How to Grow Mushrooms in a Grow Bag: A Comprehensive Guide

Let’s take a look at what exactly a grow bag is and how it works.

Growing mushrooms at home is a great hobby for all ages. Not only will you be able to watch the fascinating process of a growing organism, you’ll also be able to add freshly grown mushrooms to your diet. Moreover, mushrooms are also relatively low-maintenance and do not need to be tended to too often, making them ideal for those with busy schedules. 

In this post, we take a closer look at what exactly a grow bag is and how it works. We also explore the different steps that go into mushroom growing to give you a better understanding of the process in general. 

What is a Grow Bag?

A mushroom grow bag is a term that can generally be used to refer to a specially designed bag containing a substrate that mushrooms can grow in. This bag is typically made with a breathable plastic or fabric material and inoculated with mushroom liquid cultures to kickstart the growing process. Depending on the type of mushroom that you are trying to grow, there are also many different types of substrates you can choose from, such as hardwood and various grains. 

How to Grow Mushrooms in a Grow Bag

If you’re new to mushroom cultivation, it’s easy to feel daunted by the seemingly complicated process. However, in reality, growing mushrooms is much simpler than most people think, especially with a grow bag. This process can generally be broken down into five simple steps, regardless of the type of mushroom you want to grow. 

1. Grow Bag Preparation

First and foremost, you will need to prepare a grow bag with the substrate of your choice. This step involves sterilizing the bag and ensuring that the substrate does not contain any microorganisms that might impede the growth of the mushroom culture. 

While some more experienced mushroom growers might prefer to prepare their own substrates for their grow bags, a premade one – such as the grow bags available from our online store – can vastly simplify the process and make it significantly easier to get started with mushroom growing. (See below for grain bags vs. hardwood substrate bags, and when it’s best to use each grow bag type.) 

2. Inoculation

After the growing medium for the mushrooms has been prepared, the next step is to inoculate it with the mushroom culture. Simply put, this involves spreading out mushroom spores throughout the substrate, which can typically be done with a syringe and a liquid culture.

Done correctly, these spores will form a mycelium that enables the mushroom to absorb nutrients, much like the roots of a plant. 

3. Incubation

Once the grow bag has been inoculated with the mushroom culture, it becomes a waiting game. This stage of the mushroom growing process involves placing the grow bag in a dark, warm environment that is conducive for the mushroom mycelium to spread throughout the grow bag and colonize the substrate. 

This stage can vary in length, depending on the variety of mushroom that you’re trying to grow. Some varieties such as the yellow oyster mushroom can colonize a grow bag in as little as 1-3 weeks, enabling you to harvest in as little as a month. On the other hand, certain varieties such as the shiitake mushroom have a longer incubation period of between 3-6 weeks. 

4. Fruiting

Once the mushroom mycelium has completely colonized the grow bag, you will then need to move it to a cooler environment with more light and humidity. This encourages the mushroom to begin fruiting, a term which refers to the growth of the edible parts of the mushroom that most people are familiar with. 

5. Harvesting

Finally, once the mushrooms have reached an adequate size, you can harvest them and consume them in your favorite recipes.

Some varieties of mushrooms such as the pearl oyster mushroom typically also have multiple flushes over the span of a few weeks or a few months, meaning that you can harvest them from the same grow bag multiple times. 

The Importance of Getting High Quality Mushroom Growing Supplies

If you’re planning to try your hand at growing mushrooms at home and want to use a premade grow bag for the added convenience and best yields, it is crucial that you use only the highest quality supplies to minimize your risk of a failed batch. Poorly prepared grow bags can sometimes have contaminants that may affect your mushroom yield — or even potentially prevent your mushrooms from growing altogether. 

Nonetheless, you won’t need to worry much about all that if you get your mushroom growing supplies from Good Mushroom. We understand the importance of proper grow bag preparation, which is why all our grow bags are properly sterilized in commercial autoclaves and come with a 100% quality guarantee! We also offer two types of substrates for our grow bags: hardwood and grain.

Hardwood Substrate Grow Bag

Our hardwood substrate grow bag is made using 4 pounds of hardwood with a micron filter to prevent any external contaminants from entering the bag. We also add our proprietary blend of grains including organic rye berry and millet to the bag which help to provide nutrients that promote mushroom growth. 

We have also perfected our hardwood substrate over many rounds of research and development to ensure that it is able to consistently produce large flushes. Our hardwood substrate grow bag is ideal for any variety of hardwood-loving mushroom, including the shiitake mushroom, Lion’s Mane mushroom and maitake.

Starter Grain Grow Bag

Our starter grain grow bag consists of 2 pounds of our carefully prepared blend of starter grains including organic hard white wheat berry, rye berry and millet. Compared to our hardwood substrate grow bag, our starter grain grow bag is smaller and thus also more beginner-friendly. It even comes with an in-built injection port to take away any uncertainty you might have about the inoculation process. 

If you’re looking for a relatively low-cost way to pick up mushroom growing as a hobby, this is the ideal grow bag for you. The grain substrate is also perfect for growing many popular varieties of mushrooms that are used in many cuisines, such as the enoki mushroom as well as the king trumpet mushroom.