Mushroom grain spawn serves as the critical carrier for transferring live mycelium to a bulk substrate, a process known as inoculation. When grain spawn is added to your chosen substrate, the mycelium quickly spreads, colonising and consuming the substrate to ultimately produce mushrooms.
At Rootlab, we offer Australiaโs most extensive range of premium mushroom spawn, available in 100g, 1kg or 2kg packs to suit your needs. Our commercial-grade spawn is ideal for growing mushrooms in a variety of setups, from buckets to sterilised bags, and works seamlessly with your preferred substrate. Whether youโre a home grower or a commercial farmer, Rootlabโs high-quality spawn ensures fast colonisation and bountiful yields. Unlike other brands, we offer over 40 species, which you can explore below:
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Mushroom spawn is essentially a carrier, typically grain or sawdust, that has been infused with live mycelium and is ready to be added to a bulk substrate to grow mushrooms. Grain spawn is especially popular because its nutrient-dense base allows the mycelium to rapidly colonise the substrate. At Rootlab, we produce both types of spawn to suit your growing needs. Our highly effective grain spawn can be purchased instantly and shipped within a few days when in stock, while our sawdust spawn is specially prepared to order and takes about two weeks to dispatch.
The growing journey begins with inoculation, where the mycelium-infused spawn is introduced to a bulk substrate like straw, compost, or sawdust. Once added, the strong, live mycelium spreads rapidly throughout the medium in a process called colonisation until it fully overtakes the substrate and begins fruiting to produce mushrooms. Because the success of this process depends heavily on the quality of your starting material, using high-quality spawn ensures your mycelium is healthy, leading to faster colonisation, bountiful yields, and a much lower risk of contamination.
Selecting the suitable mushroom species to cultivate depends on several factors, including your growing environment, the type of substrate available, and your desired end use. If youโre a beginner, Oyster mushrooms (Pink, Yellow, Blue, White or Tan) are great options due to their adaptability and fast-growing nature. If youโre looking for a mushroom with medicinal benefits, consider growing Lionโs Mane, Reishi, Shiitake or Turkey Tail.Although Shiitake and Lions mane can also be used as gourmet mushrooms.
Key Considerations for Choosing Mushroom Spawn
When growing mushrooms, the quality of your mushroom spawn can significantly impact the overall success of your crop. Poor-quality spawn can lead to slow colonization, contamination, or low yields. For this reason, itโs essential to source your spawn from a reputable supplier.
At Rootlab, we pride ourselves on providing high-quality mushroom grain spawn that is cultured in sterile conditions and grown on nutrient-rich Australian wheat grains. Our spawn is produced in clean rooms and laboratories to ensure minimal risk of contamination and maximum growth potential.
Using high-quality mushroom spawn offers several key benefits:
Using mushroom spawn is a relatively simple process, but attention to detail is essential to avoid contamination and ensure successful mushroom growth. Hereโs a step-by-step guide to using mushroom grain spawn:
Itโs important to understand the difference between mushroom spawn and spores. While both are used to grow mushrooms, they are at different stages in the mushroom life cycle.
While spores can be used to grow mushrooms, they are typically only handled in laboratory conditions due to the high risk of contamination. Mushroom spawn, however, is much more accessible for both home-growers and commercial farmers.
At Rootlab, we offer the highest-quality mushroom grain spawn available in Australia. Our spawn is carefully cultivated in sterile, controlled environments to ensure it is free from contaminants and primed for rapid growth. We offer a variety of mushroom species to suit different growing needs, and our spawn is perfect for both small-scale home cultivation and large-scale commercial production.
Whether youโre growing oyster, shiitake, or lionโs mane mushrooms, our premium mushroom spawn will help you achieve the best possible results. Our commitment to quality ensures that our spawn is the same as what we use daily for our commercial fruiting block production.
The shelf life of mushroom spawn can vary based on storage conditions. Generally, if kept in a cool, dark place (ideally at temperatures between 2ยฐC and 10ยฐC), grain spawn can last anywhere from 2 to 3 months. However, once opened, it's best to use it within 2 weeks for optimal results, as exposure to air can lead to contamination and degradation of the spawn.
