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To the world, finding the magic mushrooms may be a tough and dreadful task. But to a man who knows how to grow psychedelic mushrooms at home, it may be nothing more than a cakewalk. All he needs is a couple of equipment besides a bit of patience for growing magic mushrooms at home.
This easy-to-use beginners’ guide from CBD World Web shall explain every nitty-gritty on how to grow magic mushrooms. If you are someone looking to grow shrooms at home or a newbie who intends on growing magic mushrooms by themselves, I insist you read this one.
This guide is a reliable help for the home-cultivation of magic mushrooms.
P.S.: Growing and consuming psychedelic mushrooms is still illegal in major parts of the world. It is all due to the psilocybin compound found in magic mushrooms. You must know that psilocybin is a psychoactive compound that could lead to several mind-altering effects.
There is numerous research being done to explore the therapeutic benefits of magic mushrooms. Several pieces of research and studies conclude that psilocybin has the potential to cure a wide range of psychiatric and behavioral ailments. Researchers expect magic mushrooms to cure the following ailments:
- Depression
- Smoking Cessation
- Addiction of drugs/other psychoactive compounds
- Cancer-related psychological distress and discomfort
How to Grow Psychedelic Mushrooms?
It might come as a surprise but mankind has been using magic mushrooms or shrooms for several millennia. We’ve used it as an escape from reality and to get euphoric trips. In several parts of the world, magic mushrooms (or psychedelic mushrooms), are used for religious purposes, divination/clairvoyance, and healing. Unlike the ancient days, today the psychedelic mushroom is seen as one of the gateways to drugs. It is seen as a replacement for cannabis. But that doesn’t stop folks from cultivating them on their own.
If you are wondering about where do magic mushrooms grow, the answer is ‘worldwide.’ A variety of species of shrooms can be found cultivated in several parts of the world. The two possible ways to get your hands on psychedelic mushrooms include:
- Purchasing them from a reliable source
- Or growing them on your own
Somewhere I read, finding the highest-quality shrooms may be tough but, there’s always an option of growing magic mushrooms at home. While the former may not always be possible due to the legal scenarios, we need to resort to growing magic mushrooms at home.
Keep reading to know how to grow magic mushrooms.
Growing Magic Mushrooms
There are different varieties of psychedelic mushrooms that one can find across the globe. He can even move ahead to grow almost any one of them, only if he finds the right spore prints. However, of all the options available, Psilocybe cubensis remains the easiest for home cultivation.
Before you start preparing to grow magic mushrooms at home, you will have to gather the following things. Do not worry, the list of must-have equipment doesn’t include anything tough to gather. You can find most of the required stuff pretty easily.
Equipment Needed
- 12 shoulderless jars (1/2 pint)
- Hammer
- Nails
- Measuring cup
- A mixing bowl
- A strainer
- Tin Foil (heavy-duty)
- A cooking pot with a tight lid (large)
- Small towels
- A roll of micropore tapes
- A clear plastic storage box (50-110Litres)
- A Drill
- A drill bit (1/4th inch)
- Mist Spray bottle
Ingredients Required
- Spore Syringe (12 cc, 1 cc for each jar)
- Organic brown rice flour (6-7 cups)
- Vermiculite, either medium or fine (10-12 cups)
- Drinking water
- Perlite
Hygiene Supplies
- Rubbing alcohol
- Torch lighter
- Surface disinfectant
- Air Sanitizer
- Latex gloves (sterilized)
- Surgical mask
P.S.: Once you’ve gathered all the essentials required, follow the given procedure to grow magic mushrooms.
Process of Growing Magic Mushrooms
The entire process of cultivating magic mushrooms can be categorized into 6 steps. They are:
- Preparation
- Inoculation
- Colonization
- Preparing the Fruiting Chamber
- Fruiting
- Harvesting
Let’s explore each of these steps in detail.
Step-1 Preparation
- Disinfect the hammer and the nail using rubbing alcohol. Now punch 4 holes in each of the 12 jar lids at equal distance (around the edges).
- To prepare the substrate, combine ⅔ of vermiculite and ¼ cup of water in a mixing bowl. Disinfect the strainer and strain the combined mixture for excess water.
- Now add ¼ cup of organic brown rice flour in the moist vermiculite and combine the same.
- Take a ½ pint jar and fill in the mixture prepared in it. Make sure to fill the jar only until ½ inch from the rim.
