Buyer's Guide: The Best Mushroom Grow Kits

Best Advanced: Midwest Mushroom Grow Kit

The company allows you to take your mushroom grow to the next level, providing you with all of the resources you need to scale your project to any height. Multiple packages are offered so you can take full control of the process.

Best Lion’s Mane: North Spore Lion’s Mane Mushroom Grow Kit

Multiple products are offered by the company and they make it easy for you to enjoy the beauty of growing your own lion’s mane. It’s quick and efficient and you’ll be asking yourself, “how did they make it so easy!?”

Best Reishi: North Spore Reishi Mushroom Grow Kit

A rare find in the mushroom kit space is the ability to grow your own reishi. The company delivers on this just as they do for its other offers. It yields a beautiful flush of mushrooms, and because reishi grows slowly, it allows the consumer to watch every step in the growth cycle.

Best Pearl Oyster: Back to the Roots Organic Mushroom Grow Kit

Inexpensive price, designed for those with no experience, and can be easily grown by children, as well as adults. A fine product that won’t break your wallet. Perfect for a gift or for your own hobby!

Best Pink Oyster: Back to the Roots Pink Oyster Mushroom Grow Kit

The lowest price point, backed with a guarantee it grows or the company will send you a replacement. For such a low cost, the beauty from these mushrooms will seem like you just got a steal.

Best Golden Oyster: North Spore Golden Oyster Mushroom Grow Kit

The company excels at producing grow kits of all different species and allows the opportunity to grow them indoors or outdoors, a significant advantage compared to others.

Best Blue Oyster: North Spore Blue Oyster Mushroom Grow Kit

Beautiful growth in a variety of ways. The grow kits are priced competitively and offer guarantee for growth. A crowd favorite among us and North Spore's many consumers.

Best Mushroom Grow Kit for a Variety of Species

Select from multiple species that can be used in cooking dishes, to make your own extracts, and more! We love North Spore and have selected them as our best overall pick as well. 

North Spore → $28 - $30

Make no mistake about it, North Spore is a serious, mushroom growing company, and they’ve made it incredibly easy for you to start your own mini mushroom farm.

The company offers multiple styles, whichever you prefer.

Spray & Grow Box Kits are extremely user-friendly. Based in Maine, all of their kits are locally sourced, all-natural, organic, and non-GMO ingredients from farms in New England and North America.

And they GUARANTEE your first flush of mushrooms! Hopefully, you get 2-3, though! And after it’s run its course, you can even continue the growth outside which they detail for you. It’s the gift that keeps on giving and you can see how easy it is to use here:

Fruiting Block Kits are another way for you to take the power of growing mushrooms into your own hands! Unlike a box, these kits are a fully colonized block that requires little maintenance and can scale up your growing practice! They’re fun, practical, and allow you to see what you can’t in you chose the Spray and Grow Box Kit.

Check out this video if you want to see how simple it is!

Outdoor Mushroom Log Kits are for those that want to up their game, get outside, and see just how fascinating growing mushrooms in the wild can be. It’s certainly not as easy as the prior two options, but it’s still relatively easy and gives consumers a fresh alternative to other kits.

See for yourself!

Overall, North Spore stands out from the crowd, offering multiple styles of grow kits and an assortment of species. The company has raving reviews across all their products, guarantees a first flush (harvest) and has the consumer in mind. They are a fantastic company all around. If you’re looking for specific species, you’ll find that they are our top ranked option for many!

Best Mushroom Grow Kit for Kids

Teach your little ones about growing mushrooms and watch them witness the growth cycle first hand! Back to the Roots kits are an awesome option for kids and adults alike!

Back to the Roots → $19.99 - $24.99

So easy a toddler could do it? That may be Back to the Roots’ unwritten motto!

The company stands out in the mushroom grow kit community, especially in the minds and hearts of children around the world. Not only do they make it easy with their spray and grow kits, but they have a passion for getting kids into gardening and growing their own food. From a recent post, the company stated,

“You helped us bring at-home gardening to nearly 70,000 kids in elementary schools across the U.S.! Yup, you could say feeding the minds (and tummies) of kiddos is kind of our thing. Since 2009, we've been donating one of our products to an elementary classroom of choice for every photo you share of our gardening kits and hashtag #GrowOneGiveOne.”

Their kits may be basic in the sense that you cannot choose a species, but that’s not what they are going for. If you’re looking for different species and to harvest specific mushrooms for cooking and other applications, you will likely want to go with North Spore.

