Nameko

Pholiota nameko

Available as

Mother cultures (Petri dish)
Grain spawn
Sawdust spawn
Plug spawn

About this strain

A Japanese delicacy with a striking look. It forms clusters of small orange-brown caps 2–5 cm across, covered with a distinctive slippery, jelly-like layer. This natural “glaze” thickens soups and sauces — in Japan nameko is a classic addition to miso soup. The flavour is mild and slightly nutty.

It grows well on hardwood — on sterilised sawdust blocks or on stumps and logs inoculated with plugs — but needs cool conditions and high air humidity while fruiting.

How to grow it

Preparation

Substrate: blocks: hardwood sawdust (fine and coarse) with approx. 20% supplement, e.g. bran, sterilised; outdoors: hardwood logs and stumps
Spawn rate: 1–2% on sterilised sawdust

Growing stages

Spawn run (incubation)
Temperature
22–25°C (substrate approx. 25°C)
Humidity
95–100%
Duration
16–20 days
CO₂
>5,000 ppm
Fresh air
0–1 per hour
Primordia formation
Temperature
10–16°C
Humidity
95–100%
Duration
7–10 days
CO₂
500–1,000 ppm
Fresh air
4–8 per hour
Light
500–1,000 lx
Pinning is triggered by cooling to 10–16°C at very high humidity.
Fruiting
Temperature
13–18°C
Humidity
85–95%
Duration
5–8 days
CO₂
approx. 1,000 ppm
Fresh air
4–8 per hour
Light
low, up to approx. 800 lx

Harvest

Flushes: 2–3
Between flushes: 2–3 weeks

Keep the substrate very moist between flushes. Pick before the caps flatten — the slippery layer is thickest then. Yield: approx. 18–20% of fresh substrate weight.

Please note: these growing parameters bring together the experience of practising growers — a starting point, not a guarantee of results. Every grow has its own substrate, climate and equipment, and even small differences can noticeably change the yield. Adjust these values to your own conditions.