Once harvested, many spore varieties remain viable for months or even years.

• Link: info Guide
• Remove the cap from your mushroom gently, cutting the stem off if necessary so that no portion of the stem extends down from the cap. Do not shake or crush the cap while removing the stem, as this can cause you to lose spores.
• Lay the cap on a white piece of paper or index card with the gills or pores on the bottom of the cap facing down. If collecting spores from a large mushroom cap, you may cut the cap into sections, placing only one section on the paper; use multiple pieces of paper to collect spores from multiple sections if desired.
• Place a drop of water on top of the mushroom cap to encourage the release of spores. Carefully cover the cap or cap section with a cup, bowl or other container so that a breeze or other air movement doesn't disturb the cap while it releases spores; make sure that the container is large enough that it doesn't make contact with the cap.
• Leave the cap undisturbed for up to 24 hours while the spores release. Some mushrooms release their spores within a few hours, but it is best to allow a longer time to ensure that most, if not all of the spores are released.
Remove the container covering the cap once the 24-hour waiting time passes. Placing one hand on the paper to hold it steady, carefully lift the mushroom cap to reveal the spore print underneath. If the paper wasn't disturbed during the waiting period, the spore print will likely reflect the gill or pore pattern on the bottom of the mushroom cap.
• Dispose of the mushroom cap and place the spore print in an area where it will not be heavily disturbed. Spores can be removed from it for growing at any time by carefully scraping them off of the paper using a knife or other tool. Be careful to only use gentle pressure when scraping off spores, as any significant impact to the paper could cause most, if not all of the spores to release.

Different mushroom strains require different materials to begin growing. Some strains grow readily in grain-based substrates, while others require wood or high levels of organic material. Research the specific mushrooms you are attempting to grow to find out what the optimal growth medium is and how difficult it is to establish new fungal growth.

Keep spore prints in a dry location. Exposing them to too much moisture can damage the spores or encourage harmful bacterial growth which can then be spread to any fungal growth that originates from the spores.

info Guide

Wait until your coffee grounds are cool enough that they are no longer steaming, but not quite cold and put one pot worth of grounds, including the filter, in a bag or jar. Nestle the stem butt (or a little sawdust spawn, or whatever spawn you are using) into the center of the coffee grounds. In about two days, the spawn will recover from the transfer and will have visible signs of growth, in the form of a white, fuzzy coating. From there, you can add more coffee grounds at the rate of about one pot a day. Again, the coffee grounds should still be warm, but not warm enough to burn your hand. You add coffee grounds as the mushroom grows. If you start to get too far ahead of the mushrooms, as evidenced by a lot of uncolonized grounds in your container, stop adding for a few days until the mycelium catches up. The mycelium should more or less colonize the grounds after they have been in there just a day or two. If it takes much more than that, contamination can become a problem.

Just keep the jar in a cool, dry location while it is growing. Once the jar is full and the mycelium has fully colonized it, as evidenced by the fact that it is all cottony-white and no longer smells like coffee, it can be used as spawn to transfer to another medium or it can be just fruited. To fruit it, give it another week or so to grow, and then open up the jar. Put it out in the light, but don’t put it in direct sun. Put a plastic bag over it as a tent, but punch a few holes in it for air flow. Then spray it a couple of times a day. Personally, I know a lot of people like to try to force the process, but I like to let the mushroom tell me when it is time. When, in the process of your daily airings, you see primordia, tiny baby mushrooms that look like pinheads, you will know it is time to fruit the mushrooms. You should get two or maybe three good fruitings out of a jar and maybe more out of a bucket.

Once the medium is done fruiting, you can still use it as spawn to start another kit. You can mix it with more coffee grounds, or just compost it again and start with another stem butt.

Drill holes with a drill and bit around the edge of the bucket to allow carbon dioxide produced during the growing process to escape. Use a small diameter bit, such as 1/4-inch, and space the holes 3 to 5 inches apart around the bucket. Drill the holes 1 to 2 inches above the soil line.

Cover the top of the bucket with clear plastic wrap. Punch 6 to 8 holes in the wrap with the drill bit. Place the bucket in a warm dark area and watch as the mushrooms grow.

Store collected coffee grounds in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready for use.

Remove the plastic wrap once the mushrooms appear and begin to grow.

Moisten the soil twice per day with water from the spray bottle.

prepare some kind of clean material to store the print on (fresh typing paper, index cards, wax paper, tin foil, glass slides, ect... ), then cut a mature mushroom cap off at the stem, as near the mushroom gills as possible.

Only use a clean scalpel or knife to prevent any contamination. Place the mushroom cap on the material with the mushroom gills pointed down. Cover the cap with a jar or place the printing material with the mushroom cap into a sterile container of some kind.

Let it site for 24 hours at room temperature with no air flow or humidity. Then remove the mushroom cap from the material and let the spores dry in a sterile container for another 24 hours. There is a variety of ways to store your mushroom spore prints but the most common and simple method is to put the print in a ziplock bag, sealed and let it sit in the fridge. You can even simply keep them in file folder or any location that is clean, dry, and average temperature.

Store the spores that fell from the mushroom’s gills: Fold the printed paper to lock in the spores. Slide the folded paper into a plastic bag and place it in the refrigerator for storage.