There’s nothing quite like growing your own food at home, especially when it comes to growing your own mushrooms. If you’re a fan of mushrooms and tired of purchasing them from the grocery store, you can start a mushroom farm so that you’ll have plenty of fungi for soups, pastas, and more.
Unlike other home gardens, mushroom farms do need slightly different environments and care. Don’t let that scare you off, though. Most types of mushroom farms actually require less care than a regular vegetable garden and will yield delicious results much more quickly. A mushroom farm kit can also be a great gift for your child if you want him or her to learn about growing food.
How do you grow mushrooms?
Your mushroom farm will likely be pretty small, which is great because mushrooms grow best indoors in warm, moist environments with indirect sunlight. Your mushrooms will thrive on a windowsill inside your home, and all you have to do is water the mushrooms every day. If you forget or are out of town for a couple days, you can simply soak the soil to rejuvenate your mushrooms.
The great thing about a mushroom farm is you can actually water them as much as you’d like. The more water the mushrooms receive, the faster they will grow, but it’s not the end of the world if they grow slower. Most likely, you will be able to harvest your mushrooms only 10-15 days after starting, so this is a perfect small project for the novice gardener.
Mushroom Farm Kits or DIY?
The easiest way to start a mushroom farm is with a kit, such as the Back to the Roots Organic Mushroom Farm or Mini Farm, which only costs between $15-20. The most popular types of mushrooms in mushroom farms include oyster and shiitake so keep that in mind if you decide to try a kit. A lot of mushroom kits use recycled coffee grounds as the “soil” for the mushrooms, which is eco-friendly and saves a lot of used coffee grounds from going to the landfill.
You can also choose to create your own mushroom farm by buying the spores themselves along with coffee grounds or soil to grow them in, but it is much easier and probably just as inexpensive to purchase a ready-made kit.
Do you need to take precautions for your pet?
If you are worried about your dog or cat getting into your mushroom farm when you’re not looking, don’t be. Pets tend to leave your precious mushrooms alone, and even if they do happen to eat one, these types of mushrooms are not toxic for your pets.
