Ready-to-fruit kit
Lion's mane from a kit
Hericium erinaceus
- Difficulty
- Anyone
- First harvest
- 12 to 20 days
- Keeps producing
- Two flushes typically
- Substrate
- Pre-colonised hardwood sawdust supplemented with bran
Conditions that actually matter
Cooler than oysters, around 18 to 21C, with high humidity and fresh air.
The method
- 01Cut one small opening, no more than 5 cm across. Lion's mane fruits as a single mass and wants one site.
- 02Keep it humid and out of a draught. It is more sensitive to dry air than oysters and shows it by browning at the spine tips.
- 03A white cushion forms and then grows spines downward over about a week.
- 04Harvest while it is still white. Yellowing means it is past its best and turning bitter.
What decides whether this works
Harvest timing. Lion's mane goes from perfect to yellow and sour in about two days, and people wait because it is still visibly growing.
What you need for this method
What this step needsReady-to-fruit grow kit$24.99
What this step needsPressure mister$24.59
What this step needsHumidity tent or greenhouse$29.99Some links here are Amazon affiliate links. If you buy through one we earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and it never changes what we recommend. Prices were read from Amazon when this page was built and will have moved since.
Somebody else did the difficult part. You cut the bag, mist it twice a day and harvest in two weeks. Nothing here can go badly wrong and it is the right first step.
The species, in the wild
Choice
Lion's mane
A white beard of long spines hanging from hardwood. Nothing dangerous resembles it.
Other methods