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Many factors go into growing mushrooms, and sometimes mushrooms can be very picky with their environment. With so many things to account for, you may be wondering how to grow bigger mushrooms, or simply better mushrooms.
The truth is, every mushroom is different, and each requires different things to grow well. There are, however, a few key things you can do to help your mushrooms grow bigger.
Whether you like to grow gourmet or health supplementing mushrooms, this guide will help you grow your mushrooms better.
Choosing the right substrate (growing medium)
As we said above, every mushroom is different. Perhaps the biggest difference in mushroom preferences is their substrate.
The substrate is the technical word for the mushroom growing medium, the material you are growing mushrooms within.
Most commonly, mushrooms require natural fibers to consume and then grow from. This can take on a few forms. A popular substrate for many mushrooms is wood sawdust. Sawdust is a very fibrous and nutritious matrial for mushrooms to grow in.
Another popular substrate is soil with manure supplement. This nutrient-diverse, decaying environment also provides a lot of nutrition.
The key point is that some mushrooms prefer soil-like substrates and others like wood-based substrates. Picking the right substrate for your grow is the most important thing you can do!
We recommend heavily researching which substrate your mushroom thrives in, and trying to match it as best as you can. For example, you don’t want to try to grow a wood loving mushroom in a soil environment. It might work fine, but it won’t bring your work to full potential.
Growing bigger mushrooms: Choosing the right container
Similar to the mushroom substrate, you will need to pick the right container to actually put your substrate in and grow. There are many options, but it should be easy to decide once you understand what helps your mushrooms perform.
Mushroom growing containers for indoor growing
The options for storage indoor are abundant. The most popular and widely preferred container is plastic mushroom growing bags. Almost all mushrooms can be grown with substrates inside growing bags.
Mushroom growing bags help you grow better mushrooms becuase they keep contamination out very well, and it’s easy to control the conditions.
Secondly, you can choose how your mushrooms will fruit with mushroom growing bags. You can fruit them out of the top, or out of the side, and this depends on what you are growing.
Some mushrooms fruit well in clusters and others fruit in single fruits at a time. This means you will cut the bag differently when it is time to fruit. Always research whether your mushrooms are cluster-growing or single-stem fruit.
Another method that produces a lot of mushrooms is using buckets as a container.
In the beginning, many early mushroom growers like to use glass jars to grow. This is effective for learning, but not for growing big mushrooms, we recommend graduating to bags or buckets.
Mushroom growing containers for outdoor growing
For outside grows, it’s smart to grow in large, wide plastic or wooden tubs. These can protect your substrate from outside conditions in the ground. It’s simply the most common way to store your substrate and grow mushrooms outside.
Of course, if your grow is a wood-loving mushroom then you may be growing inside logs. These would not be stored in a tub, and in general you don’t need a container if you are growing mushrooms on logs outside.
When it comes to outside, there are more factors at play such as sunlight, the humidity of the air, contaminants in the air, and more. You take more risk by attempting to grow outside, but you can grow a lot at once which can help guarantee a good harvest.
Grow better mushrooms: Humidity and water in your mushroom substrate
The humidity and water content in your substrate are extremely important factors in how well your mushrooms will grow. We recommend taking great care in how you water your mushroom substrates no matter how they are being stored.
Mushrooms need water to grow properly, much like all other living things. If they don’t get enough water, they will wilt and grow small or not fruit at all.\
Most mushrooms you grow at home will require a substrate that is about 15% water content. When you are preparing your substrate for the first time, the guide will clearly show that water is an ingredient in the substrate.
Even with water in your substrate, you will need more water once the frutiing begins to keep the substrate moist. This involves misting your fruits 1-2 times per day, depending on the humidity of your area or room and depending on the mushroom.
This misting activity is very important and keeps your mushrooms growing big and healthy.
Remember, If you are growing outside, then there are more variables. Your mushrooms may get enough water from rain naturally, but if they don’t and you live in a dry climate then you will need ot water/mist very often.
Light levels in your grow area
Another common way to help grow your mushrooms better is by introducing light in the right ways. Some mushrooms don’t require light at all, but others do respond in the right situations.
The most common way light is used in growing is to introduce it when fruiting. Strong LED light can trigger mushrooms to pin and fruit. By using light with the right mushrooms, you will grow and engage the fruiting process.
Some less commonly grown mushrooms actually don’t prefer light, so this is a situation in which you will want to research your mushroom’s preference closely.
Tip: We have a complete article on lighting in mushroom growing setups here.
Fresh air exchange for your mushrooms
Fresh air is an additionally important part of the fruiting process. Fresh air isn’t very important during the colonizing phase, but it does become important once you begin fruiting.
When fruiting starts, the mushrooms are looking for fresh air as a sign to grow, which is why you cut open spawn bags when it is time to fruit. This fresh air exchange forces mushrooms to fruit big and strong, just like light can help with as we said above.
Fresh air is one of the more important aspect of triggering fruiting. You don’t need air blowing directly on the mushrooms, but some indirect air will help a lot. This is most impactful if you are growing in a basement or similar room that lacks fresh air. Correcting this should help you grow bigger mushrooms.
Conclusion: Better mushroom fruiting and harvesting tips
When it comes to fruiting, doing it right can help you secure the most harvest for your work.
As a quick note, remember that it’s best to fruit your mushrooms once they have grown to maximum length and right before they start releasing spores. This usually represents the most ripe your mushrooms can be before they start to actually lose nutrition or health benefits. So, don’t wait too long for this.
Additionally, try to use or dry out your mushrooms immediately after harvest. The longer you wait, the more they will spoil. Mushrooms don’t have a long shelf life in the fridge whatsoever. So use them for their gourmet purpose quickly, or dry and begin grinding them up for your health purposes fast.
