Spawn may take two to three weeks to ship depending on availability. 

Lion's Mane Cultivation

Hericium erinaceus: Lion's Mane produces a pure white cluster of icicle-like teeth and a consistency similar to crab meat.

Lion's Mane spawn comes in three distinct styles:

Plug Spawn - Great for first time mushroom log growers. Used for small projects. 1-10 logs.

Sawdust Spawn - Used for larger mushroom log projects, or by those wanting to inoculate logs every year. Used for small to large enthusiast or commercial projects. Best for inoculating 10 or more logs. *You need an Inoculation Tool to use Sawdust Spawn! For larger projects you may want to purchase an Angle Grinder Adapter and specialized 12mm drill bit!

Grain Spawn - Indoor Commercial Production only.

Inoculation:

On Logs - Prefers the Totem method (using Sawdust Spawn), although will work with Log or Stump methods. Colonization is 12-24 months and fruits in the fall. It prefers maple but can grow on many hardwood species and on logs with large or small diameters. 

Check out our Spawn FAQ to figure out what type of logs you can use!

Indoor Commercial Production - Lion's Mane mushroom grain spawn can be mixed into sterilized or lime pasteurized substrates including but not limited to hardwood sawdust, straw, and coffee grounds. These processes range from requiring a fair amount of infrastructure for larger projects to simple and low-tech. We recommend purchasing a book on mushroom cultivation if you are interested in pursuing this style of mushroom production as a hobby or profession. We recommend 'Radical Mycology: A Treatise on Seeing and Working with Fungi' by Peter McCoy, 'Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation' by Tradd Cotter, or 'Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms' by Paul Stamets. 

Difficulty: Intermediate

Lion's Mane mushrooms, though slightly harder to get flushes, are still a great mushroom for confident beginners or intermediates. They colonize quickly and are relatively reliable producers. Lion's Mane grown indoors is great for commercial producers though log grown yields tend to be too low unless used successfully with the totem method.

Cooking: Due to its consistency and flavor, it can be used as a seafood substitute in recipes. We like to slice it into rounds and pan-fry it in olive oil or butter, or try ripping it up and making 'Lion's Mane Cakes' by following a crab cake recipe!

Properties: Lion's Mane is considered both an esteemed edible mushroom and a valuable medicinal and is currently being studied for its effects on neural health, Alzheimer's, and dementia. The mushroom contains a substance called erinacine, which has the ability to catalyze the production of nerve growth factor (NFG) and reduce the effects of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative disorders (Yamada et al., 1997). A study in Japan, on men aged 50-80 years old with mild cognitive impairment, suggests that Lion's Mane is effective at improving cognition. Subjects were split into two groups and half were given dry powdered Lion's Mane three times a day and observed over 16 weeks. At weeks 8, 12, and 16, the group taking Lion's Mane scored significantly better on a cognitive test than the other half in the placebo group (Mori et al., 2008). You can read more about this study here.