The most followed cultivation guide on the internet: Shroomscout’s “Mushrooms for the Mind” cultivation guide.

https://reddit.com/link/1ebdvn1/video/973nfmoegjed1/player

I’ll break this write-up into 4 posts. At the bottom of each post will be a summary in bold. You can find material lists in Part 2 and Part 3.

• Part 1: Introduction and Choosing What to Grow
• Part 2: Spawn Grain, Inoculation, and Colonization
• Part 3: Spawning to Bulk and Fruiting
• Part 4: Harvesting, Drying, and Preparing for the Next Flush

Intro: How Mushrooms and Mycelium Grow (do not skip!)

Credit to https://rainbo.com/blogs/blog/the-mushroom-life-cycle

What most people know as “mushrooms” are only the small reproductive part of the entire organism. Like an iceberg, most of the living tissue is actually found below the surface. When two microscopic mushroom spores meet in a pile of organic plant matter, they germinate and start producing mycelium. These microscopic threads begin forming a colony within the organic matter and absorb the available water and nutrients to produce an impressive mycelial network. After colonizing all the available nutrients, the mycelium turns its focus to reproduction.

To spread its spores, the mycelium forms into baby mushrooms, also known as pins. To produce these pins, the right fruiting conditions need to occur. Once the nutrients have been colonized and the mycelium reaches fresh air, the organism is ready for reproduction. The next rainstorm provides the moisture necessary, and the pins inflate upwards with the stored water into mature mushrooms.

Once mature, the mushrooms open their caps and drop their spores, withering away to ensure the success of their genetics.

To cultivate your own mushrooms, you need to replicate this process indoors.

Intro: Legality of Mushrooms, Mycelium, and Spores

Remember Rule #1: No sourcing discussion allowed in r/unclebens (see Rules for more info as to why).

Psilocybin is the nontoxic, non-addictive psychedelic compound found in “magic” mushrooms. There are more than 180 species of Psilocybin-producing mushrooms that grow across every continent. For 99% of hobbyists, the species to cultivate is Psilocybe cubensis, also known as "cubes”. These are the easiest and most cultivated species of psilocybin mushrooms.

The sale of cubensis mushrooms is illegal across most of the world not because of the mushrooms being a controlled substance themselves, but because mature psychedelic mushrooms produce psilocybin. Psilocybin is the only thing mentioned in the Controlled Substances Act, because mushrooms aren’t illegal—psilocybin is. However, the spores of these mushrooms do not contain psilocybin and are legal to sell, purchase, and possess in most locations. In the US, only 3 unlucky states (California, Georgia, and Idaho) have specific laws preventing the sale or purchase of spores. Spores are sold in "multi spore syringes", which contain many thousand microscopic spores diluted in a sterile water syringe.

In the last few years, a better alternative to spores became available from many vendors online. Liquid Culture syringes contain live mycelium in sterile solution, similar to spores. Liquid Culture syringes are superior to spore syringes in almost every way, but have a more complicated history in a grey area of the law. More on Liquid Cultures later.

Either type of syringe can be purchased from vendors online. You can find several popular and legitimate vendors even on the first page of google, but as always, do your research before giving any vendor your money. My personally trusted vendors are recommended in this guide, since it’s the most commonly asked question.

Some countries/states/counties/individual cities have finally approved legislation to allow the cultivation or possession of small personal amounts of psilocybin mushrooms. In many places across Canada and the US, local law enforcement has made prosecuting psilocybin-related arrests their lowest priority after evidence has pointed to no increase in crime related to psilocybin decriminalization, as well as the immense therapeutic and antidepressant benefits psilocybin studies have shown. Make sure to check with the jurisdiction of your area before attempting cultivation of any cubensis mushroom.

Intro: What is inoculation/colonization?

Here I inoculate a jar of sterilized grain with a spore syringe.

