With a kit or from scratch, you can grow mushrooms indoors at home

By JESSICA DAMIANO (Associated Press)

My late Uncle Pepe was an avid mushroom hunter, rising early on late-summer Saturdays, field guide in hand, to head to a local New York City park for his weekly forage. Upon his return, my Aunt Jenny would meticulously wash the hen-of-the-woods, turkey tail or other fungi free of soil and insects, and sauté them with hot peppers or add them to sauces or stews. Then the phone call would come, inviting my family over to share the bounty.

My father was always game, but my mother, who firmly believed in the old adage, “There are old mushroom hunters, and there are bold mushroom hunters, but there are no old, bold mushroom hunters,” wouldn’t allow us to partake in the feast until the following day, when my aunt’s and uncle’s survival would provide proof of its safety.

“They’re alive!” she would announce, holding the phone to one ear. And off we would go to enjoy the spoils of my uncle’s latest quest.

More than 40 years later, I still find myself craving those mushrooms. But since I’m not a mycologist, my deeply instilled trepidation has limited my foraging to seasonal farmers’ markets and specialty food stores. Recently, however, I’ve been growing oyster mushrooms in a cardboard box on my kitchen counter.

Pre-incubated mushroom grow kits, such as those made by Back to the Roots and North Spore, are a great way for beginners like myself to get acquainted with the procedure. I just remove the brick of pre-incubated soil substrate, called “spawn,” from the box, soak it overnight, return it to the box, pull open a perforated panel and mist the exposed substrate with water twice daily. Within two or three weeks, I have a side-dish-size harvest with a second on the way.

Yes, that’s the amateur way to grow mushrooms, but it serves my purpose as a fun activity with an edible endgame. And it’s a conversation piece that impresses visitors who don’t realize a 5-year-old can do it blindfolded.

If you’re more serious about cultivating mushrooms than I am — or want a larger harvest — it would be more productive and cost-effective to grow them from scratch. It’s easy to do, but you’ll have to source your own materials.

For starters, you’ll need a wooden, metal, or plastic box or tray that’s roughly 6 inches deep and large enough to hold your desired harvest (12-by-18 inches is a good starting point).

You’ll also need a growing medium, the substrate. White button mushrooms prefer a 50/50 mix of compost and well-rotted manure, oyster mushrooms do well in oat or wheat straw, and shiitakes like sawdust.

Finally, you’ll need fungal spores (think of them as seeds), which you can purchase online from websites including northspore.com or at other specialty retailers; search for “mushroom growing supplies” for options.

Wash and disinfect your hands and sterilize supplies to avoid contamination with bacteria, mold or non-mushroom fungi, then add substrate to fill the box to within an inch of its top. Spread the spores evenly over the substrate and gently moisten it once, then mist or spray it with water twice daily, keeping it consistently moist but not soggy.