How To Grow Magic Mushrooms

Just Thought This Might Help Some First Timers.


How To Grow Magic Mushrooms



Psilocybe cubensis Growing Technique

This method is directed for people who have never grown magic mushrooms before because it is a very reliable way to grow magic mushrooms.

The first time you use the process you should follow the directions exactly and resist the temptation to innovate. Innovation without experience is the primary cause of failure.

If you must innovate because you can not find a particular item or for some other reason, first check with someone that has experience to make sure you are not doing something crazy.

If you have tried this method but still can't produce a crop of magic mushrooms, there is an easier method but it will not produce as large a crop.

A quick description of the procedure

A substrate consisting of brown rice flour, vermiculite, and water that will feed and supply water to our magic mushrooms is sealed in ½ pint jars and sterilized in a pressure cooker, or boiling water. This is to kill anything that might endanger the mushrooms.

After the mushroom substrate has been sterilized and has cooled, mushroom spores are added to the substrate using a syringe full of spore solution. The spores germinate and colonize the entire jar full of substrate.

They are germinated at about 75-85 degrees F, in a dark place. The resulting 'cakes' are removed from the jars when fully colonized, and placed in a terrarium with temperatures between 75 and 80 degrees until mushrooms begin to grow from the cakes.

After mushrooms form, they grow best at 80-90 degrees, with 90-95% humidity in a place that gets some light. When mature, they are harvested and dried. Magic mushrooms you produce yourself will probably be at least two to three times as potent as buying them from someone else.

This is because your magic mushrooms will be fresh and they will have been grown under optimal conditions. Most mushrooms bought on the street are several months old, or older and have grown wild outdoors.

Equipment

***** Mixing Bowl
Fairly large, plastic or metal mixing bowl for mixing up your substrate in. Something with a lid is best, so you can cover the contents of the bowl if necessary. Mixing Bowls can be purchased in the housewares section of most stores.


***** Mixing Spoon
A long, sturdy kitchen spoon for mixing up the substrate after it has been put in the mixing bowl. A plastic or metal spoon is preferable to a wooden spoon. Mixing Spoons can be purchased in the housewares section of most stores.


***** Measuring Cups
A set of measuring cups that includes 1/4 cup, 1/3 cup, 1/2 cup, and 1 cup sizes. These are for measuring out the amount of substrate ingredients. Measuring cups can be purchased in the housewares section of most stores.



***** Organic Brown Rice Flour
The brown rice flour is food for the mushrooms, it must be organic (not have preservatives in it). That's why you should get brown rice or brown rice flour from a reliable source, most supermarket varieties are loaded with preservatives. Be sure the package says organic brown rice flour. Because it is organic with no preservatives, the brown rice will be open to insect and bacterial attack, especially if it is stored for any amount of time. Always store organic brown rice in a well sealed light proof plastic bag or container, and keep it in a dry cool area that is well sanitized.

To make your own brown rice powder, place some regular organic brown rice in a coffee grinder and grind it to the same size as you would coffee. Homemade brown rice powder is as good as the brown rice flour you would buy, if you start with organic brown rice.


***** Vermiculite
Vermiculite is a soft, spongy volcanic gravel used in potting soil. It is sold in various sizes of particles, if possible use large size vermiculite (coarse grade is best), it will allow the cakes to colonize faster than small or medium vermiculite.
A gallon sized bag of vermiculite is all that is needed to start with, it will last for several crops of mushroom. You will be able to purchase a gallon sized bag for under $30.00 at most hardware stores. If not, look in any of the well stocked garden centers in your area.
Vermiculite is a alumino-silicate clay mineral that is mined and heated to expand the particles. It's sterile, soaks up 3-4 times its volume in water, and attracts nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorous. Vermiculite itself provides no water or nutrients, but will retain the moisture and nutrients you add to the cakes.


***** Electric Drill or Hammer and Nail
For drilling holes in the metal jar lids a drill is best, but if no drill is available a hammer and nail will do. The drill bit or nail should be about 2 mm (3/32") thick.


***** 1/2 Pint Tapered Wide Mouth Canning Jars
Both 1/2 pint and 1 pint wide mouth canning jars are common. If possible, try to get the 1/2 pint (about 8 ounces or 250 ml) size canning jars, there are two reasons for doing so. First, the smaller jars will colonize faster (quicker harvest).

Second, the directions for mixing the substrate (next section of this guide) that will go into the jars are written assuming that 1/2 pint jars are used. You can use 1 pint jars like these with no problem, but you will have to double the amount of material that would go into a 1/2 pint jar. The jars must be tapered (sides of the jar slant outward so that the top is widest part of the jar) so that the substrate cakes can easily drop out of the jar. You can sometimes find canning jars in grocery stores, hardware stores, or drug stores. They cost under $30.00 for a box of 12 jars.