Once you have your syringes, you need to inject your spores or Liquid Culture into hydrated and nutrient-rich grains to produce your mycelium. This step is known as inoculation and is followed by colonization. When your grains are colonized, we call them Spawn Grain.

Different stages of mycelium colonizing sterilized grains over time.

A bag of Ready Rice spawn grain, fully colonized by mycelium visible through the bottom window.

You can buy premade, ready-to-inoculate grain from the store in the form of Ready Rice (more on this in Part 2), or you can make your own DIY Jars of spawn grain. You can inoculate nearly any hydrated and sterilized grain, including Brown Rice, Whole Oats, Millet, Rye Berries, Wild Bird Seed, Corn… you name it. But there's one major problem:

Intro: Contamination is the biggest obstacle

This contaminated bag of ready rice could have been the result of a contaminated syringe, poor sterile technique when inoculating, a bad Gas Exchange filter, or many other factors.

Mycelium's requirements of water, nutrients, and warmth are all the perfect breeding ground for mold, mildew, and bacteria. These contaminants live on our skin, on our surfaces, and even in the air we breathe. Normally it’s not a problem to our immune system, but the largest obstacle in mushroom cultivation is contamination, and it will ruin an entire grow and needs to be avoided at all costs. So, you need to make sure that your grains are hydrated, warm, and EXTREMELY sterile.

Intro: What is Spawning to Bulk/Fruiting?

A jar colonized grain was “Spawned to Bulk” in this tub. With the right “Fruiting Conditions”, mushrooms formed and matured.

As covered in Part 3, the basics of spawning to bulk are simple:

First, your spawn grains need to be 100% fully colonized. Then, you will need to mix your grains into a bulk substrate. After the mycelium has reconnected with itself in the new substrate, you need to introduce Fruiting Conditions. This involves simulating fresh air, rain, and a little bit of sunlight. Within a few days, a Flush (or group) of mushrooms will grow from your colonized surface. Once you grow your first flush, you can then harvest and dehydrate your mushrooms, and feel proud for accomplishing something incredibly rewarding.

With only a little time, money, and effort, you WILL be able to grow psilocybin mushrooms at home.

SUMMARY OF INTRODUCTION:

• Mushrooms grow from spores into mycelium, and mycelium into mushrooms.
• Cultivation is mostly focused on P. cubensis species.
• While mature psilocybin mushrooms themselves are illegal to purchase, spore syringes (and in some cases, Liquid Culture syringes) are 100% legal to purchase and possess in most locations.
• Once the mycelium has fully colonized the available nutrients, it waits for fruiting conditions.
• Once fruiting conditions occur, it creates mushrooms to drop its spores into the breeze.
• You are replicating nature by colonizing sterile grains, then creating fruiting conditions indoors.

And that's the basics of cultivation. If this information seemed overwhelming, hang in there as I simplify and break it all down in the following guide. If you still have doubts**, I promise that you can do this**. The original cultivation guide I posted on Reddit years ago has received more than a thousand awards, helping hundreds of thousands of beginners cultivate, while catching the attention of the mushroom industry as well as mainstream media. Every week we see countless beginners post their harvested results here in r/unclebens. If they can do it, so can you. So, grab a pen and a pad for some notes, and learn everything you need to know about cultivating mushrooms from start to finish.

It just might be one of the most important decisions you make in your life.

Part 1: Choosing your Syringes

Your first step in cultivation is to obtain either a few spore syringes or a few liquid culture syringes from a reputable vendor. My personal recommendations can be found in Part 2. Vendors cannot legally advertise or sell syringes specifically for use in cultivation. Syringes are usually marketed for “microscopy”, “taxonomy”, or “research purposes”. If you ever have an issue with a syringe, make sure to avoid mentioning cultivation to your vendor so you aren’t refused service.

An average spore or Liquid Culture syringe is 10 to 12mL, (mL and cc are used interchangeably) and should come with a separate needle in a sterile package. This sterile needle will be used during the inoculation process and shouldn’t be opened until then. 

