Mushroom Spores: What Are They & How To Get Your Own (2024)

Most people don’t think about cultivating mushrooms. We go to the grocery store, pick them up from the vegetable section (even though fungi are not plants!), and leave them at that.

However, if you’re interested in growing mushrooms, from functional kinds to magic mushrooms or any other kind of fresh mushroom, you might be wondering - did the spore or the mushroom come first? We're not here for a philosophical wander down the fungal version of the chicken or the egg - but instead, we are here to help educate you about the beauty of mushroom spores and how you can begin cultivating them.

What Are Mushroom Spores?

Before we get into more detail about how to grow mushrooms, it’s a good idea to explain what spores are.

Even though you find mushrooms in the vegetable section of the grocery store, and they’re usually grouped with veggies, they’re not actually vegetables at all. In fact, mushrooms are a type of fungus and belong to a group of plants known as thallus plants.

That is to say, they’re a simpler form of plant that doesn’t have all the characteristics of more advanced plant species – and one of the differences is how mushrooms reproduce.

Unlike more evolved plant species, mushrooms don’t create seeds. Instead, they have what are called “spores” which are self-contained cells that are designed for reproduction. When the spores spread, they are fertilized, and when they land on a suitable material, they put down “roots” and grow.

These tiny one-celled organisms can be found in some of the most unfavorable conditions within the harshest environments on Earth. From there, the spores begin to germinate or grow, before the mycelium, or branching cells, begin to form. Once they branch out, the fruiting body takes shape before evolving into its mature body.

What Do Mushroom Spores Look Like?

Mushroom spores look like fine dust, and they can be a variety of colors. Some spores, like the ones from portobello mushrooms, are dark brown. But others could be white, cream, red, purple, or even (usually with poisonous mushrooms!) green.

Mushroom Spores: What Are They & How To Get Your Own (1)

If you've ever brushed a fresh mushroom cap, you might see a cloud of smoke or mist arise from the mushroom. Those are microscopic spores beginning their adventure as they seek refuge among the soil or the stars.

Cultivation Methods for Spores - Prints and Syringes

In the wild, mushroom reproduction is mostly about luck and wind – the wind catches the spores, and then it’s a matter of luck that they’re fertilized and find a suitable place to grow. However, it’s possible to do this yourself too, and because you’re in control, it’s more a predictable and controllable process!

Proper planning is required for mushroom cultivation. Before you begin it's important to note, cultivating using spores can be a tricky process, as it requires the individual to start at the very beginning of a mushroom's life cycle. And with more steps in place, there's an increased chance of something controllable or uncontrollable going wrong. A great way to hedge against these factors is using tin foil rather than paper or glass. Tinfoil is more sterile (as it can be cleaned with alcohol) and makes transferring the spores much easier.

More importantly, for you, the fungi, and the ecosystem - spores aren't produced until near the end of the mushroom life cycle, so be sure to try and find a mushroom that is mature in age!

How to Cultivate Using Spore Prints

  1. Carefully remove the stem from the fully matured mushroom you want to grow.
  2. Remove any remaining pieces of “skirt” which is the “frill” around the top of the stem that protects the dark spores on the gills.
  3. Place the prepared mushroom cap spore side down on a sheet of tin foil and cover it with a small glass container, bowl, or cup.
  4. Leave the mushroom cap face down under the glass for a day.
  5. Depending on the maturity of the mushroom - reliable spore prints can take an hour to a day to result in a worthwhile spore print.
  6. After the time is up, remove the glass and lift the cap – you should see a spore print on the tin foil/paper.
  7. Now, fold the tin foil to cover the spores and place them in a sealed plastic bag.
  8. These prints can be stored at room temperature and can last decades.
  9. The standard method is scraping off the spores from the print into a nutrified agar plate.

How to Cultivate Using Spore Syringes

  1. Follow steps 1 - 6 as listed above, step 7 is where the change begins when using mushroom spore syringes.
  2. Place the spores in sterilized water.
  3. You can buy sterilized water or make it yourself! To sterilize water, place water in a covered pan and boil it for at least 20 minutes.
  4. Once the sterilized water and spores have been mixed, you can inject the spore solution back into the spore syringe for storage.
  5. With the spore syringe, you can also inoculate sterilized grain or inject it right into the substrate.

