What You’ll Need to Grow Mushrooms At Home

Mushroom spores or culture 
Glass jars or Unicorn bags
An incubator — you can buy an incubator or make your own
A fruiting chamber — you can buy one or make your own
Substrate — vermiculite & brown rice flour
Filtered or distilled water — tap water will contaminate your inoculum
Perlite — for water retention
A spray bottle — for keeping your substrate moist
70% Isopropyl alcohol cleaning solution — 70 percent works better than 90 percent
A lighter — Bic works, but I prefer using a Zippo so I can leave it on
Nitrile gloves — for sterility
Tinfoil
Measuring cup
Large mixing bowl
A pressure cooker or Instant Pot
Thermometer
Mushroom Cultivation Terms & Definitions
Substrate — This is both the medium on which mycelium will grow, as well as its source of food.
Inoculation — The process of introducing the desired organism into its growing environment.
Mycelium — The underground body of the fungi made up of millions of tiny threads.
Sterilization — The process of killing all forms of life within a substrate through very high heat (>121°C).
Pasteurization — The process of killing most forms of life within a substrate through high heat (>70ºC).
Incubation — The period needed for the mycelium to grow and colonize a substrate jar.
Fruiting chamber — The container used to stimulate the growth of mushrooms (fruiting bodies).

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