Pros/Cons of Spore Syringes:

Pros:

· Spore syringes are guaranteed to be legal to purchase, sell, and possess in most places across the world (with 3 US state exceptions: CA, GA, ID).

· Spores can also be stored in a fridge for years, sometimes longer than a decade, and still be viable.

Cons:

· Spores take a while to germinate, so colonization can take weeks or even months.

· Spores frequently arrive already contaminated by the vendor. This is due to how mushroom spores are harvested, which is nearly impossible to guarantee contamination-free syringes. No matter how meticulous the harvesting process is, most spore syringes cannot be guaranteed to be sterile.

· The thousands of competing spores in one syringe also result in randomized genetics. The spores of a parent mushroom might grow children mushrooms that neither look nor grow anything like the parent generation—sometimes even worse than the parent generation.

Notes: Each spore syringe will contain thousands of dark microscopic spores. Individual spores are not visible to the human eye, so if you can see them, you’re actually seeing a large clump of the spores themselves. It would only take 1 drop of spore solution from these syringes to begin colonizing your grain.

Pros/Cons of Liquid Culture Syringes:

Pros:

· Liquid Cultures can have guaranteed sterility if made correctly, leading to fewer contaminated results.

· Since the mycelium is already germinated, LC colonizes grain significantly faster than spores.

· LC can have guaranteed genetics by skipping the randomized spore phase.

Cons:

· LC can still be contaminated by the vendor, though far less likely than with spore syringes.

· LC stays viable for only 6-18 months in the fridge, as opposed to spores which can stay viable for many years if stored in a fridge.

· Potential legal “grey area”.

So, are LC syringes legal?:

 In recent years vendors began selling Liquid Culture syringes to the public, often under the name of “isolated” syringes, or just “Syringes” (without “spore” included), or even openly advertising their syringes as liquid cultures.

For decades, it was scientifically proven that mycelium grown on solid grain contained psilocybin. This made most cultivators believe that Liquid Culture syringes, which contain early-stage mycelium suspended in solution, must contain psilocybin, and were therefore considered a illegal to purchase or sell, similar to the mushrooms themselves. 

What gave vendors confidence to begin selling Liquid Cultures was the results from new studies that showed the development of psilocybin and psilocin only starts during the later stage of mycelial growth. These results showed that early-stage mycelium suspended in solution DOES NOT contain psilocybin or psilocin. Following these studies, vendors began sending their syringes to laboratories for “High-Performance Liquid Chromatography and UV Analysis” to determine if there was any psilocybin present at all. Which, by the standards set by the DEA themselves, means that these syringes would be legal to sell, purchase, and possess no differently than spores. 

Out of curiosity, I sent in some Liquid Culture syringes I bought to a lab providing these tests and received the same results: no psilocybin present in my LC syringes.

I prefer using liquid cultures unless doing genetic work when starting from spores. Ultimately, it’s up to you to determine the best syringe type for you to get started.

Choosing a Strain/Variety

Can you tell the difference between the B on the left, and the Golden Teachers on the right? Credit to sporestock.com.

Note: The difference between “strain” and “variety” doesn’t have a true scientific mycological definition, and while “variety” is likely appropriate for spore syringes, “strain” is likely more appropriate for LC and is commonly used interchangeably. Therefore, I will simply use “strain” as the phrase to use here to reference the type of cubensis mushroom (sorry hardcore mycology buffs).
 
There are an overwhelming number of cubensis mushroom strains out there to choose from, so let me simplify things:

Psilocybin mushrooms and psilocybin itself, are not like cannabis, or other nature-produced psychoactive compounds**.** When it comes to cannabis, different strains contain different combinations of 4 types of psychoactive THCs, multiple CBDs, and more than 80 cannabidiol compounds that change the psychoactive effects. When it comes to psilocybin mushrooms, the active compounds are actually much simpler. There are only two scientifically confirmed psychoactive compounds present in cubensis mushrooms: psilocybin and psilocin. Although psilocybin is the famous compound, it’s not the actual psychedelic drug. Psilocybin is only a “prodrug” for psilocin, and once ingested is converted into psilocin in the body.

