Shroom To Grow.
Mushrooms are the fleshy vegetative growth of fungi and are mostly there to spread fungal spores to the surrounding environment. They usually stick out of the ground and are the only visible part of the fungal body. Some mushrooms can appear overnight, and others can take a long time to grow to their full size.
Mushrooms are made up of tightly packed hyphae and are around 90% water. The rest of the mushroom is made of carbohydrates, protein, and less than 1% fat.
Mushrooms can also produce secondary metabolites. These are what cause the different uses between species. Some mushrooms produce compounds that cause bold flavours and strong smells. These make for great edible mushrooms. Other species produce compounds with medicinal properties that humans can use. Some species produce compounds that just look cool, like those that glow in the dark!
Many mushrooms are edible and downright delicious, and some even have antibiotic and medicinal properties. However, there are a lot of mushrooms which produce compounds that are toxic to humans and can have side effects ranging from hallucinations to death.
Unless you’re a mushroom expert, it can be very tough to tell the difference between a safe and dangerous mushroom when foraging in the wild. It’s important then to source all mushrooms you want to consume safely.
Grow-your-own mushroom kits are ready-to-go boxes that let you grow different types of mushrooms at home.
They’re great for a few reasons.
- You can get a huge variety of edible mushrooms that you might not find at your local grocery store. Growing them at home can save you money.
- You can get rare and unique-looking mushrooms, like lions mane, pink oyster, and glowing ghosts!
- You know what you’re growing and know if you can’t ingest it or not. This takes the risk out of foraging in nature and the risk of getting sick.
- They’re easy to grow in a lot of different places, so are great if you don’t have any room for a garden and plants.
Mushroom kits come with a specific number of fungal spores and directions on how to use them. Once you inoculate your growing medium, the handy booklet has all the care directions you need to follow to grow your next shroom crop.
