Lion’s Mane Grow Kit Instructions
Step One
Place your kit box in a cool area away from direct sunlight, but not somewhere dark. An area that gets fresh air, but without strong breeze (like a kitchen countertop) would be ideal. You should be looking into the kit box from the top (the side with the shipping label).
Step Two
You should see a plastic-lined substrate block in the box. Leave the block in the box and cut a Z or an X shape into top of the block with a sharp, clean blade. Your knife can cut into the substrate but try not to go deeper than 1/4 inch.
Step Three
Spray the slits you made with clean, fresh, water 3-5 times a day. Keep doing so until you see primordia (looks like a white blob — this is your baby lion’s mane) start to form where you made your slits.
Optional: Raise the flaps of the box into their open position (you can tape them together). This will create a “well” that retains humidity in the space directly above the block (refer to the photo in step one).
Step Four
Instead of using a plastic bag, this clever customer used saran wrap and a chopstick to make a tent over their lion’s mane. The results were fantastic and they got a great flush!
Once the primordia begin to grow, you can fold down the flaps of the box down onto the outer part of the box so that the top of the block may receive fresh air. Place the kit in the most humid area of your home, while maintaining temperatures of about 50F - 70F. You do not have to spray the primordia, lion’s mane will often grow well without much needing to be done to it. If you are having issues with them drying out (turning yellow), please follow the instructions for making a humidity tent at the bottom of this section.
Grower’s Tip: Water sitting directly on your baby mushrooms along with warm temperatures will increase the likelihood of the mushrooms getting contaminated and dying. If this does happen (you will see the young lion’s mane turn yellow), simply pick away the mushrooms, put the block somewhere with better airflow, and start over from step 3.
Dry mushrooms/primordia?: If you are finding that your mushrooms are drying out at any stage, you can make a humidity tent for your kit. All you have to do is take a plastic bag (clear plastic is a good option as it still let's light through), poke several 1/2” holes in it, and cover the kit with the bag. Then when you spray, you do so onto the inner lining of the bag to maintain higher humidity within the "tent". If you are finding that your lion’s mane is beginning to appear “coral-like” or otherwise not looking like the typical “pom-pom” shape, that means it needs more fresh air. In this case, lift the bag up a few times a day to give the mushrooms some air circulation.
Step Five
Place your grow kits by your houseplants! The mushrooms give off CO2 which the plants breathe and the plants give off oxygen which the mushrooms breathe — perfect symbiosis!
Lion’s mane grows slow, but you should see it become larger and larger over the next week or two after primordia formation. Once the hairs form and seem “stubbly” you can feel free to pick them, or let them grow up to 1cm in length and pick then. Generally, for a denser mushroom, pick when the hairs are still short.
After you harvest you can spray the same slit additionally to encourage a second (or eventually third) flush, which will be smaller than the previous flush. You may choose to remove the block from the box, flip it over, place it back in the box, and create a new slit to encourage new growth.
Even if nothing is growing after your first harvest and you decide to stop spraying, do not throw out the block because mushrooms might pop up when you least expect it! Check back every couple of days.