Home growers may prepare mushroom substrate jars, from mason jars or other small containers, or pack substrate into buckets. For commercial growers, it’s most common to pack substrate into large clear plastic bags. Mushroom substrate can be placed in a variety of containers. If words like inoculation or mycelium seem overwhelming right now, our article How Do Mushrooms Grow? An In-Depth Explanation will help to get you up to speed. This kills off any competing mold or bacteria and gives the desired species of mushroom the best chance at taking hold. Once that is ready, the substrate needs to be sterilized or pasteurized. Water will need to be added to the substrate and it may also need to be amended with extra nutrients. Preparing Substrateīefore a substrate can be inoculated with mushroom spores or mycelium, first it needs to be prepared. If you want to skip the learning curve associated with making your own substrate, then check out our ready-to-fruit mushroom substrate blocks, which come fully colonised and ready to grow. This provides a blank canvas for your mushroom mycelium to thrive. Finally, your substrate needs to have an absence of competing organisms. Your substrate needs a moisture content of 50-70%.This is necessary for the mycelium to colonize well. Your substrate needs to have a good structure to enable air exchange.(Some mushrooms, like oyster mushrooms, can tolerate a PH up to about 8.) Your substrate needs to be slightly acidic, with a PH level of about 5 – 6.5.You’ll likely need to experiment here to see if you need to supplement with additional minerals. Most raw substrates already contain these minerals, but this does vary depending on where the material came from. Your substrate needs to contain a small amount of magnesium, potassium, calcium, sulfur and phosphorus.Most substrates (like sawdust or straw) need to have additional materials added to them to reach this threshold. Your substrate needs to have 1 to 2 percent nitrogen.(These contain a lot of carbon, which is the main food source for your mycelium.) Here are a few important things to keep in mind when choosing a substrate: What Makes a Good Mushroom Substrate?Ī good substrate is dense in woody, fibrous materials like lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose. So it’s important to match your mushrooms with the correct substrate to have the best chance of success. Different species of mushrooms have their own preferences. There are a variety of different substrates that growers use. The substrate provides mushrooms with the nutrients, moisture and energy they need to grow and fruit. Final Thoughts What Is a Mushroom Substrate? What is it Used For?Ī mushroom substrate is a material that mushroom mycelium can grow and establish itself in.

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