Sterilization vs Pasteurization: Which Does Your Mushroom Substrate Need?
Pasteurization or sterilization? Knowing the difference can save you time, energy, and contaminated blocks. We’re breaking down when to use each method, what your substrate actually needs, and exploring an experiment from the Swamp Fox Fungi grow room: 80/20 hardwood sawdust and wheat bran treated at 190°F for 5 hours. Let’s look at what the research says and where there’s still room to experiment.
Aspen Oyster (Pleurotus populinus)
Agar or Liquid Culture?
Agar or Liquid Culture?
If you start digging deeper into mushroom cultivation, eventually you run into two things pretty quickly: agar and liquid culture.
Both are ways of working with mushroom mycelium, and both have their place. They just solve different problems.
So which one should you use?
The answer depends a lot on what you are trying to do, how much you have learned so far, and how much control you want over the culture you are working with.
How to Grow lions Mane Mushrooms at Home
Cultivating Boletes!
What happens when you find a mushroom nobody really knows how to grow?
You try.
In this new Swamp Fox Fungi deep dive, I’m exploring the cultivation of unusual boletes, from the tropical black bolete Phlebopus portentosus to Florida’s mysterious Buchwaldoboletus/Chalciporus hemichrysus. Along the way, we’ll look at the research that has already pushed these fungi further into cultivation than you might expect, and what it can teach us about experimenting with the unknown.
The recipes aren't always written.
Sometimes you have to start asking the questions yourself.
🍄 Read the full post: Cultivating the Unknown
Species Spotlight: Lion’s Mane
A species spotlight on Lions Mane, Hericium erinaceus!
A bit about its history, significance, uses, and some cultivation tips.
Lions Mane is high nutritious, delicious mushroom that is gaining more and more popularity for its possible nerve growth stimulating compounds and mental clarity assistance.
Home Mushroom Growing Supplies List
A list of all the supplies You may need to fire up Your Home Growing Journey.
Does Growing Mushrooms Make You a Better Human?
Growing mushrooms is about far more than producing food. From patience and sustainability to community and resilience, mushroom cultivation teaches lessons that can change how we see nature, waste, growth, and even ourselves.
Growing Mushrooms is Mimicing Nature!
Growing mushrooms doesn't have to be complicated. By understanding how moisture, fresh air, humidity, temperature, light, and genetics work together, you can recreate nature and grow healthy mushrooms almost anywhere! From logs and garden beds to tubs and fruiting tents. Learn the biology behind fruiting and become a better cultivator by understanding the why, not just the how.
Start Your Mushroom Grow Here:
New to mushroom cultivation? Start here. This beginner-friendly guide walks you through the easiest ways to begin growing mushrooms with Swamp Fox Fungi, from ready-to-fruit blocks and wine cap garden beds to low-tech outdoor oysters, agar, and liquid culture.