Mushroom Substrate Recipes
Mushroom Substrate Recipes
Every recipe we use is published here. No gatekeeping — if you want to mix your own, the ratios are below. What we sell is the same thing with the work already done.
Recipes are grouped by material. If you're not sure which material you need, start with the complete substrate guide.
Manure-based
The standard for Agaricus — white button, cremini, portobello — and dung-loving species generally. Higher nitrogen than straw or wood.
Buy it ready: 1 lb, 5 lb, 25 lb, or the horse manure and straw blend.
Don't forget the casing. Agaricus species will not pin without a casing layer. This is the most common reason a button grow colonises perfectly and then produces nothing.
Straw
Cheap, fast, forgiving. The default for oyster and wine cap.
Buy it ready: pasteurized straw, 5 lb.
Hardwood and sawdust
Slower than straw, higher yielding. What the wood-lovers want: lion's mane, shiitake, reishi, maitake, chestnut, enoki.
- Wood chips as substrate
- Lion's mane recipe
- Shiitake recipe
- Reishi recipe
- Enoki recipe
- Chestnut recipe
- Black poplar recipe
Grain spawn
Grain isn't a fruiting substrate — it's the carrier you colonise first. Must be pressure sterilized, never pasteurized.
Buy it ready: grain bags and grain jars in rye, popcorn, milo, millet, oats and multi-grain.
Coir, vermiculite and BRF
Consistent, easy to hydrate, low contamination risk. Popular for small indoor grows.
Buy it ready: BRF and vermiculite jars or the 12-pack.
Simple recipes to start with
- Simple substrate recipes
- How to make substrate: full guide
- Best substrate for beginners
- Best substrate for small home grows
Make it or buy it
Honestly? Ingredients are cheap. The pressure canner, the hours, and the batches you lose while learning are not. If you enjoy the process, make it — the recipes above are complete and tested. If you'd rather spend the time inoculating, buy it.