But, if you’re looking to teach your kids how to grow or even want to prove to yourself that you, too, can grow mushrooms without any experience, then this is the product for you!

Each crop produces 3-4 servings of pearl oyster mushrooms, and each box can grow up to two crops!

They also offer pink oyster mushrooms as well!

Back to the Roots does a lot for children, teachers, and spreading joy among the youth. For that, they are hands down the best mushroom grow kit for children!

Oh and they guarantee it grows of course!

“We 100% guarantee that our large Back to the Roots Mushroom Grow Kit will produce two harvests per kit. The Mini Mushroom Grow Kit is guaranteed to produce one harvest per kit.”

Best Value Mushroom Grow Kit

If you’re not worried about the species and just looking for the experience, choose a value option like the one below. We love Back to the Roots kits because they're easy, reliable, and affordable. 

Back to the Roots → $19.99 - $24.99

Value is dependent one what you’re searching for.

If you’re looking for a grow kit and aren’t concerned with what species you get, Back to the Roots is the best priced grow kit on the market, especially given the quality of the product.

Each kit is said to produce up to two crops, guaranteed, and each crop will make 3-4 servings of mushrooms.

They offer two different species, pearl oyster and pink oyster.

They make it extremely easy to set up your kit and it requires very little maintenance.

You won’t find a better bang for your buck in the mushroom grow kit market than Back to the Roots, especially if you’re just looking to educate your children or you want to prove to yourself that it really is as easy as it looks to grow your own mushrooms.

In this day and age, being able to grow your own food has become a popular hobby.

There is nothing more enjoyable than eating something that you grew on your own…something about it just tastes better!

And like we said, if you have children, your kids will love it, too!

Back to the Roots has donated 70,000 kits to classrooms and actively supports children and teachers.

They’ve made kids appreciate “gardening” of sorts, with this easy-to-use kit.

And for that, we couldn’t recommend them more!

Best Advanced Mushroom Grow Kit

Want to take your growing to the next level, but still don’t want to start from scratch? This one's for you!

Midwest Grow Kits → $49.99 - $409

You read that price correctly. Midwest Grow Kits are not for the faint of heart! If you’re looking to up your mushroom growing game and have a serious crop, this kit is for you!

But remember, it is a kit. You aren’t doing anything “on your own” like building a home-growing station for your mushrooms.

Instead, Midwest Grow Kits provide you with everything you need to get a full crop under your belt!

Try not to be intimidated. If you’re ready to take it to the extreme, keep reading.

If this looks too complex, no judgment here! It’s a serious operation they’ve developed.

“This kit is completely automated! Perfect temperature and humidity are easily achieved for each stage of the process! Set it up in minutes! We make growing mushrooms easy! All of our kits are extremely easy to use and require only 1 step to start your mushroom adventure! Grow your exotics or edibles in Mega quantities! The Mega Mushroom Kit features an innovative positive pressure air exchange system allowing you to grow in even the dirtiest spaces. No need to drill hundreds of holes in your container. Simple set up to maintain constant fresh air exchange during the fruiting stage.”

If you’re big into technology and really diving into the intricacies of how mushroom growing works in a controlled environment, Midwest Grow Kits is a fantastic option.

They do state that it is easy to set up and it’s all automated, but it’s definitely a bit more overwhelming than a Spray & Grow Kit.

Nevertheless, customers have given the product and company high praise, stating how simple it is and that directions are laid out well. Many stating to just “follow the directions and you can’t go wrong!”

We applaud Midwest Grow Kits for producing a product that still makes it easy to grow, yet produces a large crop of various mushrooms.

**Note that you’ll have to order spores of the species you’d like to grow. Midwest Grow Kits do not sell mushroom spores. However, they have a discount code from a reputable site that you can order yours from.

Because of this, the kit does not come with EVERYTHING needed to grow.

If you’re new to mushrooms, think of the spores as seeds. You’ll want to purchase from Premium Spores or another site, and you’ll use those in the kit provided by Midwest Grow Kits.

They do offer some smaller starter kits priced at $49.99 that require the same work in terms of ordering your own spores.

You can also opt into a full blown Mushroom Ecosystem, which ranges from $209-409!

You certainly won’t be limited by the kits from Midwest Grow Kits, that’s for sure!

They have an option for any level you’re looking to get to!

Best Lion’s Mane Grow Kit

Interested in growing your own lion’s mane?

Have no fear…or experience! North Spore is here for you!

North Spore offers a variety of mushroom grow kits. Based out of Maine, all of their kits are locally sourced, all-natural, organic, and non-GMO ingredients from farms in New England and North America.

