Magic mushroom Q&A: the most frequently asked questions about growing mushrooms

First-time growers often have many questions. Don’t let that stop you from getting started growing magic mushrooms! In this article we give you all the answers to the most frequently asked questions about growing mushrooms yourself.

The very easiest way to grow mushrooms is with a ready-made grow kit. You only need to add water and air to get a ready harvest within a few weeks. However, the instructions differ for each grow kit. Be sure to follow them carefully to maximize your harvest.

Magic mushrooms generally have the same effect thanks to the active ingredient they all contain, psilocybin. Still, we can tell from user experiences that one mushroom is not the other. Some mushrooms seem to give more visuals, while others make you feel mostly happy or smiley.

When you don’t use a handy grow kit, you use what’s called a substrate as a nutrient medium for your mushrooms. Because mushrooms are actually fungi, growing them is slightly different from planting a seed and waiting. Fungi grow from spores and need a different soil than a regular houseplant. Good types of substrate are vermiculite, rye grain, coconut fiber, wood, straw or sawdust and even coffee grounds.

The ideal temperature for growing mushrooms is about 23 degrees (constant). With a thermal mat you can provide your grow kit with some extra warmth even at colder ambient temperatures.

You should see the first mushrooms emerge two weeks after the first act with your grow. A full harvest usually takes three weeks.

Don’t worry too much about a layer of white fluff in your grow. Since magic mushrooms also belong to the fungal family, you’ll often see this appear next to your mushrooms.

Mushrooms can grow smoothly in the right conditions. You will actually see them double on some days. Preferably harvest your mushrooms before the veil drops from under the cap.

Yes! A harvest of mushrooms is also called a flush, literally translated a flush. You get an extra flush after that first one by wetting the grow kit or substrate. You can do this by submerging it in water for 12 hours, then letting the water drain away. You can get three or four flushes out of one grow set this way. Each growth cycle takes the same amount of time in this process.

The strength of home-grown magic mushrooms can vary greatly. Between strains, but also between harvests. One harvest can be twice as strong as the last. If you want to be sure you are taking the right dosage of magic mushrooms, use a test kit for magic mushrooms. Psilo-Q’s test kit measures the concentration of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms and truffles.

After harvesting, fresh mushrooms will decay quickly unless you store them properly. In the refrigerator, they will stay good for several days. The best is to dry them. They have to become really bone-dry, otherwise rot can set in quickly. After harvesting, place the shrooms on a tea towel, separate from each other. Do not put them in the sun and not in too humid a place. If you have a fan, you can use it very well. A dehydrator is even more ideal!