Now that you know how to grow mushrooms, it’s easy to see that this is not particularly hard. It just takes a little time and some attention to detail. Add some nutrient-rich material and a dark, warm place in your home, and you should soon have your own crop of mushrooms!

In a nutshell, rather a fruiting body, spore syringes suspend the spores in a solution without destroying them (hence the importance of sterilized water). Spore prints are more like a stamp that can be left overnight and then tucked away for years and years to come. Maybe the fungal prints can be your next white elephant gift!

Mushroom Spores: What Are They & How To Get Your Own (2)

Where to Buy Mushroom Spores

As you can see from the growing instructions above, you could harvest your own mushroom spores from mushrooms themselves. But there are also many websites that sell special types of mushrooms including psilocybin mushroom spores, so if you’re looking for something specific, the internet is a great place to look!

Buying mushroom spores and even premium spores is relatively easy, depending on what kind of mushroom you’re looking for. You can also buy full mushroom growing kits, which have all the stuff you need to start growing your own mushroom crop included. It’s as easy as putting the contents of the syringe on the growing material and waiting for them to sprout!

Where's the best place to buy mushroom spores?What about the best place to buy psilocybin spores? Who are the best mushroom spore suppliers?

Our favorite place tobuy the best shroom spores online is Spores Lab. They have a variety ofmushroom spore strains and psilocybe cubensis spore syringes.

How Long Do Mushroom Spores Last?

Mushroom spores have a very long “lifespan.” In fact, mushroom spore prints can last many years. Some have even been known to remain viable for as long as 18 years!

Once mushroom spores have been prepared in a syringe, they will deteriorate faster, because the water encourages bacteria growth. So, if you have a prepared syringe, you should aim to use it in about 8 to 10 months.

Are Mushroom Spores Legal?

The legal status depends on the type of mushroom you want to grow – and where you live! are always legal, everywhere.

In short, yes. Whether it's medicinal mushroom sporeslike lion's mane, oyster, or shiitake mushrooms, or even psychedelic mushroom spores, it is legal to buy mushrooms spores. When buying psilocybin spores, these spores don't yet contain the magical compound which means they're technically legal. Think about it as a mycelial loophole.

Mushroom Spores: What Are They & How To Get Your Own (3)

The illegality comes into play around germinating or cultivating the spores into psilocybin mushrooms. Since buying spores is supposed to be only intended for educational or research and identification purposes, most people can buy spores so long as they do not germinate.

Sopsilocybe cubensis spores are technically legal. But both the mycelium and fruiting mushrooms contain psilocybin, a controlled substance, making them illegal. So once the magic mushroom spores begin to germinate, technically law enforcement can legally charge you with cultivation or possession of a controlled substance. The same holds true for the possession or sale of fresh and dried psilocybin mushrooms.

So, if you're fruiting bodies are free from psilocybin, you're good to go! Popular strains are lion's mane, reishi, turkey tail, oyster, or shiitake mushrooms to name a few. There are spore vendors far and wide, so make sure you read the reviews or even pop the companies in Reddit for a deeper dive into the legitimacy to sell spores.

But, if the spores will evolve into psychedelic mushrooms, cultivating these fresh mushrooms is still illegal. While the narrative is shifting and powerful research is coming around in the psychedelic landscape, these laws have not bent, although, in time, we believe they will have no choice to bend or reshape completely.

No matter the personal use of your particular mushroom strain, make sure you do your research, understand the rules and laws at play, and decide accordingly.

The Come Down

Spores are literally everywhere! From space to our lungs, to the moldy food we need to toss, and everywhere in between. There are some estimates that we breathe in up to 10 billion spores a day!

As you continue learning if the grow-at-home movement is for you, understand the rules in place. Where your particular mushroom strains lie and why it is you want to grow in the first place matter. To connect with the life cycle of one of Earth's most ancient organisms is... magical. Whether you're talking to the spores or the fruiting bodies, taking pictures and sharing them with friends, or simply being present as you garden, enjoy the process, learn from the outcomes, and have fun growing your fungi (or fungals).