Note: While OTHER potentially psychoactive compounds such as baeocystin HAVE been discovered in varying amounts across different strains of cubensis mushrooms, they are almost negligible in concentration and have not been confirmed to have physiological or psychoactive effects. For now, it’s safe to assume that the only compounds to care about in cubensis mushrooms are psilocybin and psilocin.

Although some vendors might claim that one strain provides a different experience than another, the difference between strains is only cultivation-based or appearance-based. Scientific studies have generally confirmed that the psychological effects produced from consuming one cubensis mushroom strain are not majorly different than another. Unfortunately, recreational drug culture has spread a lot of misinformation regarding mushroom strains**.** In our upcoming “Mushrooms for the Mind Therapeutic Use Guide” focusing on safe use, harm reduction, and education regarding psilocybin, you’ll learn that your preparation, mindset, and setting have everything to do with your experience, regardless of what strain you choose.

Different Strains Have Different Potencies

These “True Albino Teachers” look beautiful and are more potent per gram than average mushrooms. However, they have higher demands for proper conditions and grow much slower.

However, there is one real factor to consider between strains: potency. The concentration of psilocybin and psilocin determines the potency of the experience. Although all cubensis mushrooms contain these compounds, it is 100%  true that different strains express different potencies. The one exception to this rule could be Psilocybe natalensis (aka “Natalensis”, or “Nats”), which is a newly discovered cousin-species to cubensis. Many reports show that this cousin species to cubensis potentially provides slightly different physiological and psychoactive effects, but more evidence is needed before that claim is considered fact.

Most strains exhibit “standard” potency, such as Golden Teacher, B , Mazatapec, Z-Strain, Cambodian, and similar varieties. When grown next to each other, many of these mushrooms would be hard to tell apart and are more likely marketing and advertising labels than truly different mushrooms. There are a few known potent strains, including Penis Envy, Albino Penis Envy (aka APE), Enigma, Tidal Wave, and other mutants. These mutated strains are often more difficult to cultivate than standard cubensis and require more time and care, so I don’t recommend starting cultivation with any of these.

My recommendation? Give B or Golden Teachers a try. They are known to be hardy, fast-colonizing, and are the most popular strains for a reason. However, the phrase “a cube is a cube” is appropriate for most cubensis strains, since there is so little difference. Pick one and just go with it.

For your first attempt at cultivation and to give yourself the best chance against contamination possible, I’d recommend purchasing two to three different strains of syringes from a reputable vendor. Syringes should cost about $20-$25 USD before shipping. If you don’t use all your syringes for inoculation, you can store them in a fridge, where Liquid Culture syringes will last for 6-18 months, and spore syringes for years at a time. One 10mL syringe can be used to inoculate 10 to 20 bags of ready rice or more, or about 10 quart-sized jars.

SUMMARY OF PART 1:

• Choose between using Spore Syringes or Liquid Culture Syringes:
• Spore Syringes are guaranteed legal in most locations and last for years, but are slower to grow, have somewhat randomized genetics, and are sometimes contaminated by the vendor.
• Liquid Culture syringes are superior to spores in sterility, growth speed, and guaranteed genetics, but are less commonly advertised and are in a potential legal grey area.
• My recommendation is to start with LC, unless spores are the only option available.
• Mushrooms are not like other natural psychoactive plants/fungi: The active compounds (and how these compounds bind receptors in your brain) are quite simple.
• Your psychedelic experience is heavily dependent on your preparation, mindset, and setting—regardless of what strain you choose.
• Different strains have different potencies. Most exhibit “standard” potency, whereas the more mutated and albino strains can be very potent (not always a good thing!).
• My recommendation for beginner cultivation is to give B or Golden Teachers a try. The vendors I recommend frequently offer these common strains.

On to Part 2: Inoculation and Colonization