***** Aluminum Foil
Enough to make a 6" by 6" (15cm by 15cm) square for each jar. Available at all grocery stores.


***** Rubbing Alcohol
Have some 50% (or higher) rubbing alcohol (also called isopropyl alcohol), or something similar for sterilization purposes. Available at all drug stores.


***** Pressure Cooker
Try to get one that is 4 quarts or larger, the larger the better. You can get 3-6 jars (1/2 pint) inside a 4 quart pressure cooker, depending on the shape of the jars and the pressure cooker. An eight quart will allow you to sterilize 8-12 jars (1/2 pint) at a time.
Make absolutely sure that you know how to use it, and that all seals, valves, and safety plugs are in working order. For most people this is the most difficult item to obtain. New pressure cookers start at about $40.00 each, high quality models cost more but will last longer. Look in the housewares section of a department store.
Pressure canners will allow you to work with a larger volume of jars, some of them even have built in racks, so a maximum number of jars can be sterilized in one session. But they are more expensive and can be difficult to find. Information is presented in this guide for steam sterilization so you can still get by without a pressure cooker or canner, if necessary.


Equipment For Inoculation

***** Psilocybe cubensis Spores
The first time magic mushroom grower should get a strain of Psilocybe cubensis that is easy to cultivate. As one gains growing experience, more exotic, harder to grow types can be tried. Psilocybe cubensis spores can be hard to find in the USA. If you know someone who grows mushrooms, ask them.


***** Pair Of Dishwashing Gloves

Preferably new and unused dishwashing gloves, they can be found in the housewares section of any department or grocery store.

Equipment For Fruiting And Harvesting


***** Fruiting Chamber
Aquariums, camping coolers, and large plastic (rubbermaid) storage containers are examples of suitable fruiting chambers.
When growing in a low light area where you will have to supply additional light, use something with a clear top for a fruiting chamber. If the chamber has a dark top, light will not be able to penetrate to the mushrooms below.


***** Perlite
Perlite is a silicon-rich volcanic rock. It's mined and heated to expand the particles. It will soak up water. For our purposes, perlite is soaked with water, drained with a collander, and placed at the bottom of the fruiting chamber to raise and keep the humidity inside high.
Most people prefer coarse because it is easier to work with but medium or fine perlite will do the job. If you only have vermiculate available, you can use it in place of perlite in the fruiting chamber.


***** Plastic Colander
A plastic colander is for draining water out of the perlite in the fruiting chamber. Plastic colanders are probably best for this purpose because aluminum will get scratched up. Suitable substitutes include a piece of screen or cloth, or anything that will hold perlite but let water drain out.


***** Dust Mask (optional)
Perlite is puffed volcanic glass. When you work with perlite, it tends to be dusty, creating a cloud of glass dust that can be harmful to the lungs, especially if you are asthmatic or have any kind of breathing problem.
Disposable dust masks can be found in hardware stores, often in the Paint section. They are very inexpensive. They can also be used to prevent breathing our germ filled air all over our your cakes and terrariums when working with them.

Procedure
***** Substrate Preparation
Take the lids from the ½ pint jars and use the drill or hammer and nail to poke holes in them. One hole per lid is sufficient, however some people prefer to use 2 or 4 holes, so they can inoculate the cake in more than one spot.
This has the advantage of faster colonization of the cake, since growth starts in several places. The disadvantage is that every time the syringe needle goes into the cake, there is a chance for contamination. So wipe the syringe with rubbing alcohol before inoculating every hole.
Most guides suggest using 4 holes. Make sure that the holes are not too close to the edge of the lid. About 3/4" (2 cm) in from the edge is sufficient. Holes In The Canning Lids


***** Mix Up The Substrate
Using the appropriate quantities as outlined in the table below, mix the vermiculite and brown rice flour together in the mixing bowl, using the large spoon. Add the water and mix thoroughly.
This will take some patience and will probably wear out your arm a bit. If you are concerned about the purity of the tap water in your area, you may want to used distilled water rather than tap water.
In most cases, though, tap water is fine. The recipe below often comes out just a bit more than what you need for the jars.
Simply discard any extra substrate. Don't try to pack it into the jars, because you want the substrate to be airy and fluffy for optimal growth.


***** The Amount Of Material For Each Jar Is

Vermiculite --- 2/3 cup (5.25 ounces)
Flour --- 1/4 cup (2 ounces)
Water --- 1/4 cup (2 ounces)
These amounts are for 1/2 pint (about 8 ounces or 250 ml) jars. Adjust the amounts accordingly if you use different size jars. For example if you doubled the size to 1 pint (about 16 ounces or 500 ml) jars, you would need double the amount of material for each jar.


***** Add Substrate To The Jars
Using the mixing spoon, fill each jar to within ¾" (2 cm) of the top of the jar. It is very important that the substrate mix be open and airy, not packed into the jar. Dump it in, shake any excess back into the bowl, but don’t pack it down at all. Mycelium will grow best in all those little open spaces.


