The 9 Best Mushroom Growing Kits for Newbies (2024)

Even the most experienced gardeners hesitate to try growing mushrooms. They seem intimidating, but if you love eating them, there are plenty of mushroom growing kits to help you get your feet wet.

You don’t have to look too far; there are tons of different mushroom kits to make the process easier. Not all of them are worth the money, though.

Whether you’re an experienced gardener who wants to try something new or a parent who wants a fun project for the kids, we narrowed down eight of the best mushroom growing kits to get you started!

Pick The Type of Mushroom You Want to Grow

The first thing you want to do is decide which types of mushrooms you want to grow at home. You can grow common types, as well as exotic varieties.

A few mushroom types you might want to try include:

• Crimini
• Shiitake
• Portobello
• Oyster
• Morel
• White Button
• Reishi
• Pink Oyster
• Brown Oyster
• Blue Oyster

Some of the exotic mushrooms, such as reishi or blue oysters, require unique mediums to propagate. Each type of mushroom needs some sort of material to grow in, so make sure you thoroughly research the requirements of each fungus.

The 9 Best Mushroom Growing Kits

We’ve sorted through some of the many kits out there, and here are the best that we’ve found for beginners.

1-2. Shiitake Mushroom Growing Kits

You can typically find shiitake year-round, and it’s the second most commonly eaten mushroom. It has a wide, umbrella-shaped cap with brown to amber tones.

There are two types of great shiitake growing kits available on the market, depending on whether you want to go the easy route or not.

2FunGuys Shiitake Plug Spawn Starter Kit

This kit is a bit complicated because it comes with everything you need besides the log.

Shiitake mushrooms need to grow in wood, so you’ll need to source your own hardwood log that has rested for several weeks after being cut. Then, you’ll need to drill holes with a 5/16″ drill bit for the plugs.

You can keep the spawns in the refrigerator for several months before planting. Once you use the spawns, they need to stay in the temperature range of 55-80°F. Expect it to take six-eight months to harvest.

Shiitake Mushroom Log

Here is the kit that is a bit easier because it already comes with the log. This kit measures around 12 inches long and comes pre-drilled and filled with spores. Then, it’s sealed with cheese wax.

The log needs to be kept in a cool, dark location and misted weekly. Expect fruiting to take place in four-six months.

3. Gallboys Lion’s Mane Mushroom Growing Kit

Sometimes referred to as hedgehog or pompom mushrooms, lion’s mane looks similar to icicles, and they’re quite easy to propagate and maintain compared to other types.

If you want to grow this type, give the Gallboys Lion’s Mane Mushroom Kit a try. This kit is complete; it contains wood chip substrate, inoculated mycelium, and a tent to lock in moisture.

It’s an indoor growing kit that requires a cool, dark, shady area in your home with a temperature between 55-75° F. One of the nice things is that the kit can fruit up to five times, taking up to 20 days until it fruits.

4. Forest Origin Organic Pink Oyster Growing Kit

When cooked, pink oyster mushrooms have a scent similar to bacon, but it has a short shelf life, which is why you don’t find it in the grocery store too often. You have to grow it at home to enjoy this unique type of mushroom.

Give the Forest Origins Organic Pink Oyster Mushroom Growing Kit a try! It only takes about 10 days to have indoor, homegrown mushrooms. The kit comes with everything you need including the spawn, a spray bottle, and detailed instructions.

This one is an indoor growing kit that contains a block of plant-based materials with the mycelium packed into the plastic. You don’t need to open it immediately; it stores for about 2 months.

While the instructions say the mushrooms can harvest in five days, expect something closer to 10 days, which is still a short time!

5. Crimini Portabella by Willow Mountain Mushrooms

A crimini mushroom is the mature version of the classic white button mushroom that is most common in the grocery store. They’re younger than portobello mushrooms; you can often found them sold as “baby bella” or “baby portobello” mushrooms.

They’re beloved for their rich, earthy flavor, and you can grow your own crimini mushrooms at home using the Crimini Mushroom by Willow Mountain Mushrooms.

This is an indoor mushroom growing kit that doesn’t require any lighting and comes with everything you need. It contains detailed instructions, spawns, and enough casing layers to grow up to four pounds of mushrooms over six weeks!

6. Back to the Roots Pearl Oyster Growing Kit

One of the most popular mushrooms growing kits is by Back to the Roots. You can grow gourmet oyster mushrooms at home in only 10 days. All you have to do is add water and wait for them to grow.

This mushroom growing kit is a gateway for gardeners who are interested in growing mushrooms but need to get their feet wet first. It also is a fun gift.

The kit includes the soil needed as a growing medium, pearl oyster fungal spawn, and a mister for watering. It also includes some organic tomato seeds that you can plant in your kit when you’re done growing mushrooms.

The kit is guaranteed to have two crops, but you can get up to five harvests from one kit!

7. Willow Mountain White Button Mushroom Growing Kit

The most common mushroom is the white button. Chances are you’ve bought them from the store to use in different recipes. White button mushrooms work well in soups and stir-fries and everything in between.

Growing your own fresh white button mushrooms is easy. All you need is the Willow Mountain Mushrooms White Button Mushroom Growing Kit.

This is an indoor growing kit that includes everything you need for growing. You’ll receive the detailed instructions, colonized growing medium, and the casing layer. All you need to do is put it together and water!

It weighs 14 pounds, and it can produce four pounds of mushrooms in a six-eight week growing cycle. The mushrooms pop up so fast!

8. Gallboys Reishi Mushroom Growing Kit

Reishi mushrooms are historically used in Japanese and Chinese traditional medicine. They were consumed as a tea or a nutritional supplement. This fungus has a strong, distinctive flavor, and it grows well inside.

If you’re looking for a mushroom that is a bit different than the rest, give reishi a try!

The Reishi Mushroom Growing Kit by Gallboysd is easy to use and the instructions show you all of the techniques needed.

This is another indoor growing kit that needs to stay in a place with a temperature between 60-85°F. It typically takes one-two months for the mushrooms to reach harvesting time, which is longer than other varieties. You can expect to get two-three harvests per kit.

Reishi mushrooms are a bit different. Typically, after harvesting, these mushrooms are powdered and used to make different teas to better your health.

9. Gourmet Morel Mushroom Growing Kit

Most people associate morels with hunting in the woods, looking for their unique shape growing out of the ground.

If you love morels but don’t want to spend hours searching each spring, try this Gourmet Mushroom Morel Habitat Kit.

This outdoor growing kit produces white morels; you need a four-by-four foot growing spot, a shovel, and compost. It comes with a living morel fungus block, and it needs to be watered once or twice per week.

Growing morels take patience. It takes between six months and two years to produce morel mushrooms. One of the nice things is that you can grow them at any time of the year, except when it’s frigid outside!