One of the best things about mushroom growing is that when you have started growing them, you can continue to grow them for years and years without the need to buy more mushroom seeds. It’s very easy to create your own spawn and store it in a ready-to-use refrigerator for several weeks.
Mushroom spawning is simply some type of food that has mycelium growing through it. The food is usually some type of birdseed such as corn or rye grain, and this is used because the mycelium loves to grow through it and because of the shape and small size of the grain it provides many inoculation points (it has a large surface area, meaning it has a better chance of the mycelium “jumping” and growing through its substrate).
Creating your own mushroom seed can be a very easy process when you know exactly how to do it and when you are aware of the possible problems caused by contamination (this is why it is very important to have good sterile procedures). To make your own spawn, you first need your own mushroom spores. Take a mushroom and lay it on a piece of aluminum foil to leave a spore print. Next, add some distilled water to this print (a few milliliters) and mix this solution using something called an inoculation loop (small piece of wire with a metal bend at one end). This will mix the spores with the water. You then need to use a syringe and aspirate this solution. As mentioned above, it is important that the syringe is clean and any other equipment as well.
You can store this spore syringe in a cool place, such as a refrigerator, until ready to use. Next, you will need to get a large jar and fill it with your chosen grain (such as rye grain). Place a piece of tyvek on the lid and seal with a metal lid. It helps if you drill 4 small holes in the lid (near the corners) that will later be used as show to grow mushrooms inoculation points. When you are ready, take the spore syringe and inject a few milliliters of your solution into the 4 holes on the top of the bottle. Typically a syringe can inoculate about 5 vials. When complete, place the jars in a warm place and after about 4 weeks their contents will have colonized and fungi will start to form! Or you can just use this jar of colonized grain and use it as a spawn – the choice is yours. You could even multiply the spawn and turn the 5 jars up to 25! This is done by simply getting more jars of grain and mixing part of the colonized spawning jar with the others. One jar can turn into 10 if done correctly!