They are simply one of the best with rave reviews across their entire product line.

Lion’s mane, itself, is a fantastic mushroom to grow, not only for its nutritional value and flavor, but because it’s a beautiful looking mushroom. The aesthetic of the mushroom alone will be an eye catcher in your home.

Lion’s mane can be enjoyed cooked, dried, extracted, or steeped as a tea.

North Spore offers two styles of kits for lion’s mane.

The first is an easy-to-use kit that can sit right on your counter.

Lion's Mane Spray & Grow Kit → $28.00

This kit regularly sells out, so you may need to pre-order!

However, for all of their spray and grow kits, you can enjoy deep discounts by ordering in bulk. Here are the discounts available at the time this article was published:

• Save 10% when you buy 4
• Save 20% when you buy 8
• Save 25% when you buy 12

Worth it if you’re thinking of growing an even bigger crop!

The company GUARANTEES your first flush of mushrooms, but many get 2-3 flushes.

As far as directions go, it’s as straightforward as it gets!

Shop with confidence from North Spore if you’re interested in this lion’s mane grow kit.

Reviews speak volumes…

Not to mention that mushrooms from North Spore kits grow quickly!

Directly from their site, “Once activated, your kit should start pinning within 6-10 days. From there, it usually only takes 4-5 days for your mushroom kit to produce its first full flush!”

You, your family, kids…will all love it!

They also offer a second indoor option for lion’s mane grow kits.

Lion’s Mane Fruiting Block Kit → $30.00

It definitely comes down to personal preference.

While you may enjoy the spray & grow kit, because it’s compact and may look “pretty” in their nice box, the fruiting block kit offers consumers the ability to see the beauty of the whole process, including the growth of mycelium, hyphal knots, primordia, and finally the fruiting body (the white clouds of lion’s mane).

If you’re looking for the full experience of that, this may be your best option!

These fruiting box kits need a little more care and maintenance than the spray & grow kits, but the directions are still easy to follow. Nevertheless, if it sounds like too much, you should opt for the other product.

Both options for lion’s mane grow kits by North Spore are designed to make cultivating your favorite edible mushrooms easy and are a practical way to scale up your mushroom grow.

And if you’re interested in growing outdoors, they have a product for that, too!

Lion’s Mane Outdoor Mushroom Log Kit → $30

The company offers plenty of videos and tutorials if you’re a visual learner as well!

It’s refreshing to see a company like North Spore so active in helping to educate consumers about mushroom growing and making it extremely easy for them as well!

Every option is a beginner-level with all necessary components given to you with a set of easy-to-follow instructions.

You can always reach out to them as well and they are happy to answer questions!

Best Reishi Grow Kit

If you’re looking to grow your own reishi mushrooms, we have the kit for you!

While reishi has a rather bitter woody flavor, it is unlikely that you’re looking to use it as a gourmet mushroom in cooking.

However, the potential medicinal properties of reishi are astounding, which is likely your interest in growing them!

By growing your own reishi, you can then incorporate it into teas or tinctures if you’re interested in making your own!

As is there really anything more satisfying than growing and producing your own products…we think not!

So when it comes to the best reishi grow kit, we’ve selected North Spore.

It’s a company based out of Maine with glowing reviews across a variety of products…from different species to different growing applications, the company stands out from the rest.

They source their products locally from New England and North America, are non-GMO, all natural, and organic. Their commitment to quality shines through and they guarantee your first flush of mushrooms, though its expected that with proper care, you can get 2-3…the gift that keeps on giving.

North Spore Reishi Grow Kit → $30

This reishi fruiting block kit is exactly that! It’s a fruiting block kits are fully colonized and ready to grow. Each block measures ~9x6x6 inches and weighs ~5lbs.

Now, understand that unlike other mushrooms, like Lion’s Mane and Oyster which can see growth maturity in even a week or two, reishi is NOT going to deliver that instant gratification.

In fact, the company details what it will look like after 3-4 months (seen below).

As far as harvesting goes, you could harvest during the stage when the reishi is just a few inches tall, or, if you’re not in a rush (which we strongly encourage you aren’t) you let them grow for many more months to reach full maturity so you can capture the beauty of the entire mushroom.

So, just be cognizant of what you’re looking for and expect this reishi growth to take awhile.

But, if patient, you’ll begin to love waking up and checking on its progress throughout its lifecycle.

The fruiting box kit makes it easy to see each stage and can be a great educational lesson for adults and children, alike!

As far as setup, care, and maintenance, North Spore keeps it simple. Seriously, anyone CAN do it, with no experience required!

