Shaggy Mane Mushroom
Coprinus comatus
Available as
Mother cultures (Petri dish)
Sawdust spawn
About this strain
The shaggy mane is one of the tastiest meadow mushrooms. Young fruiting bodies have elongated, white, egg-shaped caps covered in shaggy scales, a delicate flavour and a soft texture. Only young, white mushrooms are edible — with age the gills turn black and the cap dissolves into a black, ink-like liquid, often within a few hours of picking. That is why shaggy manes are cooked on the day they are picked.
It is grown indoors — in bags or trays — or in garden beds. The substrate is pasteurised or composted straw, and the mushrooms only emerge from under a casing layer of soil and peat. With good care it gives several flushes, and in a garden bed it can keep fruiting for several seasons.
How to grow it
Preparation
- Substrate
- pasteurised or composted straw with added manure or bran; moisture 65–70%; casing: garden soil with peat, pH 7–7.5, a 3–4 cm layer
Growing stages
Spawn run (incubation)
- Temperature
- 21–25°C (substrate no warmer than approx. 26°C)
- Humidity
- 95–100%
- Duration
- 2–3 weeks
- CO₂
- >5,000 ppm
- Fresh air
- 0–1 per hour
- Light
- darkness
Primordia formation
- Temperature
- 16–20°C
- Humidity
- 95–100%
- Duration
- approx. 2 weeks after casing
- CO₂
- 500–1,000 ppm
- Fresh air
- 4–8 per hour
- Light
- 500–1,000 lx, approx. 8 h / 24 h
Take the colonised substrate out of the film, stand the blocks upright 2–3 cm apart and cover with 3–4 cm of casing. Mist the casing lightly 2–3 times a day, not directly onto the pins.
Fruiting
- Temperature
- 16–22°C
- Humidity
- 85–90%
- Duration
- 5–7 days
- CO₂
- 500–1,000 ppm
- Fresh air
- 4–8 per hour
- Light
- 500–1,000 lx, approx. 8 h / 24 h
In the cooler range the mushrooms stay closed for longer; above approx. 20°C the stems stretch quickly and the caps open.
Harvest
- Flushes
- 2–3
- Between flushes
- approx. a week (4–10 days)
Pick daily while the caps are still closed and firm (stem approx. 5–12 cm) — once open they quickly turn to ink. After picking, top up the casing where the mushrooms were. Biological efficiency up to approx. 80–100%.
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.
Available products
Prices are set individually — tell us what you need and how much, and we will send a quote including delivery.
Mother cultures (Petri dish)
- 1 pc.
Sawdust spawn
- 5 l
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