How to Grow Magic Mushrooms – Psilocybin Cultivation

When you attempt to grow magic mushrooms, your goal is to mimic their natural habitat. A home-grow set up in the wrong environment will quickly lead to failed crops and crushed dreams. Always check the requirements for each strain of mushrooms that you grow.

Bacteria, mold, and pests, oh my! Enemy number one in mushroom cultivation is harmful bacteria hijacking your harvest. Sterilization doesn’t stop at the growing chamber. Take the extra steps to sanitize the jars and the surrounding environment.

First-time growers are always eager to taste the fruits (or fungi, in this case) of their labor. When it comes to growing magic mushrooms, good things come to those who wait. The entire process takes approximately 4-6 weeks, from spore inoculation to fruiting.

Purists will make a case for purchasing supplies and growing mushrooms from scratch, but beginners may find diving into the psilocybin deep end a bit intimidating. Fortunately, pre-made growing kits take a lot of the guesswork out of mushroom cultivation and come with everything you need to get started.

Simply purchase a kit, buy a syringe containing the spores of the mushroom you’d like to grow, and you will be harvesting fresh magic mushrooms in roughly 4-6 weeks. Some kits even come with spores, like North Spore’s Spray & Grow Mushroom Kit that will have you ready for harvest in about two weeks.

Choose a small room for your prep space. Put your face mask and gloves on, close the door, and spray the room down with disinfectant. Sterilize all your tools and equipment and wipe them dry. Disinfect the hammer and nail and use them to punch four evenly spaced holes around the jar’s lid.

Mix ⅔ cup of vermiculite and ¼ cup of water per jar in a mixing bowl. Disinfect the strainer and remove excess water from the mixing bowl. Add ¼ cup of brown rice flour per jar and combine.

Loosely pack the substrate into each jar, leaving about a half-inch below the rim. Fill this last part with dry vermiculite. Once the jars are full of substrate, screw the lids on tightly and cover them with aluminum foil.

Sterilize the jars by steaming them in a pot for 75-90 minutes. Stack the jars in an upright position, leaving room for airflow in between. Cool the jars to room temperature for several hours or overnight.

Use a lighter to heat the metal portion of the spore syringe until it glows red. After you sterilize the needle, do not set it down. Continue holding the spore syringe until the needle cools down, then wipe with rubbing alcohol.

Shake the syringe to distribute the spores evenly. Remove the foil from a jar and inject about ¼ cc of the spore solution into each of the holes you made in the lid. Cover the holes with micropore tape.

Keep the jars out of direct sunlight in a clean area where they won’t be disturbed. You’ll want a steady temperature of 80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit.

White mycelium should start to appear in 7-14 days. After 3–4 weeks, at least half of the jars should have successful colonies or “cakes”. Wait an additional 7 days to strengthen the mycelium before moving to phase 2.

Prepare the fruiting chamber by drilling ¼-inch holes approximately two inches apart all over the plastic storage container, including its base and lid. Sterilize the container with a solution of bleach and boiling water. Place the container on four stable objects to allow airflow underneath. Cover the container with a towel to retain moisture.

Put perlite in a strainer and soak it with water, allowing it to drain thoroughly. Fill the bottom of the container with perlite (approximately 1 inch). Repeat the process until you have a 4–5-inch layer of perlite covering the base.

Remove the substrate cakes from the jars and rinse them under cold water to remove loose vermiculite. Place the cakes in a cooking pot with lukewarm water. Use another pot or plate to keep them under the water’s surface. Leave at room temperature for 24 hours to rehydrate cakes.

Remove the cakes from the water and put them on a disinfected surface. Fill the mixing bowl with dry vermiculite and roll the cakes to coat them. Set the cakes in the fruiting chamber on aluminum foil to prevent them from touching the perlite. Leave room between each cake for mushrooms to sprout without crowding each other. Mist the cakes with a spray bottle twice a day throughout the fruiting process.

When your mushrooms are ready for harvest, pinch them off at the base of their stems and place them in an airtight container in your refrigerator. Don’t worry about hurting the mycelium, as picking mushrooms encourages new growth. Each round of magic mushrooms is called a flush.

The most effective method for long-term storage is drying. You can air dry mushrooms for 48 hours with a fan or use a dehydrator. This should keep your precious psilocybin potent for two to three years as long as they’re kept in a cool, dark, dry place. If they’re stored in the freezer, they’ll pretty much last indefinitely.

While growing a batch of shrooms with your own two hands is a rewarding experience, there’s plenty of room for error, which often makes people give up before they even get started. Mushroom grow kits streamline the entire process, making it easy to start sprouting spores in no time.