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I want to have success with Lion's Mane. I tried Oak logs some years ago and got nothing. I need info on using wood pellets and plastic bags (I have a large basement). This sounds like a faster way to get results than logs. Put me on to a link if you can or share your ideas.

False Identity
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Rick Smith
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    To begin with, a grower will have to wait for two years after inoculation before fruiting commences, rather than just one year in the case of shiitake. – Ken Graham Feb 24 '18 at 23:48
  • I am aware of the long wait and I read somewhere that it could be lowered in a plastic bag / straw set up in a basement. That would sure beat waiting two years for a dud. PS- I saw False identity and thought they were referring to me. I tried to fix the problem for a long time, I'm new here. – Rick Smith Feb 26 '18 at 13:23
  • fungi perfecti sells an indoor kit... that is based on alder chips and sawdust in a spawn bag... I suspect you could do the same thing... – Grady Player Jun 26 '18 at 15:33

1 Answers1

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If this is your first time, I'd go with un-supplemented hardwood pellets.

  1. Order some spawn from a reputable vendor. I'd start with heavy inoculation rates, say 1:5 or better (ex. 1 lb, (or more) spawn to 5 lbs. of substrate)
  2. Prepare your substrate. This page will get you going in the right direction.
  3. I have had pretty good results with lion's mane (and various oysters) using the non-sterile method outlined by Dr. Rush Wayne in his detailed booklet "Growing Mushrooms the Easy Way." The photo below shows the results of one of my early grows on un-supplemented hardwood pellets using Dr. Wayne's peroxide method. Those are small baskets lined with thin plastic bags. They contained about 12lbs of substrate/spawn at a ratio of about 1:10 or so. This required no sterile technique, no special equipment, and the substrate was just hardwood fuel pellets with a few tablespoons of gypsum.
  4. I do now use sterilized supplemented hardwood pellet blocks because they give better and faster results (fruit within a month rather than 2 months if I recall correctly). But it is a lot more work and requires a lot more equipment. But I attribute my continued interest in cultivation to those early successes I had with the peroxide method.

enter image description here

That Idiot
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