How to Grow Mushrooms Outdoors

Before starting this project, check out our Practical Guide to Mushroom Gardening for an overview of the different stages of mushroom cultivation. In this post, we're doing a deep dive into how to create the right environment for fruiting mushrooms outdoors.

The easiest way to grow mushrooms is by setting up a semi-controlled environment in your backyard. It's a fun weekend project for home & community gardens, and can cost less than a raised bed to grow mushrooms year-round! Your goals should decide where you grow and what equipment you'll need.

Planning Your Mushroom Garden

If you're hoping to grow 5-10 pounds of mushrooms every week, your fruiting space can be as simple as buckets or nursery pots stacked under a tree with misters. Setting up a small greenhouse can feed the whole family - or even the neighborhood! As an added bonus, the carbon dioxide produced by mushrooms supercharges plant growth, making the greenhouse a dual-purpose nursery. As with any hobby, it's best to start small and invest in better equipment as you go.

Choosing a Location

The ideal location for growing mushrooms should be shady and relatively level. Great spots to consider are under a mature tree, gazebo, tall deck, or the North side of a home or fence. Some type of enclosure is best, even just tarps or greenhouse plastic attached to 4'x4' posts will retain humidity; but a well-ventilated greenhouse is the best way to protect your mushrooms from drying out. Reflective shade cloth or tarps attached to posts can make any area of the backyard suitable, even if it gets full sun.

Equipment Checklist

No matter where you set up, maintaining the right humidity and light is critical. Here's our recommended shopping list for most scenarios.

Patio misters will need to be set up on both sides of your mushrooms - 42' will be enough to support 2 rows of mushrooms in a 10'x10' space. You may not need a greenhouse or shade cloth if you're growing under a tree. The goal is to protect your mushrooms from drying out, so make sure they don't receive any direct light and increase the frequency of your misters if mushrooms seem to be drying out.

1. Prepare the Ground

  • Remove any sod or cut grass to the soil with a string trimmer
  • Cover the ground with at least 1" of wood chips - we love ChipDrop for free mulch!

2. Build Greenhouse or Shade Structure

  • Follow the instructions for setting up your ShelterLogic greenhouse and roll up the bottom vents to let CO2 out
    • Alternatively, you could secure tarps to a tree or build a simple post and beam structure for growing mushrooms
  • Install reflective shade cloth over the structure, allowing some indirect or filtered light for your mushrooms

3. Install Misters

  • Zip-tie patio misters to the top of your structure to create rows on each side of the mushrooms
  • Connect the timer to an outdoor faucet and test intervals
    • 20 seconds every 60 minutes is often enough in cold and moderate weather
    • 30 seconds every 15-30 minutes may be needed for hotter days

4. Build Hanging Infrastructure (Optional)

Set 4'x4' posts inside the greenhouse and nail 2'x4's across to create rows to hang your straw logs from (or set your fruiting bags on). You can secure your greenhouse to these posts during windstorms to protect it from being blown away. Alternatively, you can use conduit or PVC pipe to build a supportive structure to hang straw logs from. This is a great time to get creative and let us know what works for you!

5. Install Pest Barriers

Hang sticky fly ribbons in areas away from mushroom fruiting surfaces. This is a passive but effective method for keeping down fungus gnats and house flies - especially important if you’re using cold-pasteurized straw. Consider adding mosquito netting if insects are still a problem.

Now, get ready to pasteurize some straw and start growing your own mushrooms!

I'm still working on this guide, if you have comments or suggestions please email me at Brandon@spawnshroomhouse.com

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