How To Maximize Your Magic Mushroom Yields

After spending some time growing psilocybin mushrooms, you’ve probably achieved harmony with a solid grow operation, seen some nice yields, and most importantly, you’re having fun. Now you are ready to shed your newb status and mature into an even better magic mushroom grower.

Simple adjustments can dramatically increase mushroom production and potency in your grow. Also, re-evaluating your approach to the whole process can help you implement changes and know where to put them. Experimentation is encouraged, as is the knowledge that a mod that works for one grower may not be suitable for the next.

Check out these magic mushroom growing standards and hacks that can greatly increase boomer rewards for the hobbyist grower.

Use high quality mushroom spore genetics

By starting with a stable and reliable source of spores, growers can ensure their cultivation efforts are rewarded with healthy mushrooms and huge yields.

There is no definitive consensus on which subspecies of mushrooms yield more than others – they can vary greatly from grower to grower. Anecdotally, some subspecies have more vocal advocates than others when it comes to high yields, but individual growing conditions, genetic stability, and dry weight can affect overall yields.

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Keep a growing log

The best way to determine which subspecies is ideal for you is to keep a breeder log. Monitor and record growing practices and analyze the data to see which spores are producing the biggest yields in your setup.

Metrics such as incubation conditions, spore subspecies and source, types of substrates and ratios used, and all other variables should be consistently recorded. It’s as easy as creating and maintaining your own spreadsheet, writing in an organized journal, or ordering a grower log online.

Enter humidity, temperature and light

The general temperature zone for most magic mushrooms to begin fruiting starts at around 62°F and can go up to around 24°C. The ambient temperature in your home or room as a whole affects the habitat of the fungi, so maintaining temperature fluctuations can impact net yield. Species can differ from one another and information is usually available from the spore producer.

Relative humidity (RH) should be around 90% or slightly higher for almost all Psilocybe subspecies. During the incubation period, when dewdrops on the caps begin to disappear, spray the chamber walls with water to maintain proper humidity. A digital hygrometer in your monotub, terrarium or grow chamber also makes it easy to monitor levels regularly.

In terms of light, mushrooms really only need some ambient light or an hour or two of light from a fluorescent tube or LED a day. This bit of light is enough to give the mycelium the signal to form mushroom pins.

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Some growers say that overexposure of the mycelium to extraneous light can actually cause stress to the substrate, which can affect the health and yield of the mushrooms.

Increase ventilation and air exchange

A mushroom fruiting chamber, or monotub, has a major responsibility in mimicking actual environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and light. But other factors such as adequate oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) levels must also be maintained for the mushrooms to be healthy enough to bear fruit. A growing environment with too much CO2 can negatively impact the health and yield of the mushrooms.

Monotubs and grow chambers should be equipped with several ventilation holes, each approximately 2.5 x 2.5 cm, covered with plugs or microporous tape on each side to allow fresh air exchange. Implementing a self-ventilation program or installing a small computer fan in your grow room can efficiently evacuate stale and harmful CO2-rich air through these holes.

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Keep it sterile

All of the above tips, strategies, and reminders mean nothing if you don’t work cleanly. As a standard practice, avoid unnecessary contact with your growing environment as much as possible. There are germs everywhere, so every encounter always increases the chance of contamination.

Set up a hand washing regime and use gloves and masks whenever you access your little world to give your shrooms their best chance of yielding large quantities.

Add nutritional supplements

Adding nutrients like compost to the substrate is a surefire way to provide beneficial nitrogen and carbon to the network of psilocybin-producing fibers known as mycelium.

Amino acid based compost is known in grower circles to boost mushroom yield growth and overall potency. Aged manure and straw feed the mycelium a diet rich in nitrogen, carbon, potassium and phosphorus – all of which help mushrooms grow healthily. Some other sources of organic supplements include alfalfa, blood and bone meal, worm droppings, and fish meal, all of which are available online or at a garden store.

Make sure to mix your substrate and additional compost material no more than a day before introducing the fully inoculated mycelium to start the fungus’ fruiting process. This practice avoids contamination risks. Excess levels of ammonia found in composts such as manure can affect homeostasis and mycelium’s ability to grow.

Dip and roll substrate cake between rinses

The PF tek technique has been successful for home growers for decades because of its simplicity of procedures and equipment. This method requires growers to make substrate cakes in jars, sterilize and inoculate them, and then place the inoculated cakes in a growing chamber with optimal fruiting conditions.

Cakes used in the PF-Tek method lose moisture as waves of fruit mushrooms — known as flushes — are pumped out. Flushes occur about 2-3 times throughout the fruiting process, whether you use the PF-Tek or another mushroom incubation method.

If a cake seems dried out between rinses, you can use the dunk and roll method to restore and rehydrate it. This practice promotes continued health for subsequent flushes.

How to Achieve a Proper Dunk and Roll:

1. Wash hands thoroughly and wear sterile disposable gloves.
2. Carefully remove the cake from your growth chamber.
3. Rinse the cake carefully with drinking-quality tap water or distilled water.
4. Place cake in a pre-sterilized mason jar, Tupperware container, or ziplock bag filled with water.
5. Make sure the cake is submerged in water and can absorb it completely.
6. Store the cake in the fridge for 12-24 hours.
7. Remove the cake and, with gloved hands, roll in freshly opened vermiculite on all sides.
8. Place the cake back in your growing chamber with another spoonful of vermiculite on top and mist.

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Proper drying can increase effectiveness

In general, younger mushrooms that are picked when the veil tears away from under the cap are considered ripe. Any mushrooms picked after this will most likely lose potency as they then focus on spore production. However, due to the inability to conduct extensive research due to regularities surrounding psilocybin, this phenomenon may still be the subject of some speculation.

Mycologist Paul Stamets is a firm believer that younger mushrooms with broken veil have stronger potency and effects. In his book Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World, Stamets states, “Many of us have found that the juvenile mushrooms tend to be much more potent than the adult ones.”

Another way to preserve the potency of your magic mushrooms is to dry them in the best possible conditions. Drying mushrooms in a well-ventilated area with a drying rack and some desiccant to eliminate the water content is ideal. A dehydrator works well too!

Store your crisp, moisture-free shrooms in an airtight jar with silica packing in a dark place to prolong psilocybin levels. Environmental factors such as light and heat can affect effectiveness.

Regarding the storage of magic mushrooms, Stamets also says in his book: “Most psilocybin mushrooms stored for more than a year usually show a significant loss of potency, especially psilocin.”

Grow more mushrooms

If you want to grow more mushrooms, simply give yourself more of the three “S’s”: spores, substrate and space. More substrate rich in inoculated mycelium will increase organic mass and potentially increase your mushroom production. Remember that you will need more space to accommodate everything.

If you’re still trying your hand at the rice cup or PF-Tek method, consider switching to monotubs and substrate blocks, which offer more space to grow more mushrooms than a typical terrarium setup. Add several mono tubs or a mini greenhouse and your mushroom production will take off dramatically.