How to Grow Lion's Mane Mushroom From Start to Finish

Summary

This video from Sportsbro offers a step-by-step guide on cultivating the Lion's Mane mushroom, a popular edible variety known for its potential health benefits, including preventing Alzheimer's and dementia. The tutorial begins with creating grain spawn using field rye, followed by inoculation with Lion's Mane liquid culture. The process involves careful sterilization, incubation, and substrate preparation with hardwood pellets and wheat bran. The video also addresses challenges like premature pinning and provides tips for successful cultivation, ending with an invitation to engage and subscribe for more informative content.

Takeaways

• 🍄 Lion's mane is an edible mushroom that can be used as a crabmeat substitute and has medicinal benefits, including potential prevention of Alzheimer's and dementia by promoting nerve growth in the brain.
• 🌾 The initial step involves creating grain spawn using field rye, which requires rinsing, soaking, boiling, and drying the grains.
• 🔄 After soaking, grains are boiled and then soaked in hot water until they are plump, followed by straining and drying on a flat surface for approximately 30 minutes.
• 🛠️ Grain spawn is sterilized in a pressure cooker at 15 psi for two and a half hours to prepare it for inoculation.
• 📦 Sterilized grain spawn is sealed with an impulse sealer before creating a self-healing injection port using red gasket maker or RTV silicone.
• 💉 The grain spawn is inoculated with lion's mane liquid culture, which can be obtained from the instructor's website, Spornsprout.com.
• 🧼 Inoculation should be done in a sterile environment, such as in front of a laminar flow hood or inside a still air box, to inject 2-4 milliliters of liquid culture into the grain bag.
• 📈 The grain bag is then incubated in a dark, warm area for up to two weeks, during which the mycelium will start to grow and the bag may need to be shaken to disperse it evenly.
• 🍲 A mushroom substrate is prepared using hardwood fuel pellets, wheat bran, and warm water, which is then pressure cooked at 15 psi for two and a half hours.
• 🌱 A fully colonized grain spawn is mixed with the cooled substrate, sealed, and further incubated for around two weeks until fully colonized.
• 🕳️ Lion's mane mushrooms may prematurely pin inside the bag, so it's recommended to cut holes where primordial growth is observed to allow the mushrooms to grow from these holes.

Q & A

What is Lion's Mane mushroom known for besides being an edible mushroom?

Lion's Mane mushroom is known for its medicinal benefits, particularly for helping prevent Alzheimer's and dementia by promoting nerve growth factor in the brain.

What is the first step to grow Lion's Mane mushroom according to the video?

The first step is to create your own grain spawn, using field rye in this case, and making a 13-pound bag.

How should the grains be prepared before being used as spawn?

The grains should be rinsed and soaked overnight, then boiled in water, allowed to soak for about 20 minutes until they are plump but not burst open, strained, and dried for about half an hour.

What is the purpose of sterilizing the grain spawn in a pressure cooker?

Sterilizing the grain spawn in a pressure cooker at 15 psi for two and a half hours ensures that any contaminants are killed, providing a clean environment for the mushroom mycelium to grow.

How is the grain spawn bag sealed after sterilization?

After sterilization, an impulse sealer is used to seal the bag of grain spawn.

What material is suggested for creating a self-healing injection port on the spawn bag?

Red gasket maker or RTV silicone is suggested for creating a self-healing injection port.

Where can viewers find Lion's Mane liquid culture syringes mentioned in the video?

Viewers can find Lion's Mane liquid culture syringes on the website spornsprout.com.

What is the recommended environment for inoculating the grain spawn with Lion's Mane liquid culture?

The inoculation process should be done as sterile as possible, preferably in front of a laminar flow hood or inside of a still air box.

How much liquid culture should be injected into the grain bag during inoculation?

Two to four milliliters of the liquid culture syringe should be injected into the grain bag.

What should be observed after the grain spawn has been incubating for about four to five days?

After four to five days of incubation, mycelium growth should start to be visible on the grain, and the bag should be shaken to evenly disperse the myciliated grain.

What is the recipe for the mushroom substrate used in the video?

The recipe consists of five cups of hardwood fuel pellets, one cup of wheat bran, and five and a half cups of warm water.

How long should the substrate be incubated after being mixed with the grain spawn?

The substrate should be incubated for around two weeks until it is fully colonized.

What should be done if Lion's Mane starts to pin prematurely inside the bag?

If Lion's Mane starts to pin prematurely inside the bag, cut little holes where the primordial growth is observed to allow the mushroom to grow from those holes.