Can You Grow Mushroom From Dried Caps?

Dried mushroom caps bought from the store can be cultivated at home by collecting spores and transplanting them to a sterile growing media such as straw or peat moss. Collecting spores is easily accomplished under a glass bowl.

Spores
- Gills radiate outward from the stem of the dried mushroom.
  
  Mushroom spores, which are the seeds of a mushroom, are contained in the gills on the undersides of dried mushroom caps. Gills are lines that radiate outward from the central stem. Spores fall out of the mushroom caps continually.
Collection
- Spores are light- or dark-colored and easily carried by wind. Collect spores by placing an unwashed, dried mushroom cap on top of light-colored or dark-colored paper that is placed under a glass bowl over night. A light-colored spore will show up best on dark paper and vice versa.
Growing
- Once spores are collected, they should be mixed into the peat moss. Mycelium hairs from the spores expand outward and colonize the peat moss. With ideal growing conditions of 80 percent humidity and temperatures from 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, mushrooms should emerge within three to six months.
Harvest
- Fully formed mushrooms can be harvested and eaten fresh or dried for later use.

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Can You Grow Mushroom From Dried Caps?

Spores

Collection

Growing

Harvest