Mycelium at the microphone

The 4 Stages of Mushroom Growing

by Timothy Payne on 12th Jun 2026

The four stages of growing mushrooms are inoculation, colonisation, fruiting and harvesting. You begin by introducing a culture to a substrate; the mycelium spreads through that substrate during colonisation; a shift in conditions then triggers pins, which develop into mushrooms; and finally you harvest before the caps open fully and drop their spores. Each stage has its own conditions and timings, and each builds on the one before — which is why understanding all four matters more than m … read more

Understanding Mushroom Spores: An Easy Guide to Syringes, Swabs & Prints

by Timothy Payne on 21st Aug 2024

Mushroom spores are the starting point for every grow — but the format you choose matters more than most beginners realise. Spore syringes are the most beginner-friendly: pre-suspended in sterile water and ready to inject straight into a substrate. Prints are the most primitive form — spores dropped directly onto paper — useful for long-term storage and microscopy. Swabs sit in between, offering a simple, low-contamination method for transferring spores to agar or grain. Each … read more