***** Seal The Jars
Carefully wipe clean the exposed inner wall of the jar and the rim. Fill to the top with clean dry vermiculite, screw on the lid and band tightly, and cover the lid with a large square of aluminum foil, to prevent water droplets from entering.
Optionally, breathable tape such as cloth surgical tape, can be placed over the holes. Your jar is sealed and ready for sterilization.


***** Sterilizing The Jars
Place the finished jars in your pressure cooker or pressure canner, and cook them at 15psi for 45-60 minutes, according to the instructions for your pressure cooker/canner. Let the entire apparatus cool completely.
Do not try to open the pressure cooker before it is cool to the touch, and do not try to speed the cooling process, as a quick change in temperature could crack the jars.
Be sure to let the jars cool for several hours, because heat is often trapped in the center of the cake, even if the jar feels cool. This heat can kill your spores if you try to inoculate too soon after cooking.
It’s best if you can let your jars cool overnight. The jars are now sealed containers of sterile substrate. If you have done everything correctly, they can be stored indefinitely until you are ready to use them.


***** Steam Sterilization
I didn't have a pressure cooker or pressure canner the first time I grew magic mushrooms and I didn't want to spend money until I knew that my mushroom crop would be successful. So the steaming process was used for sterilization.
Any pot with tight closing lid, which can hold sufficient jars is fine. You want a hot environment that will kill germs in the jar but not add or remove water from the jars you are sterilizing.
In short, water is added to a pot, something is placed in the pot to raise the jars from touching the bottom and keep water from entering the jars. Jars are placed inside, and water is boiled for an hour or more.
First, you will need something to keep the bottom of the jars from touching the bottom of the pot. A three-piece vegetable steamer (pot, basket insert and lid) will do. Stainless steel vegetable steamers that fold out and stand on the bottom of the pot can also be used. You can even use small rocks or marbles. Then place the jars on top.
Add enough water to the bottom of the pot to cover about one half inch of the bottom of the jars. The layer of water on the bottom of the pan may touch the jars; care should be taken however to prevent boiling water from entering the jars.
Cover the top of the jars with a piece of aluminum-foil and tighten it with a rubber band. This will help prevent any water from boiling up and entering the jars. The extra water would increase the moisture content too much.
Gently steam the jars by boiling for an hour in a tightly covered pot. Keep the bottom of the pot filled with water by checking the water level and adding water as the steam evaporates.
A good tight fitting pot lid is essential for successful steaming. Be careful not to overheat the jars, as the substrate will dry out. A gentle constant boil is what is needed. The jars can be inoculated as soon as their inside temperature has dropped below 35°C (95°F).
I have had a 100% success rate using this method. I have also heard of people getting 100% contamination using this method. I think the difference is due to the fact of my taking a shower before working on all of the mixing and inoculation work. I then work while in the bathroom with just a clean towel on.
I also clean the inside and outside the jars with rubbing alcohol after drilling the caps, then sealing them.
I sterilize everything with rubbing alcohol before using anything that will come in contact with the inside or outside of the jars. That means tables, mixing bowls, measuring cups, hands, etc. The water that is added to the cakes is boiled and cooled before using.
If you don't have access to a pressure cooker or canner, be extra sterile and you can have 100% clean cakes.


Inoculation
***** Cleanliness Precautions
Inoculating your jars is the main step where contamination is possible, and thus must be done in as clean of an environment as possible. If the room you’re working in is clean enough, you can get away with inoculating them in open air.
The needle of the syringe, if not absolutely sterile, can carry bacteria and spores from other molds into your cake, contaminating and ruining the cake. Wash your hands and face with antibacterial soap. Wear clean clothes. Anything in the area of the syringe and jars could contaminate your cakes if it is not clean.


***** Glove Box (Optional)
If you’re concerned about sterility, a good way to accomplish this is to make a 'glove box', an enclosed, semi-sealed box with holes for gloves to go through and a see-through top.
A cheap, halfway decent one can be built for only a couple bucks worth of stuff. All you need is a large cardboard box, some tape and saran wrap to go over the top of the box, and a pair of new, unused dishwashing gloves.
Tape saran wrap over the top and cut two holes big enough for your arms in the sides. Disinfect the gloves and the inside of the box with Lysol spray disinfectant.
A small gate can be cut into the side of the box for getting the syringe and jars into the box, or they can be put through one of the arm holes (if you choose not to attach the gloves to the holes).


