How to Grow Oyster Mushrooms
Quick answer: Oyster mushrooms are the easiest mushroom to grow — they colonise fast and fruit on almost anything: straw, coffee grounds, cardboard, even sawdust. Get a clean culture, expand it onto agar and grain spawn, mix the spawn into a pasteurised (not necessarily sterilised) substrate, then fruit with high humidity (~88%), plenty of fresh […]
How to Grow Chestnut Mushrooms
Quick answer: To grow chestnut mushrooms (Pholiota adiposa), start from a bought culture — they’re tricky to clone — expand it on agar, make grain spawn on millet, wheat, or rye, then colonise a supplemented hardwood-sawdust or straw substrate at around 72°F (22°C). Fruit the bag as one large cluster at cool temperatures (ideally 64–66°F) […]
How to Grow Reishi Mushrooms
Quick answer: Reishi (Ganoderma) is a beginner-friendly, forgiving mushroom to grow. Start with a quality culture on agar, expand to grain spawn, then fruit on supplemented hardwood sawdust (5 to 15 percent supplementation). Incubate around 70 to 80 degrees F, and fruit at 85 to 90 percent humidity. High CO2 produces antler-shaped fruits, while more […]
5 Ways Mushroom Mycelium Will Change the World
Quick answer: Mushroom mycelium is being used to create five world-changing materials: building materials and packaging (mycomposites and mycobricks), vegan leather, meat alternatives, electronics components, and paper. These mycomaterials replace destructive, resource-extractive industries with biodegradable, circular-economy alternatives. Companies like Ecovative and Mylo are already bringing them to market — and you can support the shift […]
Soxhlet Extractor: Old Equipment, New Technique
Quick answer: A Soxhlet extractor is a piece of lab glassware, invented in 1879, that repeatedly cycles a heated solvent through dried mushrooms to make highly concentrated medicinal extracts. Because it is a closed system, it can safely heat high-proof alcohol to capture water-insoluble compounds like triterpenes and fatty acids. This guest post by Sam […]
Mushroom Fruiting Chamber: How to Make a Martha Grow Room
Quick answer: A “Martha” is a small mushroom fruiting chamber built from an indoor greenhouse with shelves, a humidity-retaining cover, and a zip-up curtain. This guide walks you step-by-step through building a nearly automated Martha for under $200 — covering humidification, fresh air exchange, lighting, and automation. Aim for 80 to 95 percent humidity, 4 […]
Mushroom Cultivation: 5 Common Mistakes to Avoid
Quick answer: The five most common mushroom cultivation mistakes beginners make are: cutting corners on sterilization, rushing the process instead of being patient, trying to reinvent the wheel instead of following proven techniques, picking the wrong environment for your species, and over-supplementing bulk substrate with extra nutrients. Avoid these and you’ll dramatically reduce contamination and […]
How to Make a Still Air Box — DIY Guide for Mushroom Cultivation (2025)
Learn how to build a still air box for mushroom cultivation in 10 minutes for under $20. Step-by-step DIY guide from Fungi Academy — the easiest sterile setup for beginner growers.
Mushroom Contamination: How to Spot and What to Do
Mushroom Contamination: How to Spot and What to Do Quick Answer The three most common types of mushroom contamination are trichoderma (blue-green mold), bacteria (slimy wet patches, sour smell), and cobweb mold (gray, wispy, fast-spreading). If you see trichoderma, remove the contaminated container immediately. Bacteria and cobweb mold can sometimes be salvaged with hydrogen […]
Best Places to Buy Mushroom Spores Online 2026 — Vetted Vendors
Find the best places to buy mushroom spores online in 2026 — trusted vendors for psilocybe cubensis, gourmet, and medicinal mushroom spores and cultures, personally vetted by Fungi Academy.
