In recent years, the consumption of magic mushrooms has soared in popularity, largely thanks to many scientific studies revealing the vast health benefits associated with psilocybin consumption.
Potential benefits include antidepressant effects, increasedfocus,energy, less dependency on medication and enhanced cognition.
By farthe safest and mostcost-efficientway to get yourhands onmagic mushrooms is to grow your own.
Growing mushrooms is fun, rewarding and relatively straight forward to do. With the help of this guide, we’ll talk you through the steps needed to grow your very own magic mushrooms at home.
Legality of possessing magic mushrooms in the UK
Many species of mushroom contain psilocybin– the psychedelic substance found in magic mushrooms.However, both fresh and dried psilocybin-containing mushrooms,truffles andinoculated grow kits are currently illegal in the UK.
Althoughinoculatedpsilocybin mushroom grow kits are illegal to possess in the UK, it is legal to purchase psilocybin mushroom spores for research purposes.
These can be combined with an (uninoculated) mushroom grow kit to grow psilocybin mushrooms.There aremanywebsites selling both spores and grow kits in the UK, however we recommend these companies.
What you need to grow magic mushrooms at home
Firstly, in order to growpsilocybin mushrooms at home,you’ll need the following equipment.
If you’r buying a grow kit online, many of the items below may be included.Alternatively, most of the items on the list can be purchased from Amazon.
Inoculation jars can either be purchased online or you can usecheap mason jars from Wilkos.
For Phase 1of the process you will need…
- 10 Sterilised inoculation jarsormason jars with asubstrate(orone jarpereach cc in your syringe)
- Latex gloves
- Paper towels
- Face Mask
- Rubbing Alcohol
- Mushroom spore syringe
- Hypodermic needles
- A lighter
- Disinfectant spray (e.g.,Dettol)
For Phase 2 of the process, you will need…
- A spray bottle
- Fruiting chamber – this can be a clear plastic tub with a lid
- An area that receives indirect sunlight
- Temperature and humiditygauge
- Something to drill holes into your grow box to allow for air
- Vermiculite
- Hydrogen peroxide (3%)
TheProcess
We’ve divided the process into 2 phases.
Phase 1is when you’ll createwhat’sknown as abirthday cake. This is when mycelium has fully colonised your jar around the substrateand is ready for phase 2.
Phase 2is the process of removing thebirthday cakefrom the jar and moving them to a container where they’ll sprout mushrooms.
This mayallsound complicated at first, however,after several read-throughs itwill become clear.
Phase 1
- Sterilise
Sterilisation is arguably the most important stage ofgrowing mushrooms. Firstly, you need to selecta closedoff space in your house(e.g.your bathroom).
Then,gather all items needed for phase 1 and put on your face mask.Enter the room and close the door. Spray the room with yourdisinfectantspray.
Finally, put on your gloves and wipe your jars with the rubbing alcohol using paper towels, making sure to take extra care with the top of the jar.
- Inoculate
Using alighter,heat the metal portion of your hypodermic needle until it glows red– this willsterilise it. Then, shake your syringe to distribute the spores evenly.
Insert the needle into the port and inject one cc into the jar.Repeatthe process with each jar, ensuring you sterilize your hypodermic needle each time.
- Leave for at least 15 days
Place your jars in a cardboard box, close the lid, and then place in a dark, warm place. It needs a temperature of roughly 80-85 degrees Fahrenheit.
During the first week, try not to check on your mushrooms as they need the dark to grow. After a week you should see a white fuzzy substance in the jars. This is mycelium, the vegetative part of the fungus much like the roots of a plant.
Let the mycelium grow until the jars are 100% colonised by white fluffy mycelium. After you’ve reached this point wait another week and proceed to Phase 2.
Phase 2
In this phase we remove the birthday cakes from their jars so that they can start sprouting mushrooms.
- Birth and soakthebirthday cakes
By now your jars should be fully colonised by mycelium and ready to be placed in a fruiting chamber(a clear plastic tub). However, as they have been in an airtight container, they’ll beinneed of some water. Soak them for 12-24 hours using the following method.
- Get your sterilised plastic container with lid and some filtered water ready.
- Put on some gloves.
- Removethe lids of your jars.
- Bang a jar against your hand, this should release the cake.Try to touch the cake as little as possible.
- Place the cake in the plastic container and follow the above process for the rest of your cakes.
- Fill your container with filtered water and seal the lid.
- Place the cakes in the fridge and leave for 12-24 hours.
Now your cakes are hydrated the next step is to prepare your chamber.
- Prepare the chamber
Firstly, you’ll need to sterilisethe plasticcontainer with bleach and boiledwater and be sure to rinse thoroughly.
Fill your spray bottle with 10 parts boiled water toone parthydrogen peroxide.
Sterilize your vermiculite by soaking another solution of 10 to 1 boiling water and hydrogen peroxide. Then,spread a layer on the bottom of your growing chamber.The goal of the vermiculite is to maintain humidity with the assistance of daily sprays.
Next, place your mason jar lids into the bed of vermiculite, then place a cake on each lid. Sprayeach cake with your h2O/h2O2 mixturebut not too much –make sure a puddle doesn’t form.Leave enough room between each cake, so there’s plenty of room for mushrooms to sprout without crowding.
You may see small mushroom sprouts on your cakes known as pins, this is a good thing as it’s the first stage of sprouting. If you smell any foul odours coming from your mushrooms, it’s possible that your mycelium may have harmful bacteria.
- Step Three
Sealthe lid on your growing chamber andleave it in awell-ventilatedroom with indirect sunlight.
With everything now set up you can leave your mushrooms tosprout.
Maintenance
Over the next 4 weeks, you’ll need to mist your mushrooms twice aday – every morning and every evening. However, this is dependent on humidity.If you’re storing your mushrooms in a room with lower humidity, you’ll need to spray more often.
Harvesting& Storage
Nowyour mushrooms have sprouted, simply snap them off at the base, place them in an airtight container and store in the fridge.They should stay fresh for 3-15 days.
Keep them in the fridge as you would regular mushrooms. To preserve them for longer, you’ll need to dry them out and place them in an airtight container. A food dehydrator works perfectly for this. Make sure to store them in a cool, dry area.
Usage
There are endless ways to consume your mushroom,such as tea, capsules or edibles.
Final notes
There are many ways to grow mushrooms, but we’ve found the method above works best. After you’ve grown your first batch you can experiment and tweak your methodology as required.
Always be safe with dosages, if in doubtalwaysstartwitha lower dose.
Mushroom coffee
If you’re looking to benefit from legal mushrooms, check out this SuperNootropic Mushroom Coffeefrom Mushies.
Made with Lion’s Mane (good for brain and gut), cordyceps (energy), and chaga mushrooms (immunity), it provides a natural boost to brain and body. Read morehere.
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