Cardboard Substrate

I wasn't sure how well oyster mushrooms would grow on cardboard - but it's what I had on hand and they're wood-loving so I figured I'd try it.

Shredded and pasteurized. They seem to love it, look at 'em go!

Does anyone else have experience growing on cardboard?

I've never thought about growing mushrooms before... I do like cooking with them though. Is it hard to do??

I always thought it would be hard, but it's actually super easy.

I kept reading guides that overcomplicated it, that said you need all kinds of fancy equipment and a completely sterile laboratory environment. Ridiculously complicated processes, etc

That was so overwhelming that I put it off for years. It's such a niche nerdy pastime that folks love to get really deep into the science of, and that makes it feel very unapproachable imo.

Turns out if you just don't overthink it, boil some substrate, wipe a container out with isopropyl, and crumble some mushroom spawn in with the substrate, get it all moist, and leave it at room temp for a few weeks they just grow on their own.

You can definitely go down a rabbit hole with all sorts of different methods and techniques, but it's easy to feel overwhelmed when the basics are really dead simple.

If you want to grow them, go for it! Get a block of spawn so it's easy to start, or even a pre-made kit to make it super easy and get your feet wet