Build the Wood Chip Bed

Time to build a mushroom bed

Today you and your grown-up build the home where your wine caps will grow. It is called a bed. Not a sleeping bed! A garden bed made of wood chips.

First, wash your hands. Then let's find the perfect spot.

Pick a shady spot

Wine caps do not like hot, bright sun all day. They like partial shade — a spot with some shade, like under a bush, a tree, or beside taller garden plants.

A shady spot stays cool and damp. Wine caps love cool and damp. Walk around the garden with your grown-up and choose a good place together.

Gather the chips and straw

Ask your grown-up to bring:

• Untreated hardwood wood chips (fresh is best)

• Some clean straw (this is a helper the mushroom also likes)

• A bag of wine cap spawn

Only a grown-up handles heavy bags and any garden tools. Your job is to plan, measure, and help spread.

Layer it like a lasagna

Here is the fun part. We build the bed in layers, just like a lasagna:

1. Spread a layer of wood chips about as thick as your hand, roughly 2 inches deep.

2. Sprinkle a handful of spawn all over the chips.

3. Add more chips on top.

4. Sprinkle more spawn.

5. Keep going until the bed is about 6 inches tall.

Always finish with a top layer of plain chips. That blanket protects the spawn underneath.

Give it a good drink

Now water the whole bed until it feels wet, like a squeezed-out sponge — damp but not muddy or soggy.

That water wakes up the spawn. Tiny white threads called mycelium will start to creep through the chips and eat them.

Great work! Your bed is built. Now comes the tricky part for a garden giant: waiting.