One of the easiest mushrooms to grow for beginners, experienced growers have used this mushroom as a learning tool for cultivating in hardwood chip beds or mulch. What makes this mushrooms perfect for beginners is also the ease of identification, nothing looks like it. It quickly colonizes wood chips and fruits a little in the spring and typically a bumper crop in the fall. Perfect mushroom for gardening and permaculture projects, it can also be used to mulch the floors of livestock pens and chicken runs, as this mushroom is predatory on coliform bacteria and can help keep your coops clean and not as smelly! We have also grown this one indoors on pasteurized straw cased with soil. The mushroom tastes like potatoes cooked in a mild red wine sauce and the stem is stringy like asparagus, so sautéing lightly in a little salted butter and serving it on mashed potatoes or on toast with eggs is a treat!
Learn step by step how to grow King stropharia with this detailed blog: How To Grow The Wine Cap Mushroom.
Edibility and Taste: Savory, Like Potatoes with Asparagus texture
Grows On: Hardwood mulch outdoors, Pasteurized straw indoors
Fruiting Temps: 55-70F
Availability: Year-Round