You have to worry about managing cultures, sterilizing grains, making spawn, mixing substrates and trying to do it all without introducing contamination that could ruin your whole project.
Of course, if you love growing mushrooms as much as I do, all those complicated terms sound like music to your ears! But if you are new to the process you might just be asking yourself:
Of course, you could always try growing mushrooms from a kit… but if you wanted to have a much more satisfying experience, you might want to consider growing mushrooms outside in a straw bed.
In fact, to grow mushrooms outside, all you really need is some pre-made grain spawn, a bundle of wheat or oat straw, a sheet of poly or tarp, and water. I love growing mushrooms like this, and try to have a garden bed or two fruiting mushrooms throughout the spring, summer and fall.
You’ll get mushrooms, but you aren’t going to get the same predictable results you would if you were to grow from properly colonized substrate in a highly controlled environment.
But- you are very likely to succeed in growing more mushrooms than you’ll know what to do with, without going through much trouble at all.
1. Grain Spawn You can either make the grain spawn yourself, of buy pre-made grain spawn. Making your own grain spawn is certainly awesome (I highly recommend trying!) but it is not all that beginner friendly. There are many great places that you can buy pre-made grain spawn online. If you live in the USA or Canada, you can even get it from FreshCap.
2. Straw You can use either wheat straw or oat straw. The best bet is to find a local source of straw. If you live anywhere near a farm you’ll find that many farmers are almost giving it away. In my area, I can get a 40lb bale of straw for $3. If you can’t find a local source, you can always but some on Amazon.
3. A Sheet of Poly You’ll need something to put over the mushroom bed after you inoculate it so that it can stay moist and protected while it is colonizing. You could also use a tarp. 4. Some Space in the Garden Of course, you’ll also need some room in the garden. Try to find a spot that gets the least amount of direct sunlight. A perfect spot is somewhere that gets shade all day, surrounded in tall grass or bushes that can help keep the humidity up.
The kind of mushroom you choose to grow will have a huge impact on your results.
Ideally, you want a species that grows fast on straw, and is resilient enough to withstand fluctuating conditions. If you live in a temperate climate, Blue Oyster is a great choice since it grows fast and fruits heavily on straw, while it is pretty good at fighting off competitors.
If you live in a warmer climate, you are better off sticking to tropical species, like Pink or Yellow Oyster. Stay away from Shiitake, or the wood loving species like Lions Mane or Reishi, as chances of success with this method is low.
Once you have your mushroom grain spawn in hand, and a nice shady location picked out – you’re ready to grow!
Growing your own mushrooms at home is an incredibly rewarding experience. Not only do you get to enjoy the freshest, tastiest mushrooms possible, you also get to watch this fascinating fungus grow right before your eyes. While many people think mushroom cultivation requires high-tech indoor growing chambers, you can actually grow plenty of delicious edible mushrooms right in your own backyard or garden
An Overview of Outdoor Mushroom Gardening
Outdoor mushroom growing has many advantages over indoor cultivation It takes advantage of garden space not suitable for sun-loving plants and provides organic matter and nutrients to your soil as the mushrooms break down materials. It’s also far less maintenance than tending a typical vegetable garden.
You don’t need a green thumb or special equipment to grow mushrooms outside. The basic requirements are simple: mushroom spawn, an appropriate growing medium like wood chips or straw, and a shady spot that stays consistently moist. That’s it!
With a little care and effort, your mushroom patch can provide unique edible and medicinal mushrooms not found at the grocery store for years to come from a single inoculation.
Best Mushrooms for Outdoor Home Cultivation
Many excellent edible mushroom varieties grow well outdoors. Good beginner-friendly options include:
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Oyster mushrooms – Fast-growing and aggressive colonizers that thrive on straw. They include varieties like blue, pink, golden, and phoenix oysters.
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Wine cap mushrooms – Grow quickly on straw, wood chips, and sawdust. These tasty mushrooms are extremely robust and resilient.
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Shiitake mushrooms – Prefer hardwood logs like oak, maple, and beech. Enjoyable to cultivate on totem logs.