As long as you follow some simple directions…

Whatever your choice for what you choose to do with your reishi mushrooms once they're grown, rest assured that with North Spore, you’re getting a quality product from a reputable company, at a very affordable price!

Reviews on the site confirm this and many speak about the ease of use, a factor we all enjoy when growing our own mushrooms!

They also give consumers the ability to grow their reishi mushrooms outside, and we LOVE this!

Reishi Outdoor Mushroom Log Kit → $30

It’s priced the same and comes with a drill bit and simple instructions to grow your kit outside!

Not many offer this and we applaud them for giving this as an option. While many enjoy growing indoors, or possibly live in the city and don’t have the property available for outdoor growing, those that do will enjoy seeing their mushrooms grow in the wild!

You can check out how it will look in this video.

North Spore is also available for questions that you have and offers a variety of educational videos to walk you through the process.

You’re in good hands!

Best Oyster Mushroom Grow Kit

There are a variety of oyster mushrooms to choose from including pearl, pink, golden, and blue oysters.

So the first step is choosing which one you’d like to grow!

1. Pearl Oyster Mushrooms are very mild, and are a little bit woody to some. Their texture is a favorite among the culinary world and if prepared properly, can have a meaty texture to them.
2. Pink Oyster Mushrooms are succulent and savory. They also have a beautiful tint which can make growing them even more enjoyable. Often added to pizzas, and pastas, they are commonly used as a meat substitute as well!
3. Golden Oyster Mushrooms have a great aroma, are delicate, and delicious in many dishes. They also have a slight taste of nuttiness, almost like a cashew, and both their flavor and texture make them a favorite amongst chefs.
4. Blue Oyster mushrooms are a culinary staple. They’re velvety, savory, and mild and pair well with almost any recipe!

So whatever oyster mushroom you’re looking to grow at home, consider which one you’d like before proceeding. There is no wrong answer! It’s all personal preference.

Best Pearl Oyster Grow Kit

A crowd favorite amongst adults and kids alike is the growing kit made by Back to the Roots.

Back to the Roots Pearl Oyster Grow Kit → $19.99 - $24.99

Most often, you’ll find the product available on their site for $19.99, which is a common sale that they run!

When you’re looking for a pearl mushroom grow kit, we can assume that a big part of it all is that you want it to be low maintenance with little care…

So easy a child could do it!

And that’s exactly what Back to the Roots delivers!

Not only that, but they guarantee results!

“We 100% guarantee that our large Back to the Roots Mushroom Grow Kit will produce two harvests per kit. The Mini Mushroom Grow Kit is guaranteed to produce one harvest per kit.”

Some of the key features of the product we know you’ll love include:

• Grows in just 10 days
• Everything included (mushroom kit and spray bottle)
• 100% Organic & Non-GMO
• Grown in Michigan, USA
• #GrowOneGiveOne - share a pic, and we'll donate a kit to a classroom of your choice!
• Each crop produces 3-4 servings of pearl oyster mushrooms, and each box can grow up to two crops!

The brand has stood out in the mushroom grow kit community, largely in part to their low price, great value, and their commitment to teaching kids (AND PARENTS) the fascination that lies in growing your own mushrooms.

They’ve donated over 70,000 kits to classrooms around the country and if you take a photo of you and your product with the #GrowOneGiveOne hashtag, they donate another!

In their kit, they also have a FREE downloadable curriculum for kids to learn about the science behind mushrooms.

But, if you’re an adult, this product is for you as well!

Even if you have no experience, this Pearl Oyster Grow Kit is guaranteed to grow or they’ll send you a free replacement.

The product is high quality and the company is one to love.

Shop with confidence at Back to the Roots.

Best Pink Oyster Grow Kit

We’re sticking with the same brand for our Pink Oyster grow kit.

Back to the roots also offers this product in addition to their Pearl Oyster.

Back to the Roots Pink Oyster Grow Kit → $19.99 - $39.99 bundle

You can order the Pink Oyster mushroom grow kit by itself from multiple sites, but we recommend the bundle of Pink Oyster and Pearl Oyster to witness the beauty of growing two species in your own home!

These kits are designed to be user friendly.

After all, the goal is to easily produce your own mushrooms and they come with all the necessary things to make that happen for you!

Pink Oysters not only offer a variety in terms of what culinary applications you choose to use them in, but as far as aesthetics and the joy that you (or your children) get from seeing multiple colors of mushrooms, they are a crowd favorite.

