Mushrooms FAQ

Questions and answers

Q: Do you grow mushrooms from spores?

A: While it is possible to do such a thing, I do not. I grow mushrooms from direct tissue culture, which means that I take a small bit of a likely specimen and put it in a petri dish under controlled environmental conditions. That bit soon reverts back to mycelial growth and I proceed to expand it in the lab until I have a whole bag full of mycelium growing on grain, this is known as spawn (see page for more details). I then mix the myceliated grain with a substrate like straw. The mycelium then grows into the substrate until it has colonized the entire bulk. Once colonization is complete, the mycelium switches to the reproductive mode and begins to send up fruitbodies, or mushrooms. These mushrooms are genetic clones of the specimen that I started with. If I tried to grow mushrooms from spores, it would be like trying to grow apples or potatoes from seed, meaning that I would not know what characteristics the mushrooms would display, since there is tremendous genetic diversity in spores.

Q: Where did you learn how to grow mushrooms?

A: I learned most everything by reading Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms by Paul Stamets and by attending a 2-day seminar at Fungi Perfecti in Washington state, which was taught by Paul Stamets. Paul is remarkably generous with his knowledge and talents, and he is an excellent teacher and speaker. Check out his website for more info at www.fungi.com.