***** Oven Inoculation: Cleanliness Simplified
If you have an oven at your disposal, forget all about glove boxes and all that troublesome nonsense. The simplest, easiest way to assure cleanliness during inoculation is to do it on an oven rack. Turn your oven on at the lowest possible setting, and let it heat up.
Once it's preheated, pull one of the racks out as far as it will go without falling out of the oven. (Use a rack near the bottom) Have your jars and spore syringe all nearby, ready to go. Place 3 or 4 jars at a time on the edge of the oven rack, and begin carefully inoculating them with the syringe.
It's a good idea to have a lighter handy as well to sterilize the needle as you go. Flame the needle until it gets very hot, then carefully squirt a little bit of spore solution (if you can spare it) to cool down the needle before sticking it in the cake. Putting a hot needle into the cake will get burnt-on rice flour all over the needle.


***** Spore Injection
Once you’re ready to inoculate, shake up the spore syringe to get as many spores as possible off the sides of the syringe and into the water. Carefully remove the cap over the syringe needle and slide the needle into one of the holes in the jar lid.
Shove it all the way in, so that the needle goes into the cake itself. Gently squeeze out about 0.5 to 1.0 cc of spore solution into each jar, splitting up the amount if you inject through more than one hole. Some people suggest using an entire cc of solution per jar, however I have had great success with only 0.5cc each.
Be careful that nothing but the jar and substrate touch the needle, and re-cap it immediately after using it to avoid contaminating the needle. Also be careful of using too much spore solution.
With spore syringes it can be easy to accidentally push the plunger on the syringe too forcefully and dump out way too much solution. Once each jar is inoculated, it is ready for incubation. Put tape over the holes in the lid to keep out any contaminants.


Mycelial (Vegetative) Growth
***** Incubation
Now the jars are incubated at about 75-85 degrees F, in a dark place, for several weeks. If you have a room that is constantly kept in this general range, this is a good place to incubate your jars.
If not, you will need to find some other source of heat to keep them in that temperature range. Be careful not to use any heat source that could cause fires; a heating pad will usually work, some people have used fish tank heaters submerged in a warm water bath.
A good investment here is a thermometer that keeps track of highest and lowest temperatures, so you can see how hot or cold your cakes are getting.
If they get too cold, their growth will slow considerably, and if they get too hot, they will lose water and eventually die. (They will usually die if they ever get above 95 degrees F)


***** Mycelial Growth
The first signs of mycelial growth should appear within 5-7 days. If none appear within two weeks, something went wrong. (Perhaps the cake was not cooled completely before inoculation, and the heat killed the spores, or the spores simply did not make it into the cake).
This type of mushroom mycelium will always be a brilliant white fuzz, often growing in ropy strands. This ropy type of growth is called rhizomorphic growth, and is a sign that the mycelium will probably fruit very well.
Any other color of mold, including some less brilliantly white molds (cobweb mold, for example, is white but not so thick, and it does look a lot like cobwebs.), is a sign of contamination. A contaminated cake will not recover and, except in very rare instances, will never produce mushrooms.
After colonization is complete it is time for fruiting the magic mushrooms.

Procedure
***** Substrate Preparation
Take the lids from the ½ pint jars and use the drill or hammer and nail to poke holes in them. One hole per lid is sufficient, however some people prefer to use 2 or 4 holes, so they can inoculate the cake in more than one spot.
This has the advantage of faster colonization of the cake, since growth starts in several places. The disadvantage is that every time the syringe needle goes into the cake, there is a chance for contamination. So wipe the syringe with rubbing alcohol before inoculating every hole.
Most guides suggest using 4 holes. Make sure that the holes are not too close to the edge of the lid. About 3/4" (2 cm) in from the edge is sufficient.Holes in the canning lids.


***** Mix Up The Substrate
Using the appropriate quantities as outlined in the table below, mix the vermiculite and brown rice flour together in the mixing bowl, using the large spoon. Add the water and mix thoroughly.
This will take some patience and will probably wear out your arm a bit. If you are concerned about the purity of the tap water in your area, you may want to used distilled water rather than tap water.
In most cases, though, tap water is fine. The recipe below often comes out just a bit more than what you need for the jars.
Simply discard any extra substrate. Don't try to pack it into the jars, because you want the substrate to be airy and fluffy for optimal growth.


***** The Amount Of Material For Each Jar Is

Vermiculite --- 2/3 cup (5.25 ounces)
Flour --- 1/4 cup (2 ounces)
Water --- 1/4 cup (2 ounces)
These amounts are for 1/2 pint (about 8 ounces or 250 ml) jars. Adjust the amounts accordingly if you use different size jars. For example if you doubled the size to 1 pint (about 16 ounces or 500 ml) jars, you would need double the amount of material for each jar.


***** Add Substrate To The Jars
Using the mixing spoon, fill each jar to within ¾" (2 cm) of the top of the jar. It is very important that the substrate mix be open and airy, not packed into the jar. Dump it in, shake any excess back into the bowl, but don’t pack it down at all. Mycelium will grow best in all those little open spaces.


