Species
One page per species, same template throughout, so the numbers are comparable. Temperatures, timings and yields rather than adjectives.
8 pages
Side by side
| Species | Difficulty | Substrate | Colonise | Fruit at | RH | FAE | First flush |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue oyster Pleurotus ostreatus var. columbinus | beginner | Straw, Supplemented sawdust, Coffee grounds, Cardboard | 70–75°F 10–14d | 55–65°F | 85–95% | very high | 5–9d |
| Lion's mane Hericium erinaceus | intermediate | Supplemented hardwood sawdust, Master's Mix, Hardwood logs | 70–75°F 14–21d | 60–70°F | 85–95% | high | 7–12d |
| Shiitake Lentinula edodes | advanced | Supplemented hardwood sawdust, Master's Mix, Oak logs | 70–75°F 30–60d | 55–70°F | 80–90% | high | 7–14d |
| King oyster Pleurotus eryngii | intermediate | Supplemented hardwood sawdust, Master's Mix | 70–75°F 14–21d | 55–65°F | 85–92% | very high | 7–12d |
| Pink oyster Pleurotus djamor | beginner | Straw, Supplemented sawdust, Coffee grounds, Cardboard | 75–85°F 7–12d | 70–85°F | 85–95% | very high | 3–6d |
| Reishi Ganoderma lucidum | intermediate | Supplemented hardwood sawdust, Master's Mix, Hardwood logs | 75–85°F 21–35d | 70–85°F | 85–95% | low | 14–30d |
| Turkey tail Trametes versicolor | beginner | Supplemented hardwood sawdust, Hardwood logs, Wood chips | 70–78°F 14–25d | 60–75°F | 85–95% | high | 14–28d |
| Wine cap Stropharia rugosoannulata | beginner | Hardwood chips, Straw, Straw and chip blends | 60–80°F 30–90d | 55–75°F | 80–95% | high | 60–180d |
Ranges are working figures, not guarantees. Strain, substrate supplementation and how well your chamber actually holds humidity all move these numbers.
Gourmet
Blue oyster
The species to start with. Fast, aggressive, forgiving of technique, and it fruits at room temperature on almost anything.
Lion's mane
A toothed, cascading fruiting body with crab-like texture. Easy to colonise, fussy to fruit well, and the most commercially valuable of the beginner-accessible species.
Shiitake
The most demanding of the common gourmet species and the most rewarding. Long colonisation, a browning phase, and a cold shock — and then it fruits for months.
King oyster
Thick-stemmed, dense, and the closest thing to a scallop in the fungal kingdom. Fussier about CO₂ than any other oyster and worth the trouble.
Pink oyster
The fastest mushroom you can grow and the only one that likes it hot. Spectacular colour, a two-week turnaround, and a shelf life measured in days.
Wine cap
An outdoor species that grows in wood chip beds with almost no intervention. The lowest-effort mushroom there is, if you have a shaded patch of ground.
Functional
Grown for traditional and culinary use. See what the research actually says for how the evidence is described on this site.
Reishi
Grown for tea and for its appearance rather than for eating — it's too woody and bitter to be food. The one species where you choose its shape by controlling CO₂.
Turkey tail
Thin banded brackets found on dead hardwood worldwide. Easy to grow, impossible to eat, and the functional species with the most substantial clinical literature behind it.