- Sterilize the empty part of the jar using rubbing alcohol.
- Insulate the substrate in the jar by covering it with a layer of dry vermiculite.
- Repeat the steps mentioned above for the remaining jars.
- Once all the jars are filled with the substrate, screw them using their lids tightly.
- Now cover the jars using heavy-duty tin foil.
- Heat a large cooking pot. Place a towel at the base of the pot before arranging the jars. Ensure that the jars do not touch the base of the pot.
- Add tap water until mid-way to the jar. Cover the pot using a tight lid and bring to boil. Steam the jars for about 75-90minutes. Keep adding water if the pot runs dry.
- Leave the jars in the pot overnight after steaming.
Step-2 Inoculation
- Heat the length of the syringe needle until red hot. Let it cool and disinfect it via rubbing alcohol.
- Pull back the plunger a little and shake the syringe to mix the magic spores evenly.
- Remove the foil from the jar and insert the syringe through one of the holes. Inject the ¼ cc of spore solution. Wipe the needle with rubbing alcohol and repeat the process of the remaining three holes in the jar lids.
- Cover the holes on the jar lid via micropore tape and set it aside.
- Repeat the inoculation process for all the other jars.
- Do not forget to sterilize the syringe needle in between inoculating each jar.
Step-3 Colonization
- Place the jars in a clean place away from direct sunlight.
- After about 7-14 days, white, fluffy mycelium should start in the inoculation sites.
- At this stage, if any of the jars appear to have been contaminated, dispose of it in a secure bag without opening the lid.
- Let the mycelium colonies cultivate in the jars for 3-4 weeks.
Step-4 Preparing the Fruiting Chamber
- Take the plastic storage container and disinfect it.
- Drill 1/4th inch holes throughout the lid, base, and sides. Ensure that the drilled holes are 2 inches apart from each other
- Set the storage container over four stable objects to ensure the flow of air underneath.
- Place the towels at the base of the container to prevent moisture leakage.
- Sterilize the strainer. Place the perlite into it and run tap water over the strainer to soak the perlite
- Let it drain. When there’s no water dripping from the perlite, spread it on the base of your fruiting chamber (storage container).
- Make sure that the perlite layer is about 4-5 inches deep.
Step-5 Fruiting
- Open the jars and remove the dry layer of vermiculite from them. Be careful not to damage your mycelium colonies or the substrate.
- Upend the jars to remove the mycelium cakes from the jar.
- Rinse the cakes (one at a time) under the tap water to remove loose vermiculite.
- Fill the cooking pot with lukewarm water and submerge the mycelium cakes in it.
- Leave the pot at room temperature for a day.
- Once you have removed the cakes from the water, roll them over dry vermiculite.
- The next step is to transfer the mycelium cakes into the fruiting chamber that you had prepared earlier.
- Cut small squares of tin foil and place them on the perlite base. Now place the cakes (at even distances) on these tin foils making sure that they do not touch the perlite.
- Mist the chamber using the spray bottle and close the lid.
- Do not forget to fan the chamber before closing it.
- Mist the chamber four times a day but do not overwater the cakes.
- After misting the chamber, keep in mind to fan the same. It shall increase the airflow in the chamber.
- Keep your fruiting chamber away from direct sunlight.
Step-6 Harvesting
- You shall see tiny bumps or mushrooms sprouting from the mycelium cakes after a couple of days.
- By about 5-12 days, your mushrooms are ready for harvesting.
Frequently Asked Questions on How to Grow Magic Mushrooms
1. Is growing magic mushrooms possible at home?
Yes. One can most certainly cultivate magic mushrooms at home. You shall require some equipment for growing shrooms. An easy way is to get a mushroom to grow kit. Using this kit, you can easily grow magic mushrooms. However, you must be mindful of hygiene. Being ignorant of hygiene might infect your harvest.
2. How to grow psychedelic magic mushrooms at home?
One can grow magic mushrooms (or psychedelic mushrooms) at home easily. He can either use the ready-to-use mushroom grow kit or make his own magic mushroom spore prints.
We suggest you consider the kit over making your own spore prints. The latter might be tough and can lead to contamination of the harvest.
3. What are the basic parameters that I need to keep in mind for growing magic mushrooms?
There are certain factors that determine the quality of your harvest while cultivating magic mushrooms. They are:
- Lighting
- Humidity
- Hygiene
- Temperature