***** Seal The Jars
Carefully wipe clean the exposed inner wall of the jar and the rim. Fill to the top with clean dry vermiculite, screw on the lid and band tightly, and cover the lid with a large square of aluminum foil, to prevent water droplets from entering.
Optionally, breathable tape such as cloth surgical tape, can be placed over the holes. Your jar is sealed and ready for sterilization.


***** Sterilizing The Jars
Place the finished jars in your pressure cooker or pressure canner, and cook them at 15psi for 45-60 minutes, according to the instructions for your pressure cooker/canner. Let the entire apparatus cool completely.
Do not try to open the pressure cooker before it is cool to the touch, and do not try to speed the cooling process, as a quick change in temperature could crack the jars.
Be sure to let the jars cool for several hours, because heat is often trapped in the center of the cake, even if the jar feels cool. This heat can kill your spores if you try to inoculate too soon after cooking.
It’s best if you can let your jars cool overnight. The jars are now sealed containers of sterile substrate. If you have done everything correctly, they can be stored indefinitely until you are ready to use them.


***** Steam Sterilization
I didn't have a pressure cooker or pressure canner the first time I grew magic mushrooms and I didn't want to spend money until I knew that my mushroom crop would be successful. So the steaming process was used for sterilization.
Any pot with tight closing lid, which can hold sufficient jars is fine. You want a hot environment that will kill germs in the jar but not add or remove water from the jars you are sterilizing.
In short, water is added to a pot, something is placed in the pot to raise the jars from touching the bottom and keep water from entering the jars. Jars are placed inside, and water is boiled for an hour or more.
First, you will need something to keep the bottom of the jars from touching the bottom of the pot. A three-piece vegetable steamer (pot, basket insert and lid) will do. Stainless steel vegetable steamers that fold out and stand on the bottom of the pot can also be used. You can even use small rocks or marbles. Then place the jars on top.
Add enough water to the bottom of the pot to cover about one half inch of the bottom of the jars. The layer of water on the bottom of the pan may touch the jars; care should be taken however to prevent boiling water from entering the jars.
Cover the top of the jars with a piece of aluminum-foil and tighten it with a rubber band. This will help prevent any water from boiling up and entering the jars. The extra water would increase the moisture content too much.
Gently steam the jars by boiling for an hour in a tightly covered pot. Keep the bottom of the pot filled with water by checking the water level and adding water as the steam evaporates.
A good tight fitting pot lid is essential for successful steaming. Be careful not to overheat the jars, as the substrate will dry out. A gentle constant boil is what is needed. The jars can be inoculated as soon as their inside temperature has dropped below 35°C (95°F).
I have had a 100% success rate using this method. I have also heard of people getting 100% contamination using this method. I think the difference is due to the fact of my taking a shower before working on all of the mixing and inoculation work. I then work while in the bathroom with just a clean towel on.
I also clean the inside and outside the jars with rubbing alcohol after drilling the caps, then sealing them.
I sterilize everything with rubbing alcohol before using anything that will come in contact with the inside or outside of the jars. That means tables, mixing bowls, measuring cups, hands, etc. The water that is added to the cakes is boiled and cooled before using.
If you don't have access to a pressure cooker or canner, be extra sterile and you can have 100% clean cakes.


Inoculation
***** Cleanliness Precautions
Inoculating your jars is the main step where contamination is possible, and thus must be done in as clean of an environment as possible. If the room you’re working in is clean enough, you can get away with inoculating them in open air.
The needle of the syringe, if not absolutely sterile, can carry bacteria and spores from other molds into your cake, contaminating and ruining the cake. Wash your hands and face with antibacterial soap. Wear clean clothes. Anything in the area of the syringe and jars could contaminate your cakes if it is not clean.


***** Glove Box (Optional)
If you’re concerned about sterility, a good way to accomplish this is to make a 'glove box', an enclosed, semi-sealed box with holes for gloves to go through and a see-through top.
A cheap, halfway decent one can be built for only a couple bucks worth of stuff. All you need is a large cardboard box, some tape and saran wrap to go over the top of the box, and a pair of new, unused dishwashing gloves.
Tape saran wrap over the top and cut two holes big enough for your arms in the sides. Disinfect the gloves and the inside of the box with Lysol spray disinfectant.
A small gate can be cut into the side of the box for getting the syringe and jars into the box, or they can be put through one of the arm holes (if you choose not to attach the gloves to the holes).


***** Oven Inoculation: Cleanliness Simplified
If you have an oven at your disposal, forget all about glove boxes and all that troublesome nonsense. The simplest, easiest way to assure cleanliness during inoculation is to do it on an oven rack. Turn your oven on at the lowest possible setting, and let it heat up.
Once it's preheated, pull one of the racks out as far as it will go without falling out of the oven. (Use a rack near the bottom) Have your jars and spore syringe all nearby, ready to go. Place 3 or 4 jars at a time on the edge of the oven rack, and begin carefully inoculating them with the syringe.
It's a good idea to have a lighter handy as well to sterilize the needle as you go. Flame the needle until it gets very hot, then carefully squirt a little bit of spore solution (if you can spare it) to cool down the needle before sticking it in the cake. Putting a hot needle into the cake will get burnt-on rice flour all over the needle.