There are some temperature-sensitive tropical species, like pink oysters, almond mushrooms, and woodear, which need to be stored at 10ยฐC. All other species not cold-sensitive can be kept at 2ยฐC,
Spawn kept at 2ยฐC will last for twice as long, and then spawn will be kept at 4 ยฐC.
The best time to use any spawn is within 21 days for maximum benefit from the manufacturing date. This is only possible if you preorder your spawn or make it yourself.
The life cycle of mushroom spawn involves several stages:
Mushroom Maturity: The mushrooms grow to maturity, eventually producing their own spores to continue the cycle.
You can use part of the spawn and save the rest for later use. However, keeping the remaining spawn in a cool, dark place is essential to prolong its shelf life.
Make sure the bag is heat-sealed again to prevent contamination. If you do not have a heat sealer, consider our bag sealer.
Keep in mind that the quality of the saved spawn may diminish over time, so it's best to use it as soon as possible for optimal results or within 2 weeks of opening. An opened spawn has a high chance of contamination even if stored in the fridge at the ideal temperature. Try using all your spawns at the same time.
No. Freezing will kill the living mycelium network. Instead, you should store most grain or sawdust spawn in the fridge between 0ยฐC and 4ยฐC. This cold environment puts the mycelium to sleep, preserving its viability for up to 3 months. Note: Tropical strains like Pink Oyster and Almond Agaricus cannot be refrigerated and must be kept at room temperature.
Yes, but it requires strict hygiene. You can make your own by inoculating sterilised grains (like Australian wheat, rye, or oats) with a liquid culture or agar wedge. You must perform this inside a sterile environment, such as a still air box (SAB) or in front of a laminar flow hood, to prevent mould and bacterial contamination.
Generally, no. Once spawn is mixed into a bulk substrate and produces mushrooms, its energy and nutrients are completely depleted. However, before fruiting, you can use a small amount of healthy, un-fruited spawn to inoculate more sterile grain (a process called "grain to grain transfer") to multiply it.
Cultivating spawn involves hydrating and sterilising a base grain in a pressure cooker at 121ยฐC. Once cooled, you introduce a clean mushroom culture in a highly sterile environment. The sealed bags or jars are then placed in a dark, warm incubation space (usually 20 to 24ยฐC) until the white mycelium fully colonises the grain.
Spawn is not "harvested" like fully grown mushrooms. It is considered ready to use when the grain or sawdust is completely coated in dense, white mycelium. At this stage, you simply break the block apart inside the bag and mix the loose grains directly into your bulk substrate to initiate the fruiting phase.
You propagate spawn through a grain to grain (G2G) transfer. In a sterile workspace (like a flow hood), you break apart a fully colonised master bag of grain spawn and transfer small portions of it into freshly sterilised bags of uncolonised grain. One master bag can typically propagate 7 to 10 new bags.
Store your mushroom spawn in a clean refrigerator at 0ยฐC to 4ยฐC. Cold temperatures slow the mycelial growth, keeping it fresh for up to 3 months. Crucial exception for Australian growers: Tropical varieties like Pink Oyster will die in the cold and must be kept at room temperature.
To use your spawn, gently massage the bag to break apart the colonised block until the grains separate. Working in a clean area, mix the spawn thoroughly into a pasteurised or sterilised bulk substrate, such as Australian sugarcane mulch, straw, or hardwood sawdust. Seal the mixture in a grow bag or bucket and place it in incubation.
For commercial and home growing, the standard inoculation rate is generally between 5% and 10% of the total wet weight of your bulk substrate. For example, if you are preparing a 10 kg block of wet substrate, you will need between 500g and 1 kg of grain spawn for fast, aggressive colonisation.
You multiply spawn using the grain to grain (G2G) expansion method. Working in a heavily sanitised environment to avoid airborne contaminants, take a small amount of fully colonised grain and mix it into a new bag of sterile, hydrated grain. The established mycelium will aggressively leap off the old grain and colonise the new batch within a few weeks.
Harvest them slightly “under-ripe” (edges still curled down) to double their shelf life.
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