The first time I picked up a bag of lion’s mane from a farm stand …
- Scott Brenton
- July 29, 2026
- 10 min read
From the lab & the field
Cultivation know-how, mushroom science, recipes, and dispatches
from our Longmont lab — written by the people who grow them.
The first time I picked up a bag of lion’s mane from a farm stand …
Last July I opened a box that had sat on a Denver porch for six hours in ninety degree heat, and the grain spawn inside
A liquid culture syringe contains living mushroom mycelium already suspended and growing in a nutrient solution — unlike a spore syringe, which still has to
Reishi (*Ganoderma lucidum* and its North American relatives *G. oregonense* and *G. tsugae*) is one of the slowest, most dramatic, and most rewarding fungi a
Stropharia rugosoannulata — the Wine Cap mushroom, also known as King Stropharia or the Garden Giant — is a large, meaty, burgundy-capped edible mushroom grown
The pink oyster mushroom (*Pleurotus djamor*) is a tropical, warm-loving species that fruits faster than any other oyster we carry — from fully colonized block
Blue oyster mushroom (*Pleurotus ostreatus*) is the most widely cultivated oyster species in the world, and for home growers it earns that status every time:
Quick answer Contamination means another organism, usually a mold or bacteria, took hold in your spawn or substrate before your mycelium did. In most cases
Inoculation is the act of introducing mushroom mycelium — either as a liquid culture or colonized spawn — into a sterile growing medium. It’s the
The three best mushrooms for beginners to grow at home are Blue Oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus), Pink Oyster (Pleurotus djamor), and Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus) —
Colonized grain spawn is grain that has already been fully inoculated and overgrown with live mushroom mycelium — you receive it ready to use immediately
At Foxfire Mushrooms in Longmont, Colorado, we carry grain spawn, liquid culture syringes, plug spawn, and ready-to-fruit grow kits for a carefully curated lineup of