***** Spore Injection
Once you’re ready to inoculate, shake up the spore syringe to get as many spores as possible off the sides of the syringe and into the water. Carefully remove the cap over the syringe needle and slide the needle into one of the holes in the jar lid.
Shove it all the way in, so that the needle goes into the cake itself. Gently squeeze out about 0.5 to 1.0 cc of spore solution into each jar, splitting up the amount if you inject through more than one hole. Some people suggest using an entire cc of solution per jar, however I have had great success with only 0.5cc each.
Be careful that nothing but the jar and substrate touch the needle, and re-cap it immediately after using it to avoid contaminating the needle. Also be careful of using too much spore solution.
With spore syringes it can be easy to accidentally push the plunger on the syringe too forcefully and dump out way too much solution. Once each jar is inoculated, it is ready for incubation. Put tape over the holes in the lid to keep out any contaminants.


Mycelial (Vegetative) Growth
***** Incubation
Now the jars are incubated at about 75-85 degrees F, in a dark place, for several weeks. If you have a room that is constantly kept in this general range, this is a good place to incubate your jars.
If not, you will need to find some other source of heat to keep them in that temperature range. Be careful not to use any heat source that could cause fires; a heating pad will usually work, some people have used fish tank heaters submerged in a warm water bath.
A good investment here is a thermometer that keeps track of highest and lowest temperatures, so you can see how hot or cold your cakes are getting.
If they get too cold, their growth will slow considerably, and if they get too hot, they will lose water and eventually die. (They will usually die if they ever get above 95 degrees F)


***** Mycelial Growth
The first signs of mycelial growth should appear within 5-7 days. If none appear within two weeks, something went wrong. (Perhaps the cake was not cooled completely before inoculation, and the heat killed the spores, or the spores simply did not make it into the cake).
This type of mushroom mycelium will always be a brilliant white fuzz, often growing in ropy strands. This ropy type of growth is called rhizomorphic growth, and is a sign that the mycelium will probably fruit very well.
Any other color of mold, including some less brilliantly white molds (cobweb mold, for example, is white but not so thick, and it does look a lot like cobwebs.), is a sign of contamination. A contaminated cake will not recover and, except in very rare instances, will never produce mushrooms.
After colonization is complete it is time for fruiting the magic mushrooms.

Fruiting (Producing Mushrooms) and Harvesting
***** The Fruiting Chamber (Terrarium)
Many different things can be used for a fruiting chamber, including large plastic containers, camping coolers, aquariums, etc. Rubbermaid brand or similar containers work great.
The fruiting chamber (also called a growing chamber or terrarium) must be at least 6-8" (15-20cm) tall, and have enough floor space for the cakes to be arranged with at least 1" (2.5cm) of free space on all sides. Spread the cakes out as much as possible so that the mushrooms have room to grow.
If the chamber is too tall or too large, it may be difficult to keep the humidity high enough. The bottom of the chamber must be able to contain water, and the lid must be somewhat airtight in order to keep the humidity inside high. Light must be able to shine into the terrarium.
If you are using a cooler or non-transparent plastic container, you will need to cut a window into the top of it and seal it with some sort of transparent material so that light can get in but humidity can't get out. For this reason, glass aquariums make very nice fruiting chambers if they are kept at the right temperature and humidity range.


***** Birthing The Cakes
Once a cake is completely covered in white mycelium, you can wait up to 2 more weeks before taking the cake out of the jar. When you are ready, and in a fairly clean room, begin transferring the cakes from their jars into their fruiting chamber (described in the next step).
Remove the lid of each jar, and dump out the dry vermiculite on top. Then, put the lid back over the top of the jar. Slowly turn the jar upside down, so that the cake is resting on the jar lid. You may need to gently tap the jar to knock the cake loose.
Take the jar off the top of the cake and then carefully pick up the cake and turn it over, so it is sitting right side up on the lid. It is very important that the cake is fruited in the same orientation (with the same side up) as it had when it was incubating.
If it is turned over during birthing, it will try to fruit from the original "top" side of the cake, even if this side is now facing down. This is bad, because the mushrooms can't grow correctly from the underside of the cake, and you will grow very few mushrooms.
Leaving the cake sitting on the jar lid, put them both into the fruiting chamber. Once all the cakes have been transferred, you're ready to induce fruiting.


