Most mushrooms have a definite preference of media that they can grow well on like straw, coco fiber, rice hull and hardwood. There are also some varieties like Pleurotus (oyster) that can grow well on many different substrates. Be sure to carefully read the product descriptions to get the best substrate for your new mushroom cultures.

The ready to fruit at home bags are cut, spray and watch it grow. Typically it takes around two weeks to pin and start fruiting. If you are using a syringe to inoculate grain then generally expect around 4-6 weeks for the entire process depending on variety. Keep in mind temperature plays a very important role in how fast the mycelium can fully colonize a substrate so read the product descriptions for the best temperatures to grow your mushrooms.

For best production it's best to grow a single organism per container. This keeps down competition and allows for maximum productivity per substrate.

Since it is a living organism it is best to use immediately for the most vigor and best productivity. With that said, you can store the pre-inoculated bags for a few months and still get them to fruit and the syringes can be stored for at least 6 months in cold storage then woken up to use when ready!