Compare every tek
All sixteen methods in one table. Sort by any column. The ratings are our judgement from the sources on each tek page; cost is a band, never a price.
| Agar | Culture | Shelf or closet | Medium , cost band 2 of 3 | Pressure cooker and clean transfers | Demanding , difficulty 3 of 3 | Weeks , time to first harvest 1 of 3 | Any species | Indoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-in-one grow bags | Substrate | Shelf or closet | Low , cost band 1 of 3 | None | Easy , difficulty 1 of 3 | Weeks , time to first harvest 1 of 3 | Oyster, Lion’s mane, Chestnut, Pioppino, King oyster, Reishi | Indoors |
| Bucket tek | Substrate | Shelf or closet | Low , cost band 1 of 3 | Pasteurise or keep clean | Easy , difficulty 1 of 3 | Weeks , time to first harvest 1 of 3 | Oyster | Indoors |
| Cold-water lime pasteurisation | Substrate | Corner of a room | Low , cost band 1 of 3 | Pasteurise or keep clean | Easy , difficulty 1 of 3 | Weeks , time to first harvest 1 of 3 | Oyster | Indoors |
| Grain spawn in bags | Spawn | Shelf or closet | Medium , cost band 2 of 3 | Pressure cooker and clean transfers | Moderate , difficulty 2 of 3 | Weeks , time to first harvest 1 of 3 | Any species | Indoors |
| Grain spawn in jars | Spawn | Shelf or closet | Medium , cost band 2 of 3 | Pressure cooker and clean transfers | Moderate , difficulty 2 of 3 | Weeks , time to first harvest 1 of 3 | Any species | Indoors |
| Liquid culture | Culture | Shelf or closet | Medium , cost band 2 of 3 | Pressure cooker and clean transfers | Demanding , difficulty 3 of 3 | Weeks , time to first harvest 1 of 3 | Any species | Indoors |
| Logs with plug spawn | Outdoor | Yard or woodlot | Low , cost band 1 of 3 | None | Moderate , difficulty 2 of 3 | About a year , time to first harvest 3 of 3 | Shiitake, Oyster, Lion’s mane | Outdoors |
| Martha tent | Fruiting | Corner of a room | Medium , cost band 2 of 3 | None | Moderate , difficulty 2 of 3 | Weeks , time to first harvest 1 of 3 | Oyster, Lion’s mane, Shiitake, Chestnut, Pioppino, King oyster, Reishi, Maitake | Indoors |
| Monotub fruiting for gourmet species | Fruiting | Shelf or closet | Low , cost band 1 of 3 | Pasteurise or keep clean | Moderate , difficulty 2 of 3 | Weeks , time to first harvest 1 of 3 | Oyster, King oyster | Indoors |
| Pasteurised straw (hot water) | Substrate | Corner of a room | Low , cost band 1 of 3 | Pasteurise or keep clean | Moderate , difficulty 2 of 3 | Weeks , time to first harvest 1 of 3 | Oyster | Indoors |
| Shotgun fruiting chamber | Fruiting | Shelf or closet | Low , cost band 1 of 3 | None | Easy , difficulty 1 of 3 | Weeks , time to first harvest 1 of 3 | Oyster, Lion’s mane, Chestnut, Pioppino, King oyster | Indoors |
| Spent coffee grounds | Substrate | Shelf or closet | Low , cost band 1 of 3 | Pasteurise or keep clean | Moderate , difficulty 2 of 3 | Weeks , time to first harvest 1 of 3 | Oyster | Indoors |
| Still air box vs flow hood | Clean work | Shelf or closet | Low , cost band 1 of 3 | Pressure cooker and clean transfers | Moderate , difficulty 2 of 3 | Weeks , time to first harvest 1 of 3 | Any species | Indoors |
| Supplemented sawdust blocks | Substrate | Corner of a room | Medium , cost band 2 of 3 | Pressure cooker and clean transfers | Demanding , difficulty 3 of 3 | Months , time to first harvest 2 of 3 | Oyster, Lion’s mane, Shiitake, Chestnut, Pioppino, King oyster, Reishi, Maitake | Indoors, or outdoors in season |
| Wood-chip garden beds | Outdoor | Yard or woodlot | Low , cost band 1 of 3 | None | Easy , difficulty 1 of 3 | Months , time to first harvest 2 of 3 | Wine cap | Outdoors |
How to read the ratings
- Space is the least room the tek needs: a shelf or closet, a corner of a room, or a yard or woodlot.
- Cost band is what you would spend to start if you have nothing: low, medium or high. Each tek page says what drives it.
- Sterile work is “none” when you do no sterile step yourself, “pasteurise or keep clean” when heat, lime or freshness does the job, and “pressure cooker and clean transfers” when you sterilise and work in a still air box or flow hood.
- Difficulty reflects how much can go wrong and how much attention it needs.
- First harvest is the rough wait from starting to the first mushrooms: weeks, months or about a year. The cited range is on each tek page.
- Species lists what the cited sources grow with that method. “Any species” means the tek is a lab or spawn step.
- The three-square marks show each rating at one of three levels, filled from low to high; the same marks appear on every tek page and in the chooser.