***** Inducing Fruiting (Producing Mushrooms)
In order to initiate fruiting, three main conditions must be met for the cakes:
First, they need light. Only a dim light is needed, anything bright or warm will harm the cakes. A fluorescent lamp or indirect sunlight is plenty of light. Mushrooms do not gain energy from the light like plants do, but in this particular species of mushroom light sends a signal to the mycelium that it is time to produce mushrooms.
A source with a wide spectrum of light, especially containing lots of blue light (daylight and fluorescent plant lights are very good examples of light with lots of blue) is best, but a low wattage (15 watts is plenty) incandescent light bulb will supply enough light.
Second, they need a fairly high humidity. 90-95% humidity is a good range for fruiting. The best and easiest way to do this is by lining the bottom of the fruiting chamber with damp perlite.
A common mistake is to get the perlite too wet, and end up with a swamp of water and perlite that is very difficult to clean up, and will drown the cakes. Get enough perlite to make a 1" (2.5 cm) thick layer on the bottom of the fruiting chamber, and put it into a colander, strainer, or cloth enclosure that it can't slip out of.
Wet it thoroughly with normal tap water, and let the water drain out. Then move the perlite into the fruiting chamber and smooth out the surface. You now have a layer of damp perlite that the cakes can be set directly on, and which will keep the humidity in the chamber high enough for the cakes to fruit.
By the time your cakes have stopped producing mushrooms, the perlite might start getting a little bit skunky smelling. If you want to reuse it, put it in a baking pan and cook it at 350 degrees in your oven until it is dry. Let it cool, and it's ready to be used again. You can add some Hydrogen Peroxide to the wet perlite to help it stay clean a bit longer.
Third, make sure the temperature is in the proper range to initiate mushroom growth, about 75-80 degrees F. Like the light, 75-80 degree temperatures signal the cakes to begin fruiting.


***** Pinning, Fruiting, And Harvesting
For the first week or two, the colonized cakes will generally not do anything. Then, very small black-brown bumps, called "pins," "pinheads," or "primordia" will begin to grow out of the surface of the cake.
These are the beginnings of mushrooms. Many will never grow any larger. However, some will grow until they are full-grown mushrooms. After you see the formed mushroom start to grow, temperatures of 80-90 degrees will promote the fastest growth rate.
A mushroom is fully mature and ready to be picked when the edge of the cap tears away from the "stem" (the stem of a mushroom is called the stipe). Often, there will be a thin veil between the cap and stipe. If this is present, you can wait until the veil tears before picking the mushroom. To pick a mushroom, grasp it near the base where it is joined to the cake, and gently twist it until it comes off.
Immediately begin the process of preserving it, either by refrigerating it or by drying it, mushrooms will begin to rot immediately. After all the mushrooms have been picked, a cake can be made to produce more mushroom by lowering the temperatures to the fruiting range, 75-80 degrees.
When you see the new mushroom start to grow, increase the temperature to between 80 and 90 degrees. Each cake will produce another 1-3 waves or "flushes" of mushrooms, normally with 2-5 days of dormancy between flushes. After about 2-4 flushes, most cakes will be spent, and will not produce any more mushrooms.


***** Aborts
Some of the pinheads will begin to grow, then suddenly stop before they become full-grown mushrooms. These are known as aborts (aborted mushrooms).
Aborts are the strongest mushrooms by weight. That is, a gram of aborts will get you more stoned than a gram of fully developed mushroom. From my clinical observations, by weight, aborts will get you two to three times more stoned than fully developed magic mushrooms.
But aborts must be picked before they begin to rot. A mushroom that has mold growing on it or which has black goo in the center of the stem is rotten and is not safe to eat. It is often difficult for beginners to identify an aborted mushroom before it begins to decompose.
Early warning signs include a halt in growth of the mushroom, and a greenish tinge around the dark colored tip of the primordia that will eventually become the cap of the mushroom.
Always completely remove aborts from the cake, even if they are too rotten to eat, because they can get moldy and cause the cake to get infected.


Preservation Methods
***** Refrigeration
If you will be consuming your mushrooms fairly soon after picking them, you can keep them in your refrigerator, in a paper bag. Don't use a plastic bag to store fresh mushrooms, this will cause them to mold.
Fresh mushrooms are reportedly stronger than dried ones, but can be more difficult to dose. Also, Cubensis is a particularly nasty tasting species of mushroom, especially when fresh.
Many people prefer to dry their mushrooms before consuming simply because drying will kill some of the bad flavor. It should also be noted that some people like the taste of Cubensis, and that the flavor of Cubensis can vary depending on which strain was used and under what conditions it was grown.