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Lion’s mane mushrooms – Produce beautiful cascading fruiting bodies on hardwood logs.
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Reishi mushrooms – Easy to grow wood-loving medicinal species. Also does well on logs.
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Turkey tail mushrooms – Decomposes logs, stumps, and woody debris nicely. Great for gardens.
Start with one or two easy, beginner-friendly varieties like oysters or wine caps. Then you can get more adventurous with gourmet wood-lovers like lion’s mane and shiitake later on.
Growing Mushrooms Outdoors in Beds
One of the simplest ways to grow mushrooms outside is by inoculating beds of straw, wood chips, sawdust, or other bulk substrates. This mimics how mushrooms expand in nature.
Here is an overview of how to make an outdoor mushroom bed:
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Choose a shady site with fertile soil and filtered sunlight.
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Layer spawn and substrate such as straw, wood chips, cottonseed hulls, etc.
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Keep the bed consistently moist as the mushroom mycelium colonizes the material.
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Water as needed once established to maintain moisture.
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Harvest mushrooms as they mature!
Straw-loving oyster mushrooms or wine cap mushrooms, which thrive on wood chips, are great beginner options for outdoor mushroom beds.
Cultivating on Logs Outdoors
Inoculating logs with mushroom spawn is an extremely rewarding and sustainable way to grow mushrooms outside. As the mushrooms grow, they naturally decompose the log and create delicious, organic food.
Here is an overview of this outdoor cultivation technique:
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Obtain fresh-cut logs from disease-free hardwood trees like oak, maple, poplar, beech, alder.
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Drill holes around the log and insert dowels or plug spawn into the holes.
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Seal inoculation sites with cheese wax to retain moisture.
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Place logs in a shady spot and wait several months for mycelium to spread.
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Soak logs before first flush to initiate pinning. Then keep logs moist.
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Harvest mushrooms as they mature. Logs can produce for years!
Good wood-loving mushrooms for outdoor logs include shiitake, lion’s mane, and oyster varieties.
Caring for Your Outdoor Mushrooms
While outdoor mushrooms are lower maintenance than indoor crops, they still benefit from some periodic care:
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Watering – Supply consistent moisture, never allowing beds or logs to completely dry out.
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Weeding – Remove competing weeds and plants around logs or beds.
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Fertilizing – Top dress beds with compost or manure to replenish nutrients.
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Pest control – Address slugs, insects, or animals disturbing the site.
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Shade – Install shade cloth barriers if the area gets direct, intense sunlight.
Take a hands-off approach to allow mushrooms to fruit naturally. But do address any care issues promptly as they arise.
Knowing When to Harvest Your Outdoor Mushrooms
It’s important to know when your particular mushroom variety has reached maturity and is ready for picking. Look for these signs:
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Oysters – Harvest before edges of caps start to curl upward.
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Wine caps – Pick when caps expand fully but before edges flatten.
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Shiitakes – Look for caps opening fully with curled under edges.
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Chicken of the woods – Cut when brackets are moist and vibrant, before drying.
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Lion’s mane – Harvest just before spines start to deteriorate.
For best flavor, avoid waiting until mushrooms release spores. Use sharp scissors or knives to cut mushrooms at their base. Twisting and pulling can damage developing fungi.
Storing Your Harvest Properly
You have several options for storing your harvested outdoor mushrooms:
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Place unwashed mushrooms in paper bags in the refrigerator. Most stay fresh for 1-2 weeks.
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Brush debris off mushrooms but don’t wash until ready to use. Excess moisture shortens shelf life.
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Trim stem bases and wrap mushrooms in dry paper towels then seal in zip-top bags for short term storage.
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For long term freezer storage, clean, slice, and spread mushrooms on a baking sheet before freezing. Then transfer to bags.
With multiple growing options like inoculating logs or creating straw beds, it’s easy to start harvesting your own organic, hyperlocal mushrooms right at home. Outdoor mushroom gardening is an enjoyable way to take advantage of shady garden real estate while producing unique edibles. Give it a try this growing season!
Step 1: Clear out an area for your garden.
5 lbs of grain spawn will cover about 18-20 sqft of garden space.
