How to grow mushrooms at home? Practical guide for beginners

Growing mushrooms at home is possible!

Do you like mushrooms? What if you grew them yourself? Contrary to popular belief, it is entirely possible to grow oyster mushrooms, shiitakes, or even button mushrooms at home, without a garden and without complex equipment.

Here are the basics to get you started easily.

1. Which varieties to grow at home?

🍄 Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus)

• Very easy to grow, fast growth.
• Excellent in cooking, mild taste and tender texture.
• Ideal temperature: 15 to 20 °C, medium humidity.

🍄 Button mushrooms

• Classic, grows well in dark rooms.
• Requires a specific substrate based on manure or pasteurized compost.

🍄 Shiitake (Lentinula edodes)

• Slower to grow, but very flavorful.
• Traditionally grown on wood (log or enriched substrate).

👉 See our organic mushroom growing kit

2. How does it work? The role of mycelium

Mycelium is the underground part of the mushroom (the equivalent of roots). It is what we cultivate. By implanting it in a suitable substrate (straw, wood, coffee grounds…), it develops and then produces the “fruiting bodies”: the mushrooms we harvest.

Mycelium is alive: it needs moisture, coolness, and a bit of shade to produce well.

3. Different methods to grow at home

🧺 With a ready-to-use growing kit

• The simplest way to start.
• Contains pre-inoculated substrate + instructions.
• Just water regularly and keep at room temperature.

🧉 With coffee grounds and mycelium

• Zero waste solution, very economical.
• Fresh grounds + mycelium = perfect substrate for oyster mushrooms.
• Keep in a pierced opaque container, moist.

🪵 On a wood log (shiitake or oyster mushroom)

• Slower method (several months), but very productive.
• Mycelium implanted in holes drilled into an oak or beech log.

4. Ideal conditions for success

• Humidity: maintain a humid environment (daily misting).
• Temperature: between 15 and 25 °C depending on species.
• Light: indirect, never in direct sunlight.
• Ventilation: essential to avoid mold.

5. Harvesting and storage

• Mushrooms grow in “flushes”: several successive harvests are possible.
• Harvest as soon as the cap is fully open, before spores are too released.
• Storage: in the refrigerator for 2 to 5 days, or dried for infusion or cooking.

Conclusion

Growing mushrooms at home is simple, fun, economical… and incredibly satisfying. Whether you choose a ready-to-use kit or a more artisanal culture, you will grow an ultra-fresh, healthy food without transport. A little piece of forest… in your kitchen.

🍄 Discover our organic mushroom growing kit and start your home production now.