Once fully colonized and placed in the fruiting chamber, pins (the beginning stages of a mushroom) appear in two to three days. The lion’s mane keep growing and are ready to harvest in approximately 7-14 days , dependent on temperature.. Lion’s mane mushrooms grow well on a wide variety of hardwoods.
Another popular query is “When to harvest lion’s mane mushrooms?”.
You’ll need to harvest them before they turn pink or brown for good flavour. Pick the lion’s mane at different stages of maturity to get different textures. Younger lion’s mane mushroom is firmer and denser.
How do you identify Lion’s Mane mushrooms?
You can forage and harvest wild lion’s mane with confidence as the mushroom is easy to identify, and similar-looking mushrooms are non-toxic. Lion’s mane mushrooms are white in color with distinctive white “teeth,” or spines, that usually dangle from clumps of the mushrooms. Older mushrooms may turn yellow or brown in color.
The lion’s mane mushroom (Hericium erinaceus) is a safe-to-eat , delicious mushroom found throughout North America. You can forage and harvest wild lion’s mane with confidence as the mushroom is easy to identify, and similar-looking mushrooms are non-toxic.
Another frequent inquiry is “What does a lion’s mane mushroom look like?”.
Lions Mane Mushroom grows in large snowball like formations. The mushroom is white , sometimes browning if the spines are damaged or with age. Individual mushrooms can be quite large, sometimes weighing over 1 lb. The spines or “teeth” start out quite small, but elongate with age.
How do you harvest Lions Mane?
Yield: More than 2 lbs of Lions Mane can be harvested from a single 5 lb fruiting block over multiple flushes. Some individual fruits can weigh well over one pound. Harvest: Harvest the Lions Mane by cutting the “snowball” off close to the bag with a sharp knife . Be very delicate with the fruit as to not damage the spines.
This of course begs the question “How long does it take to grow lion’s mane?”
If you are growing lion’s mane on logs, it takes one to two years after inoculation to harvest your first batch of fresh lion’s mane. Lion’s mane is not quick-growing on logs, but once they start producing, you can harvest mushrooms off the same log for up to six years. However, growing lion’s mane indoors in bags or containers is a lot quicker.
In the step by step guide below, we cover everything you need to know about growing lion’s mane on logs. See this article from our resource hub from our complete guide to growing mushrooms on logs.