Further Reading

How to Grow Psychedelic Mushrooms

Ayahuasca retreats in the USA

How to pass a drug test

Mushroom Spores: What Are They & How To Get Your Own (2024)

FAQs

How to get your own mushroom spores? ›

Place the mushroom with the gills face down onto the paper and pop a glass over the top. Leave this for 24 hours. When you return, remove the glass and gently lift the mushroom. The spores will have fallen from the cap and you should see a print on the paper, which replicates the gill pattern from the mushroom.

What are mushroom spores? ›

Mushroom spores are the reproductive organs of the mushroom. They are similar to seeds, but instead of being contained inside an outer coating, or fruit, they are released into the air as tiny dust-like particles. Each spore contains all the genetic information needed for a new mushroom to grow and reproduce.

What do mushroom spores need to germinate? ›

When spores fall on wet materials, the majority of spores do not germinate. They need, in addition to water, a physical or chemical activator. 1 This is why all damp surfaces are not covered with fungi growth after a rain or dew.

What can I use to grow mushroom spores? ›

The substrate could be straw, wood chips, coffee grounds, grain or other organic matter. When the spores germinate on the substrate, and tiny, thread-like, white roots appear, the result is called spawn. The tiny roots are called mycelium. Some mushroom starter kits come with spawn that's ready to use.

What to do with mushroom spores at home? ›

Mushroom spores are like tiny seeds of future fungi wonders, but they need your help to keep them safe until planting time. Picture your refrigerator as a little spa for these spores – it's cool, dark, and cozy. Slide those precious spore syringes into a clean ziplock bag and gently tuck them onto a fridge shelf.

What do mushroom spores turn into? ›

Instead of seeds, mushrooms produce spores, which are almost as fine as smoke. When spores land in a suitable place, they germinate, developing the fine filaments that eventually become a new mycelium. Mushrooms usually don't last very long.

How long do mushroom spores survive? ›

Spores in the atmosphere may survive for days or weeks or possibly longer (31–34). Careful data tracking the lifetimes of individual spores in the air are lacking; spores are not easy to observe or manipulate in nature.

How do you know if a mushroom has spores? ›

The spore print is the powdery deposit obtained by allowing spores of a fungal fruit body to fall onto a surface underneath. It is an important diagnostic character in most handbooks for identifying mushrooms. It shows the colour of the mushroom spores if viewed en masse.

Where is the best place to plant mushroom spores? ›

Mushrooms are best grown under-cover, where temperature and moisture can be controlled. A shed, garage, garden cold frame or cellar will work well – anywhere out of the sun where it's possible to give mushrooms their optimum growing temperature of around 15°C (the temperature shouldn't go below 10°C or above 20°C).

How do you harvest spores? ›

Start by choosing a fresh, healthy mushroom and carefully remove the stem to expose the gills. Place the cap on paper or glass and cover it with a bowl to protect from air currents for 24 hours. After revealing your spore print, scrape spores into a sterile container for storage.

How long does it take for mushroom spores to colonize? ›

Colonization occurs after inoculation. This is when the mycelium will start to take over the grain that was inoculated with spores. This period usually lasts between 3 to 6 weeks depending on strain and environmental conditions. Ideal conditions for this phase are in a dark place and temperature between 72 F – 80 F.

What is a spore syringe? ›

Mushroom spores suspended in sterile water inside of a syringe are called spore syringes. Both can be used to cultivate mushrooms by injecting a portion of the syringe into a sterilized grain bag which colonizes and can then be transferred to sterile substrates such as manure, straw, or sawdust.

Can we make mushroom spawn at home? ›

Starting from just 1 liter of sterilized grain and a slice of culture from a petri dish, the mushroom mycelium can be expanded to provide more than 1000 liters of spawn. One jar can be used to create 10 jars, which can be used to make 100 jars, which can be used to make 1000 jars, all within a few short weeks!

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