Learning about the vast world of mushrooms is a worthy pursuit. There are so many mushrooms out there with so many varied applications. Therefore, you should take your immersion to the next level. When you want to involve yourself with mushrooms on a deeper level, you’ll face a challenging question: should you cultivate or forage mushrooms? There’s no simple answer, but we’ll dive into which option may be ideal below.
Benefits of Foraging
There are quite a few benefits of foraging, but the most important is the knowledge you’ll gain. Foraging mushrooms requires you to learn about their unique characteristics and how they behave in the wild. You’ll learn more about hyphae, mycelium, gills, and spores firsthand rather than just from books. You’ll also learn about the unique ecosystem of your neighborhood and get some much-needed time out in nature.
Benefits of Cultivating
Getting at-home mushroom kits has its own set of benefits. They help you learn more about the mushroom growing process, which can be difficult and delicate yet rewarding. Sometimes you don’t want to go out in nature but still want to grow mushrooms. This is a matter of personal preference, but there are some days in the cold of winter or the dog days of summer when you might want to stay home.
Furthermore, your particular ecosystem may not have a certain type of mushroom available. If you want lion’s mane but your neighboring forest only has turkey tail mushrooms, you’ll be out of luck. Buying mushroom grow kits makes this issue void and gives you the means to harvest the spores of each batch so you can keep growing your own.
Which Is Right for You?
Why not both? You can forage your mushrooms, take a few spore prints, then use them to help cultivate more mushrooms. Get a few mushrooms grow kits if you want to cultivate strands you can’t find in your area. Choosing to do both is a great way to take advantage of foraging or cultivating your mushrooms in a way that’s best for you.
Midwest Organics has you covered with the best mushroom grow kits and accessories in the business, whether you cultivate alone or blend the two approaches. Shop Midwest Organics for all your mushroom needs!