Best Mushroom Strain for Beginners

Hello, and welcome to the world of mushroom.

If you are just at the beginning of your journey, everything seems daunting. That was it, at least for me in the beginning. I did not know where to start, which steps I should take, and especially what are the best mushroom strain, to begin with.

For that reason, I sum everything I read so far together, so you don’t have to figure it out for yourself. You just take what you found here and put it into practice. It’s that easy.

The most recommended and most likely researched mushroom for beginners is the Oyster mushroom or Latin Pleurotus spp. There are a lot of reasons for that.

Why Oyster Mushrooms are the Best Mushrooms for Beginners

They grow on a variety of different substrates like straw (wheat, rice, …), wood (wood chips, sawdust), grass (thatch grass, …), sugarcane bagasse, and mixtures of them.
They accept a wide range of temperature and humidity (see below growing conditions)
Fast growth rate (5 to 6 mm/day)
Good yield (biological efficiency between 50 and 200)
They have a unique taste. Ranging from nutty (P. eryngii), salmon (P. djamor), citric (P. citrinopileatus) to neutral (P. ostreatus).
Some of them have a thick flesh (P. ostreatus or P. eryngii)
They are nutritious (Table 1)

Table 1: Effect of different substrates on proximate composition and mineral content of Pleurotus ostreatus[1]

Because of these aspects, there are a ton of different varieties of Pleurotus from which you can choose. So that you can grow the type(s) that are growing and selling the best in your region.

Oyster Mushroom Varieties

Pleurotus ostreatus aka Pearl Oyster or Tree Oyster

This mushroom has no strong taste itself and can, therefore, added to many dishes. The caps are “meaty” and can, if someone like, replace the meat on the plate.

Pleurotus djamor aka Pink Oyster

As you can see from the following picture[2] Pleurotus djamor has a bright color. The taste is like salmon. Not strong, but still something you will taste.

Pleurotus citrinopileatus aka Yellow Oyster

The following picture comes from one of my first tests[3]. This mushroom has a citrus taste.

Pleurotus citrionpieatus — Source see footnotes

Pleurotus pulmonarius aka Indian Oyster or Italian Oyster

And another picture of one of my first test[4]. This mushroom is similar to his cousin Pleurotus ostreatus.

Pleurotus eryngii aka King Oyster

This mushroom is cultivated all over the world. It has a thick stem and a nutty taste.

Pleurotus cystidiosus aka Abalone Oyster[5]

This mushroom is similar to Pleurotus ostreatus.

Growing Conditions

To grow any kind of mushroom, you must get the growing conditions right. To give you an idea about the range, I will provide you with an overview of the general growing conditions across the Pleurotus spp. family for the three phases spawn run, pinhead formation, and fruiting.

Spawn Run

During the spawn run, the mycelium colonizes the whole substrate. If you get the parameters right, the mycelium needs between 7 and 14 days to colonize a 6 lb bag fully.

Temperature 24°C to 30°C

Humidity 90 to 100 % RH

CO2 level 5,000 ppm

Air exchange 0 to 1/hr

Light none

Pinhead Formation

After the substrate is fully colonized, we need to trigger the mycelium to start pin heading. To so, the temperature is lowered, the air exchange rate is increased, and we introduce now light. Depending on the species you have chosen, it takes between 3 to 10 days to start pinning.

Temperature 10°C to 18°C

Humidity 95 to 100 % RH

CO2 level < 1,000 ppm

Air exchange 4 to 8/hr

Light 500 to 1,000 lx

Fruiting

If you see pins coming out of the substrate, then it is time to adjust the parameters again. This time we increase the temperature and keep the air exchange as well as the light at the same level or slightly adjusted. It will then take about 3 to 8 days until the first harvest.

Temperature 15°C to 30°C

Humidity 80 to 95 % RH

CO2 level < 1,000 ppm

Air exchange 4 to 8/hr

Light > 500 lx

If you follow the instruction for your specific mushroom species, then it takes between 14 and 32 days, give or take, from the point you inoculated the substrate until the first flush.

If you want to know which mushroom species will grow in your region, you should check out my article about 26 Delicious Mushroom Species You Should Cultivate. In it, I show you not only the regions but also the specific growing conditions for them.

The main difference between the three phases is due to the initiation of the pinhead formation. While in nature, the change in temperature or humidity occurs through the seasons. In the cultivation of mushrooms, we, as mushroom farmers, must trigger the initiation by changing the parameters.

To give you a better idea, the following five graphs (Figure 1 to Figure 5) is showing the change in the temperature, the humidity, the CO2 level, the air exchange rate, and the light intensity throughout the cultivation.

I extracted the parameter out of Paul Stamets’s book “Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms” As a visual person, it helped me to understand the different phases better. But see for yourself.

Figure 1: Example of a temperature profile during the cultivation[6]

Figure 2: Example of a humidity profile during the cultivation [7]

Figure 3: Example of the CO2 level during the cultivation[8]

Figure 4: Example of the air exchange rate during the cultivation[9]

Figure 5: Example of the light intensity during the cultivation[10]

Did you get a better impression of the different phases? With this understanding in mind, you will avoid making mistakes. Now back to the topic.

If you have decided what oyster mushroom you want to grow, then it is time to set up the necessary structure.

Starter kit – low budget

You can do it on a low budget. I set up my first grow chamber for under $ 300. Which equipment I bought, how I set everything up, and especially what kind of results I got are summarized in the following article, “What Do I Need to Start Growing Mushrooms?“

As you can see in figure 6, I didn’t use fancy equipment to start. But it helped me to get my first experiences in growing mushrooms. If you can figure this out too, then your only thing you must do is scale. But that is for another article.