Lion's Mane Mushroom Kit Instructions
Lion's Mane is a choice gourmet mushroom with some great culinary characteristics. Requiring less maintenance than many other species, it often produces several beautiful and unusual fruits. Because Lion's Mane grows best with high humidity so you will grow your mushroom inside a humidity tent located with your paper instructions on the bottom on your kit.
Each species of mushroom is a different growing experience. Even if you have grown mushrooms before, please read the instructions for your kit carefully before proceeding. If you run into any problems please see our FAQ.
Step 1: Open The Tab
Inside this box, lion's mane mycelium has been steadily breaking down the woody growing medium and converting it into energy. Mycelium is the root-like structure and main body of a fungus - it's what grows through the substrate and eventually produces mushrooms.
Unlike oyster mushroom mycelium, lion's mane mycelium is fine, wispy, and hard to detect to the untrained eye. It often starts fruiting on substrate that doesn’t appear fully colonised (ie. completely covered in mycelium).
We ship our kits when they're ready to start fruiting, so don’t worry if the area behind the round tab doesn’t look fully white. Just be sure to start your kit within two weeks of receiving it.
Locate and remove the round cardboard tab on the box to check the colour of the growing medium through this "window." Below are some examples of what lion's mane mycelium can look like.
You can see here how the very wispy lion's mane mycelium can be easy to miss. This kit is ready to move on to step 2.
Sometimes, the mycelium can be more dense and white/yellowish. This is also ready to move on to step 2.
Do not wait longer than 2 weeks to start your kit, as it will eventually start to fruiting inside of the bag (and may even find its own way to burst out!) If you do not want to move on to step 2 at this time, you can keep your kit in the fridge or a cool place for up to two weeks.
If you’re unsure about how your kit looks or notice any unusual colours other than white, please contact us with photos as soon as possible so we can help.
Step 2: Finding an Ideal Location
Lion's Mane mushrooms thrive in warm, humid environments with indirect light and minimal drafts. Creating this environment is essential for a productive kit.
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Temperature/light: Place your box in a warm spot with ambient light, ideally between 17°C and 21°C if you have a thermometer/hygrometer. Do not place it near heat sources like radiators, which can overheat and dry out the substrate.
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Humidity: Since Lion's Mane mushrooms prefer 80-90% humidity with low airflow, use the humidity tent provided in your kit. Locate the tent in the paper instructions at the bottom of the box and set it aside for step 4.
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You can grow your Lion's Mane mushroom either sideways or upright. If growing it sideways, raise the kit as the mushroom grows to prevent it from touching the surface below; an overturned cup or bowl works well for this.
You may choose to grow your Lion's Mane growing upward from the box
You may also choose to grow your Lion's mane from the side of the the box. This more closely mimics how Lion's Mane mushroom grows in nature, but you may need to raise the box
Step 3: Initiating Fruiting
In nature the mushroom fruiting process of is triggered by a range of changes in the environment. Oxygen and ambient light become available as the mycelium breaks through the ground layer or the extremities of a log. Seasonal changes bring wetter weather and humidity increases. You will now imitate these changes in the following way.
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Using a clean knife, puncture the exposed bag in a cross pattern the same size as the hole. This will initiate the fruiting process and your mushrooms will grow from this hole.
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Place your kit in the humidity tent according to the instructions below.
Step 4: Placing the Humidity Tent
Lion's Mane Mushrooms prefer to grow in an environment with 80-90% humidity without too much wind or airflow. Because of this, you may want to use a humidity tent. If you have a place in your house that is quite humid and is not near open windows or fans you do not need to use the tent. If you like, you can start your kit without the tent and then use it if your Lion's Mane begins to look dry or starts to discolour at the edges.
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Your humidity tent is located with the paper instructions on the bottom of your box.
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Lightly mist the inside of the bag or put a teaspoon of water inside the bag and then drain it to help create higher humidity.
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Place the damp humidity tent loosely over you box so there are gaps to allow access to fresh air flow around the sides. Don’t worry if the tent appears to dry out - it is still creating a suitable microclimate.
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Be sure to leave enough room for your mushroom to grow. If you need to, you can use some chopsticks to prop open the bag.
IMPORTANT: Providing your Lion's Mane mushroom with fresh air is crucial. A buildup of CO2 (carbon dioxide) can cause atypical, stretched out or coral-like growth patterns. Additionally, ensure your box is not too wet, as it should never become sodden. Too much humidity and direct water contact can cause discolouration. We recommend reading over this article to look out for signs that your mushroom is not getting enough oxygen when fruiting.
Example of humidity tent positioned when growing upwards.
Position of the humidity tent over a box. Note the room to allow a little airflow around the sides.
