The Giant Grow Kit

The same steps, but giant

At home, your kit came ready to go. But how did the farm fill those giant shelves? They follow steps, one after the other. They are the very same steps as your kit — just done in a huge way.

Let's follow the mushroom food from start to finish.

Step 1: Make the food

Mushrooms need something to eat. On big button-mushroom farms, the food is a special compost. It is made from things like straw and other plant bits.

The farm mixes it and lets it heat up. Then it is heated even more to clean it, so only good mushroom food is left. This takes weeks of hard work before a single mushroom appears!

Step 2: Add the mycelium

Next comes the living part. The farmer mixes in spawn.

Spawn is like seeds for mushrooms. It is grain covered in mycelium, the fine white threads of the fungus. Remember the white fuzz in your kit? That is mycelium too!

The spawn is stirred through the compost. Then the mycelium grows and spreads its white threads all through the food, like a spider web filling the whole block.

Step 3: Add the top blanket

Now the farm spreads a thin layer on top. This is called the casing. It is often made of a soft material called peat, mixed with a bit of chalky lime.

The casing is like a cozy blanket. It holds water and gives the mushrooms a place to push up from.

Step 4: Pins appear!

After a while, tiny bumps pop up in the casing. These baby mushrooms are called pins. You may have seen pins in your own kit!

The pins get bigger and bigger. Soon they are full mushrooms, ready to pick.

At home or on a giant farm, the steps are the same: food, mycelium, casing, pins, and then mushrooms. Amazing!