***** Drying
The best way to preserve mushrooms is to dry them as soon as possible after picking. It is very important when drying that the mushrooms never be exposed to heat. Psilocybin and Psilocin, the main active chemicals in Psilocybe mushrooms, are very heat-sensitive chemicals that will break down if exposed to heat.
You can get away with drying them in the sun, but expect some loss in potency. Another common method of drying is to put the mushrooms in an enclosed container, like a covered bowl, that also contains some desiccant.
While drying mushrooms using desiccant will dry them very thoroughly, it will also take a very long time, giving the mushrooms more time to decompose.
Another way to dry mushrooms is with the use of moving air. Simply place them in front of a fan (not a heater), and the moving air will dry them very quickly.
An even easier way to air-dry mushrooms is with a food dehydrator. If the dehydrator doesn't have a switch for turning off the heat, you will need to take it apart and disconnect the heating element, making sure to take any necessary safety precautions.
Air-drying is by far the fastest way to dry mushrooms, but will not always remove all of the water from the mushrooms. The drying process can be accelerated substantially by slicing the mushrooms lengthwise into halves or quarters, thus increasing the surface area of each mushroom.
The best overall method for drying mushrooms is to first dry them using moving air, then, if necessary, put them into a desiccant chamber to remove the last little bit of moisture that remains in the mushrooms.
You want your mushrooms to be bone dry and brittle. If they feel flexible, they are probably not totally dry. Store the dried mushrooms in a sealed container, away from heat and light.
You can make sure that they stay dry by putting some desiccant into the storage container with them.
The little desiccant packets that come in vitamin bottles will work to some extent. You can also make your own desiccant packets by wrapping up about a teaspoon of desiccant granules in a paper towel and securing the packet with rubber bands or tape.

Fucking thank you sir!!! haha just what I was looking fer!

Extras
***** Spore Syringe & Spore Print Suppliers
The first time magic mushroom grower should find a variety of Psilocybe cubensis that is easy to cultivate. If you are following the directions presented here, buy spore syringes as opposed to spore prints. Spore syringes are easier to work with and harder to contaminate when using this method.
I can not recommend a place to get them because all of the good companies I have personally dealt with in the past have closed, don't have a reliable product anymore or have taken money from people but not sent any spores. If you know someone who grows magic mushrooms, they should be able to give you some spores, if not they will at least know where to get some. But nowadays I often use Sporeworks because they alot better reputation then some.


***** Storing Magic Mushrooms
Magic Mushrooms lose their strength with age and the two worst enemies of dried mushrooms are heat and light.
Always store dried magic mushrooms in a fridge or freezer in a bag that light will not penetrate.
A good idea would be to enclose the mushrooms in an airtight bag (ziploc or similar). Squeeze out the air, seal and put in a brown paper lunch bag.


***** Informational Sites
Erowid Mushroom Vault - An extensive library of information relating to all types of entheogens, including mushrooms.
Magic Mushrooms Net - Dedicated to the medical, spiritual and recreational use of magic mushrooms.
http://www.shroomery.org/ - Detailed magic mushroom information including growing shrooms, mushroom identification, spores, psychedelic art, trip reports and an active community.

DAMN!!!!!!!!!! I Thought I Was Going To Make It!!!!! I Wish I Knew How To Edit Threads!!!!!

Well At Least It's Still Of Use.

Great DIY man! I have been toying with the idea of growing mushrooms for a little while now. I find it pretty ironic that you have to watch out for mold.

Why. Your Growing A Fungus. Perfect Habitat For Mold. Of Course It'll Grow. ;-D

True. But I still find it ironic that while growing fungus you have to look out for fungus lol.

I Don't But I Still See Where Your Coming From.



People Come Outta The Woodworks When A Good Guide Is Published....

Signin' Out.

damn great guide man! too bad i have no idea on how to obtain some spors

Sporeworks. If Your In One Of Those Fucked Up States Your Only Chance Is Blue Meanies (Weraroa novea-zelandiae). I've Personally Grown These. Crazy Grow. Not Exactly A Begginers Strain. Barely Shrink In Size When Dried.
http://sporeworks.com/store/catalog/Weraroa-novea-zelandiae--New-Zealand-Hallucinogenic-Pouch-Fungu-p-16341.html


If You Have A Friend In a Nearby State You Can Get Him To Buy Them And Then You Can Go Get It. Or If Your Fealing Adventurous Have A Friend Mail Them.




My Brother Has Hives. Just Called. I'm Helpin' Him.

California, Idaho, and Georgia residents: Orders requesting Psilocybe Genera Spores shipped to California, Idaho, and Georgia will be refused, voided, or refunded. Possession of these mushroom spores may be illegal in CA, ID, and GA without the proper permissions.


awww

Cubensis AND Panaleous. Sucks Huh. Good Thing Blue Meanies Is It's Complete Own Genera.

really? so they will ship it to CA?

I Would Hope So. They Don't Say Anything About Not Sending It. But Growing It Isn't Like Gowing Mushrooms. Seeing As How It's Not Exactly A Mushroom. It's A Toxic Fungus Pouch. It Wont Kill You In That Toxic Kinda Way. It Contains Alot Of Different Psychoactive Substances. But Of Course It's Chief Chemical Is Psilocybin.