Growing Edible Mushrooms: Practical Techniques for Cultivating 24 Mushroom Varieties

Learn how to grow your own edible mushrooms, from the familiar Cremini and oyster mushroom to such unusual but equally delicious varieties as the wine cap stropharia and the lion's mane.

Two of the best reasons to grow your own food at home are to produce food you would otherwise have to pay too dearly for at the market and to grow great-tasting things you cannot buy at any price. Many varieties of mushrooms can be either hard to buy in some areas or shockingly expensive. Mushroom hunting can be fun and productive. It can also be difficult and frustrating. Why not skip the market, the cost, and the search and simply grow them yourself?

Today, more and more people are getting into growing mushrooms. A small commercial colony can be a cash crop. Gardeners and locavores can save money at the store by growing mushrooms in the kitchen or garden. Mushroom foragers have taken their hobby one step farther by cultivating their own supply.

In Growing Edible Mushrooms, Ja Schindler describes more than twenty varieties of mushrooms and many of the ways you can grow them at home. In addition to shiitake, oyster, portobello, and morel mushrooms, he also covers lesser-known varieties, such as lion's mane, maiitake, garden giant, and turkey tail. Ja also gives tips on growing indoors in the kitchen or greenhouse, with quick projects such as cardboard spawn, coffee ground mushrooms, and even a "mushroom motel." For those who want to grow outdoors, Ja gives instructions for traditional garden growing and the classic log method, which are both scalable to commercial-sized colonies.