Make sure that the area is reasonably clean and level. If you are making the bed right on grass, you may want to consider digging out the grass or placing some landscaping fabric over it so that the grass doesn’t just take over.
I decided to just use a few large pieces of cardboard to lay down under the bed.
For my oyster garden bed, I chose an approximately 3 ft x 6 ft (18 sqft) area surrounded in tall grass and trees. I dug out the grass and weeds and flattened everything. I also laid down some 4 x 4’s and cinder blocks to define the edges of the garden. Nothing fancy that’s for sure, but it does the trick!
Time of the Year
The ideal time of year to have an outdoor mushroom garden is obviously going to depend on where you live.
Living in central Alberta, I like to start the Oyster garden in late April, which will give the best chance to get a couple fruiting throughout the season. If you start your garden later in the summer or fall, you will likely only get one flush before winter. In warmer and drier climates, starting in the middle of summer will likely not produce great results, if any.
Just keep in mind that most mushrooms prefer a cool and humid environment, and try to match time your grow with the proper environmental conditions.
Once you have your mushroom grain spawn in hand, and a nice shady location picked out – you’re ready to grow!
The actual process is pretty simple.
Outdoor Mushroom Beds | The Easiest Way to Grow Edible Mushrooms in Your Garden or Back Yard!
FAQ
Is it safe to grow mushrooms outdoors?
Grow Outdoors
If you have a patch of woods, or even some shady shrubs, you can grow mushrooms on logs, turning wood into food. If you already garden or shady landscaping, adding a mushroom bed not only improves soil health, but also gives you another crop to foster from spawn to plate or pantry.
How to grow your own mushrooms outdoors?
- Clear any debris, weeds, or mulch from the growing area until you have bare soil.
- Cover the whole area with a one-to-two-inch layer of wood chips.
- Sprinkle grain spawn over the whole bed.
- Repeat steps 2–3 about three times.
- Top your bed with another layer of wood chips.
Can I grow mushrooms in my backyard?
Yes. Though it depends on what type of mushroom you want to grow and how much dedication you have. The growing conditions for mushrooms can vary widely from species to species, and some aren’t really viable at a small scale.
What is the easiest mushroom to grow outside?
Perhaps the easiest mushroom to grow outside is the Wine Cap, Stropharia rugoso-annulata. This is a tasty mushroom you’re not likely to find at the grocery store. You may hear it called King Stropharia or Garden Giant, as sometimes the caps can grow as big as plates.
How do I grow mushrooms outside?
Growing outdoors involves creating a ‘raised bed’ which will be a container that contains your growing medium and mushroom spawn/spores. This growing bed will be separate to the rest of your garden or yard, and will only contain your mushroom grow.
How to grow mushrooms naturally?
Wood is also a nice natural material to use. This type of grow bed made of brick will also work well for storing your mushroom growing substrate and spawn. On a budget, you can also use a plastic tote to grow your mushrooms in.
Can mushrooms grow outside?
The mushroom substrate should not be heavily disturbed as the mycelium attempts to grow. Lastly, keep in mind that your mushrooms may never grow with an outside grow method. Contamination outside is a very possible issue, and this will completely stop your grow.
How do you grow mushrooms in spring?
Spring is a good time to start cultivating mushrooms outdoors with the bucket, log, or garden methods. Mushrooms thrive in cool, moist environments, so monitor the substrate and mist it regularly while the mycelium is growing and once pins have appeared. Keep mushroom buckets, kits, and logs in a cool, humid place.
How long does it take to grow mushrooms outside?
The best conditions for growing outside are much like the artificial conditions you create indoors. You only need about 6-8 weeks to complete a single full grow cycle, so you don’t need a whole season. For most people, growing during a spring/summer month is best, because the ideal temperature for most mushrooms will be around the 68F-80F range.
Are mushrooms easy to grow?
Affiliate disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy. Growing mushrooms at home is surprisingly easy, especially if you start with any of these 10 beginner-friendly varieties. Low-maintenance and easy to grow in limited space, mushrooms are a garden-corner powerhouse!