

On wood sticks. This planting option is for mushrooms that grow on stumps and trees: oyster mushrooms, honey mushrooms, nameko, shiitake, blackberry (lion's mane) and tremella (ice mushroom). Growing them is not an easy task, but the activity is very interesting!

First prepare the basis for cultivation - a log. Its diameter and length are not of fundamental importance, but it is more convenient to use the same logs as sawn for firewood. It is desirable that the log was fresh - 1 month after felling. If it is old and dry, then it must be soaked in water for 2 to 3 days to be saturated with moisture, and then it must be allowed to drain.

Then the log soaked with moisture is removed to a warm room, where it must rest for several days.

After that, the log is populated with mycelium. First of all, you need to drill holes in it with a diameter of 0.8 cm and a depth of 4 cm. It is better to make them in a checkerboard pattern at a distance of 10 cm from each other. Usually there are 12 sticks in a package with mycelium, so there should be the same number of holes (1 package for 1 log).

Next, sticks infected with mycelium are inserted into the holes until they stop. Important! This should be done with sterile gloves, and if they are not, carefully wipe your hands with alcohol.

The seeded log is wrapped in polyethylene film, in which small holes must be made to allow air to enter. After that, it is cleaned in a dark, damp room with a temperature of about 20 ° C. Under such conditions, in about 2 - 3 months, the log will become overgrown with mycelium - white threads similar to mold will appear on its surface.

Photo: pixabay.com

It is important to monitor the temperature. It can be lower, about 10 ° C, but then the log will be overgrown with mycelium for longer - 3 - 4 months. But at temperatures above 34 ° C, the mycelium will die.

As soon as the log is overgrown with mycelium, it is taken out into the garden and set in the shade, in a calm place, buried vertically to a depth of 1/3 of the length.

But remember, many mushrooms grow in symbiosis with certain species:

white pine fungus - under pine trees, rarely spruce and oak trees (1);
oak porcini mushroom - under oaks and lindens;
oak tree - under oaks and birches (2);
boletus - under pines, larches (3);
real boletus and milk mushroom (white) - under birches;
boletus - under aspens and poplars (4);
chanterelles - under firs, pines, oaks;
black mushroom - under birch, poplar, hazel, willow (5).

If these trees are not nearby, it is pointless to wait for the harvest.