Back to the Roots has done a fantastic job educating adults and children alike, and making it extremely simple to enjoy a hobby that many thought was too challenging to get into.

You can purchase the product here.

Best Golden Oyster Grow Kit

If you’re looking to branch out into other varietals of Oyster Mushrooms, you’re going to want to check out North Spore, a Maine-based company that is all natural, organic, and locally sources their ingredients from New England and North America.

They have done an amazing job providing high quality grow kits, and guarantee the first flush of mushrooms. It’s expected to get 2-3 flushes out of one grow kit, and they detail the care plan to make that happen!

North Spore Golden Oyster Grow Kit → $28

While slightly more expensive than the likes of Back to the Roots, North Spore does what others do not…they offer a TON of variety in their grow kits and their mushroom species.

You can save some money if you buy in bulk as well.

• Save 10% when you buy 4
• Save 20% when you buy 8
• Save 25% when you buy 12

For Golden Oyster they offer a Spray & Grow Kit…

A fruiting block kit that’s priced at $30.

AND an outdoor log-growing kit for $30!

It really comes down to personal preference.

The spray & grow kits may be a tad easier, but both have very simple directions to turn you into a mushroom-growing expert! Or well, maybe not an expert just yet, but you’ll yield a nice crop and like we said, they guarantee it!

If you’re brand new to the game, just try out the Golden Oyster Spray & Grow Kit. Then you can check out their other products.

Golden oysters are sure to be a crowd favorite and an eye catcher in your home.

Both options are great choices. We like the Spray & Grow kit for extreme ease of use.

But, it’s pretty hard to fail with the fruiting block kit as well. Both have a simple set of directions to follow that make it possible for anyone to enjoy growing mushrooms.

The fruiting block can be a bit more exciting (and educational) as you see everything happening in the see-through bag, but again, you have to decide what you’re looking for!

Then, if you’re looking to tap into nature, the outdoor log growing kit is an AWESOME product that they offer for consumers.

They send you a drill bit and everything needed to give you the full benefits of growing your golden oyster mushrooms outside!

It’s still made very easy for consumers and a beginner will be able to do it!

You can check out this video to see what the process looks like!

North Spore makes the process easy and whichever you choose, you’ll have a reputable company with fantastic reviews and educational videos available for you whenever you need!

Best Blue Oyster Grow Kit

Blue Oyster mushrooms are very similar to Pearl Oysters, but if you’re looking for a little variety, you’ll want to choose this!

North Spore delivers best in terms of Blue Oyster Mushroom Grow Kits.

North Spore Blue Oyster Mushroom Grow Kit → $28

From the ease of growing to the beautiful display on your counter or wherever you see fit, you’re in good hands with North Spore.

Organic products, grown in New England and North America, and a company that hopes to educate more and more consumers about the growing mushrooms.

They check off every box for us in terms of quality and value, and guarantee the first flush of mushrooms.

They have videos as well that walk you through the easy-to-follow directions and are available on their site and on youtube.

But the fun doesn’t stop there!

They also offer their Blue Oyster Mushroom Grow Kits in two other forms:

The Fruiting Block, priced at $30.

The difficulty level is still beginner even though it’s in a different form. The Spray & Grow Kit may be a little more elementary, but even if you have zero experience, both kits will do just fine!

Plus, with the fruiting block kit, you get to see everything develop inside the bag, from the mycelium, hyphal knots, primordia, the pinning, and then the full fruiting body!

It’s pretty amazing that this can all be done so easily and that’s all because of the power of mushrooms and the product quality from North Spore!

And lastly, they offer a third, OUTDOOR option!

North Spore Blue Oyster Outdoor Mushroom Log Kit → $30

We’ll be honest, the ease of growing mushrooms indoors, in a box, and just spraying it with the supplied little water sprayer is incredible.

BUT, if you want to get outside (or get your kids outside), there isn’t much better than using this beginner-level kit to tap into a log and grow your mushrooms out in nature on your property.

However, North Spore understands that this isn’t for everyone. For some, it may be exactly what they want! For others, they’d like to make it slightly easier for themselves and grow their mushrooms indoors, so the Spray & Grow Kit and the Fruiting Block Kit will be the best choice.

We love that North Spore has created so many different ways for consumers to easily grow their own mushrooms.

Not only that, but they offer a substantial variety of species along with their oyster mushrooms, so you can really take full advantage of their entire product line!

The sky's the limit with mushroom growing kits from North Spore!

Check out everything they offer here.

Don’t see a kit you’re looking for? Want us to review a specific one? Contact us today and let us know what kits you love.