A lion’s mane grow kit (A.K.A. lion’s mane fruiting block), is a simple yet effective means of giving you bragging rights for growing your own mushrooms at home. I don’t mean to brag, I don’t mean to boast, but I’m intercontinental when I eat French toast…with home-grown mushrooms on the side! Clearly that’s what The Beastie Boys were actually saying in their song “The Move,” no? OK. The methods described in this article come from the Directions section for this lion’s mane fruiting block from North Spore. If you want to grow your own edible mushrooms and don’t know where to start, a fruiting block is a perfect option.
Activating Your Lion’s Mane Grow Kit
To start growing a lion’s mane fruiting block, you’ll need to cut a slit on the bag to your fruiting block to start the fruiting process. To do this, you’ll place the block on its side and see where the fruiting block presses up against the plastic. There should be no air between the block and the plastic. Do not take the sawdust block out of the bag. Using a sharp knife, make a five to six inch cut along this part of the bag. Take the loose flap of the bag and fold it under the fruiting block. You want to release any air from the bag, and pulling the flap tightly when tucking it under will help.
Growing Conditions for Your Lion’s Mane Fruiting Block
To keep your lion’s mane sawdust block at its best, leave it in the most humid part of your home. Alternatively, if your home is super dry, find a clean, loose-fitting plastic bag (ideally clear so you can always see the action). Create many half inch holes all over the bag. Then use this bag to cover the outside of your fruiting block, still be encased in its original bag. Spray the inside of your humidity cover or directly over your slit at least once per day. I sprayed my lion’s mane fruiting block once in the morning and once at night. Mist your fruiting block throughout the day to create higher yields.
After seven to fourteen days from making your incision, the fungus will detect the oxygen in the air. Then it will start to produce young baby mushrooms, also called pins. Between roughly five to ten days after the pins form, your lion’s mane is ready to harvest.
Watch Your Lion’s Mane Grow
Twelve days after activating the lion’s mane grow kit, there’s a cute little lion’s mane fruiting baby poking its little face out of the slit I made!
Eighteen days after activating the lion’s mane grow kit, I’ve got a more mature lion’s mane fruiting body.
Twenty-five days after activating the fruiting block, I finally have a fully mature lion’s mane that is ready to harvest.
How do you know if your lion’s mane is ready to harvest? For the first flush (harvest), you should have a big chonky mass that takes up the entire width of the fruiting block. Also, you will see numerous elongated teeth all over the fruiting body (see image below). The lion’s mane will start to yellow with age, and it’s best to harvest before the lion’s mane yellows.
How to Grow a Successful Second Flush with Your Lion’s Mane Grow Kit
Any yields after the first flush will be smaller but are still worth growing. After harvesting your first flush, hold off on misting your block for one week to let it rest. Then soak your fruiting block in cold water for twenty minutes. Drain any significant excess water that wants to come out of the slit. Resume daily water misting. **Update: I have a friend who sprayed his block immediately after harvesting the first flush. He is having excellent results so I no longer recommend letting your block rest. You can still let it rest, but the yields may be better if you do not allow the fruiting block to rest.
Preventing Contamination in Your Lion’s Mane Fruiting Block
Even if you only need to mist once daily, check your block at least twice per day. The fruiting block is far more susceptible to mold contamination after soaking it. If you notice something round growing and is not whitish in color, this is mold. These mold colonies grow aggressively and must be removed immediately! Take a pair of fine-tipped metal tweezers and heat the tips directly with a flame for 15-30 seconds**. This sterilizes the tweezers and also gets the tips burning hot. Carefully pluck the mold colony, and grab material slightly outside of it to make sure you get the whole colony. Ideally you’ll hear a sizzling noise as you do this. This is somewhat reassuring because you will have likely burned the mold as you removed it, making it less likely to come back. Alternatively, you can sterilize your tweezers with ethanol and pluck the mold colony.
**Note: Please be at least 18 years of age or have adult supervision if you choose to heat your tweezer tips with a flame. Do this at your discretion. I am not liable for any bodily injuries if you perform this technique.
Lion’s Mane Yields for First and Second Flushes
What was my yield for my first flush? You, the people, need to know! Was it worth the money? My first flush of lion’s mane was 1 lb, 1.125 oz. My second flush weighed 8.5 oz (See images below). According to total gardener, lion’s mane tends to sell for $10-20 per pound. I paid $30.00 for this lion’s mane grow kit at North Spore. If we price fresh lion’s mane at $20/lb., then it is $1.25/oz. Since my total yield was 25.625 ounces, we can value this total yield at $32.03. Thus, the yield was worth slightly more than what I had originally paid at $20/lb.
Further Tips on Maximizing Yields from Lion’s Mane Grow Kit
Now I will share a kind of strange, out-there tip to ensure a good second flush (and even first flush) for many people. It either helped me yield a great second flush, or at the very least didn’t hurt. Have you ever heard of Dr. Masaru Emoto’s water experiment? Please look this experiment up if not. Anyway, the basic idea is that water can be “programmed” with good, positive emotions or negative emotions. Water holds more organized structure when imbued with positive emotions. Thus, every time I misted my lion’s mane grow kit, I felt warm, loving thoughts toward the growing fungus. I also wrote “LOVE” and drew hearts on the plastic surrounding the sawdust block (Note: if you do this, try to write away from where the fungus will grow so you don’t get marker ink on your fungal crop!)
A final note on my lion’s mane sawdust block experience: these blocks are pretty hardy. We defrosted the fridge I was storing it in. After defrosting, someone lowered the temperature in the fridge way too much, causing the whole unit to be a freezer. It seemed to be a slow drop in temperature. After a week, I noticed my lion’s mane block was covered in ice on the inside of the bag. I took the block out of the freezer (leaving the bag sealed). I was concerned it may have killed the fungus. A day or two later, I activated the block, and it still yielded two flushes! **I don’t recommend freezing your lion’s mane block! Please follow the storage instructions of your lion’s mane grow kit.
If you are interested in learning about lion’s mane health properties, check out this article on lion’s mane neurological and other health benefits.