If you need to create more room in your humidity tent, you can make a vertical cut down one side of the bag. Drape the bag over the box with the cut side facing down, and place a weight on top to keep it secure.
Humidity tent with one side cut vertically.
You can now position the humidity tent with the cut side facing down.
Step 5: Pinning & Ongoing Maintenance
Lion's mane pins look like small white blobs. This is the mushroom beginning to form!
Healthy lion's mane will continue to expand into a tightly formed rounded white mass.
Keep an eye out for the beginnings of stretched out or coral-like growth. If caught early, you can adjust the growing environment as outlined below.
'Pinning' (the start of mushroom growth) should begin within 3-5 weeks of initiating fruiting. If your mushroom has not begun pinning within 5 weeks, please see our FAQ.
Once your mushroom has begun to pin, it will grow slowly over the next 2-3 weeks. Just like us, fungi require oxygen, so lift away the humidity tent to allow for fresh air 5-6 times a week.
PLEASE NOTE: Keep a close eye on your growing lion's mane - it should look like a tightly formed white round mass as it get larger. If it starts to display any signs of stretching or coral-like growth at the edges, then it needs more oxygen, so you can either lift off the tent more frequently or cut several small half inch wide holes in the bag to provide this.
You can read more about this issue here.
Keep Lightly remoisten the humidity by spraying the bottom of the bag once a week. Avoid spraying your mushrooms directly, as this can caused discolouration with lion's mane.
Step 6: When to Harvest
You may harvest at any time during the growing process, but you will usually know that the mushroom has finished its growth cycle when it develops tendrils on the bottom that are between 3-5cm long. It is common for some of the older growth to develop yellow or brown colouration when the mushroom is fully mature.
You should try to harvest your mushroom after it has begun to develop tendrils, but before it begins to drop spores. If you notice a white powder inside your humidity tent, your mushroom has begun to sporate. It will still be perfectly delicious, but it is definitely time to harvest! See the stages below:
The mushroom body is still tightly connected. Wait to harvest.
Tendrils have formed on the bottom of the mushroom. It's ready to harvest.
Spores have gathered on the ends of the tendrils of this Lion's Mane. Harvest immediately.
Sometimes lion’s mane doesn’t develop tendrils, in which case it should be harvested once it stops growing and before it begins to dry out.
All Lion's Mane mushrooms grow in unique ways. If your lion's mane growing differently from our photos above? See our article for troubleshooting on unusual growth patterns
Step 7: Harvest
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To harvest, twist and pull the entire bunch off at the base.
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Be sure that you have removed all of the mushrooms' base from the hole. You should be able to see brown growing medium to ensure the next flush.
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Cut off any cardboard or growing medium that has stuck to your mushrooms. You can store your mushrooms in the fridge for up to a week.
Looking for some kitchen inspiration? Take a look at this recipe from MunchByZa on our blog:
Lion’s Mane Steak with Cucumber Salad and Tahini Udon Noodles
Step 8: Initiating The Next Flush
Did you know that your box has the ability to produce several clusters or 'flushes' of mushrooms over time?
Make sure that you have removed all of the previous mushroom stem from the hole before placing your kit in the fridge for 12-24 hours. This will "cold shock" the lion's mane mycelium and help speed up the process. If you don't have space in the fridge, don't worry - you can simply give it some more time and it will eventually flush again.
You can then return your kit to your chosen location and repeat steps 4-7. Times between flushes can vary from 3-9 weeks as your block builds more energy. Your kit may flush several times, but the amount of mushrooms will reduce and the time between flushes will grow longer each time until the growing medium is spent.
For more tips and information about how to encourage subsequent flushes sooner see our FAQ on getting more our of your kit.
Step 9: What to do with your kit when it stops producing mushrooms
Did you know that fungi play a key role in storing carbon? Trees and plants remove carbon from the atmosphere and fungi break down plant waste to create new carbon-rich soil. Clean air, healthy soil and delicious mushrooms: just one of the many ways fungi are incredible!
Once your kit has finished flushing, open the box and remove the mycelium block from its plastic bag. Discard the bag in the general waste. You can now recycle the box and additional packaging and compost the block. Alternately, plant your block in the garden to see if it will gain a some energy and produce one last seasonal crop for you! Simply dig a hole in a shady spot, bury the block and cover it over with around 5cm of soil. Water it occasionally to keep the soil moist.
We hope you've enjoyed growing your Lion's Mane mushrooms!
We're passionate about sharing the diversity of the fungi kingdom & making more of its edible & medicinal delights easy to grow. Want to try another strain or learn how to cultivate mushrooms? See our full range of mushroom growing kits and cultivation workshops!