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Mushroom Spores can store for years dried. Commercial dried mushrooms are NOT suitable for a spawning attempt!

Our mushrooms are specially dried (using a process we developed), in conditions which are optimized by mushroom type, for maximum spore retention and viability. You get whole mushroom caps, or partial caps with sufficient spawn for sowing a good sized patch, or starting multiple containers.

There are several ways to extract the spores from the dried mushrooms. They can then be applied to appropriate substrates to create spawn, or applied directly into the mushroom habitat to naturalize them outside or in a container garden.

Dried Spawn is EASY to use! Just reconstitute in water, and either finely chop or use a blender, and pour the resulting spore and mushroom mixture over your substrate or onto the ground where they need to be sown.

Why dried spawning mushrooms instead of spore syringes? You get five important benefits:

• More spores. You get HUNDREDS of times the amount of spores that you'd get in a syringe... usually more! Most spore syringes have only a minute percentage of the spores from a single mushroom. A small amount of mushroom goes a VERY long way!
• Better genetic variability. If you are starting a mushroom farm, you want as broad a base of genetics as you can get, for better disease and pest resistance, better flavor and hardiness qualities. Excessive cloning weakens mushroom strains. By starting out with a more varied set of genetics, your mushrooms have the potential to strengthen, rather than weaken over time. Odds are that you'll get spores from more than one mushroom specimen.
• Lower cost. For the same price as a VERY low quality (high contamination potential) spore syringe, you can get a high quality supply of hundreds of times the amount of spores, with better viability and far better quality spores.
• Better Quality. Because we have not added water, antibiotics, or chemical substances, you have more control over the quality of the processes and end product.
• Longer shelf-life. Spores that are suspended in water are more fragile than dried spores. Dried spores are nature's native way of doing it. Little "seed" packets which are designed to survive until they have a suitable growing environment. Mushroom spores can survive for decades in the wild if they are in a cool (not cold), dry, and dark environment. Once they are wet, the shelf-life diminishes greatly, and they are more sensitive to temperature changes. A longer shelf-life means that you can use a portion of the spores from each mushroom for one round of spawning, and save the rest for later. Just store it someplace cool (generally between 50 and 60 degrees), dry, and dark.
• Visual Confirmation. You get to SEE at least part of the mushroom you are cultivating! If we send you pieces of Parasol Mushroom caps instead of Mature Paddy Straw Mushrooms, you WILL notice! If we send you a Pleurotus instead of a Chanterelle, you'll know! You'll be able to see it, smell it, and feel it. You don't have any of those options with spore syringes - there isn't anything to look at for macroscopic identifying features!

While not quite as quick and simple as spawning from fresh mushrooms, spawning from dried spawning mushrooms is an excellent cost effective method for getting a healthy start on a shoestring!

We have no restrictions on how you use these. If you want to create your own mushroom growing products from these, you are welcome to do so. Our mushrooms are not proprietary, they are meant to be grown, and to help YOU survive and thrive, however you choose to do that.