Mushroom Spores: All You Need to Know

Mushroom spores are described as reproductive units that when given the right conditions grow fruiting bodies of mushrooms. Cubensis or Psilocybin spores give rise to psychedelic mushrooms with psychoactive compounds; psilocybin and psilocin. Such mushrooms, psilocybin, have hallucinogenic properties similar to those found in cannabis plants.

Psilocybin is a psychoactive compound that can be extracted from some mushrooms in the genus psilocybe. There are216 known mushroom species that contain this psychoactive chemical. Psilocybin mushrooms are illegal to buy, sell, or possess in many states across the United States. However, psilocybin spores are not illegal because they do not contain psychoactive chemicals.

Typically, most of these mushrooms are harvested in the forest, where they grow at the base of trees or on dead logs. It is relatively difficult to tell the difference between many wild mushrooms. Because of that, it is safer to avoid mushrooms that you forage in the wild unless you have some foraging experience.

Mushroom spores are extracted from mature mushrooms. Continue reading to learn about extracting spores, where to find them, and how to inoculate them. Note that psilocybin is not present in the spores until after they produce mycelium, the base from where the primordia mushroom grows. Legal disclaimer: psilocybin-containing mushrooms is illegal in many states across America.

Where to Get Mushroom Spores

Extracting mushroom spores is not that challenging, but buying them from the nearest store or online is the easiest option. There are dozens of vendors selling spore prints and syringes online. If you are new in the industry, then spore print and spore syringes may be strange terms to you. Here is a breakdown of what they mean.

Spore prints simply mean papers where spores have been stamped into. So if you went to the shop today and requested to get a spore print, the seller will hand you a paper stamped with several spores. On the other hand, as the name suggests, a spore syringe is a syringe filled with water containing spores. Because they are very tiny, this is an easy way of holding them.

How’s the spore print made? A farmer or grower takes the mushroom cap and lays it on the paper allowing the spores to fall slowly. The paper and the spores are then dried for storage purposes. They need to be hydrated when you are ready to cultivate them because moisture requires germination.

Buying psilocybin spores for research purposes is not illegal in most of the U.S. During studies, the tiny spores are examined using microscopes. Except for California, Idaho and Georgia purchasing and selling spores to use them for studies is not illegal.

However, it should be clear that buying psilocybin spores to cultivate them is illegal. Psilocybin buying, selling, and possession have been decriminalized in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Denver, Oakland and Santa Cruz, California.

How to Grow Mushroom Spores

Psilocybin mushrooms need you to take some caution before diving into them. Unfortunately, psilocybin mushrooms are not legal in all states. So if psilocybin is illegal in your state, cultivating psilocybin spores may get you into legal trouble. If you are interested in growing your own mushroom, we will take you through the essential things you need to know. Otherwise, there is a wealth of information online.

But if you have a green light to cultivate them, checking on their sterility of the spores is essential. Bacteria and mold may contaminate the spores hindering them from germinating. Other things that you need include a pressure cooker or canner, canning jars, plastic containers, vermiculite or brown rice flour, and other essential items found in the kitchen.

Shrooms are not like other plants, so you may need to exercise some patience. Fruiting bodies begin to appear as tiny white bumps before they sprout out into little pins. Depending on the species, mushrooms are ready to harvest between 5-12 days.

One thing to note about mushrooms is that they lose potency as they grow, so you need to harvest them as early as possible. That, however, should not be the cause of harvesting mushrooms pre-maturely.

There are so many processes on how to grow different mushrooms, from spores to harvest. Since each type of mushroom is unique in terms of requirements, we will not cover those steps here. When buying spores, you can consult with the seller or get a customized step-by-step guide on how to grow them online. But what we know for sure is that the process is relatively simple if you have a suitable growth medium.

Shopping for Mushroom Spores

Shopping for mushroom spores online may be tricky because these products are not regulated. There are a lot of logistics involved because of different laws across the states. For example, you can find some online stores selling psilocybin spores in states where psilocybin is illegal. This is so because the spores do not contain psilocybin chemicals but can grow into mushrooms having the compound.

So when ordering your spores online, you may need to be careful; otherwise, you will get something you did not order. It is relatively difficult to determine the process which was followed to obtain the spores. If the process is not carefully done, there are chances of getting low-quality spores that may fail to germinate into fruiting bodies.

There have been cases where people made purchases online and ended up getting syringes that did not contain spores or contained spores that didn’t germinate. The problem is usually that the vendors don’t care about the sterility of their syringes. So what do you need to do?

The whole situation can be even more complicated if you don’t know exactly how to order them. Because psilocybin is illegal in many parts of the world, ordering them for research is more accessible than when you want to germinate them. If you contact most shops and request the spores, they will ask you why you want them. But if you live in areas where they are legal, this question is not necessary.

The bottom line here is that you need to be careful when shopping for mushroom spores. We recommend that you get them from reputed vendors such as our store.

How to Store Mushroom Spores

Mushroom spores are sold in syringes or as spore prints. Mushroom spore syringes are relatively easy to store if you understand what to do. When you plan on purchasing spores, it is essential to consider whether you have what it takes to keep them. Typically, spores are best within twelve months of harvesting, but they can be stored for the longest time and still germinate. Syringes come with sterilized water solutions where the spores stay viable for long periods.

To avoid contamination, spare syringes need to be stored in cool and dark places or in a refrigerator with minimal disturbances. There should never be any attempt to transfer them into another syringe other than they came in.

The spore prints should also be kept with great care. Because the spores are more exposed in spore prints than in syringes, the prints require more attention. The spore prints should be adequately dried then kept in a container. Place the container with the spores in a refrigerator to maintain the viability of the spores. Humidity is the greatest enemy of your spore prints. Ensure the container where you put the prints is waterproof and sealed tightly. Ensure the environment around your spores is completely dry.

Final Thoughts

Mushroom spores are exciting when you know what to do. That, however, does not mean that you need to be an expert to learn more about mushrooms. mushroom spores.

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