The 9 Edible Mushrooms That Grow On Wood: Everything You Need To Know

Most people will be familiar with mushrooms when it comes to our food, but bizarrely there are very few people who grow their own edible mushrooms at home.

You’d be surprised at the amount of edible mushrooms that grow on wood though! 

We’ve done extensive research and tried it for ourselves. There are 9 major edible mushrooms that grow on wood, and you can grow them from the comfort of your own home. 

So, if you’re hoping to grow your own edible mushrooms – read this comprehensive guide below for a whole lot more information! 

9 Edible Mushrooms That Grow On Wood 

Without any further delay, let’s examine the 9 edible mushrooms that grow on wood and tell you everything you need to know about them! 

1. Oyster Mushrooms 

Oyster mushrooms are probably the easiest types of mushrooms to grow. They tend to grow very strong and abundantly – and when they are consumed, they have a mild but delicious taste.

They’re also excellent to include with sauces as they absorb the flavor easily.

For any beginner to the world of mushroom growing, the oyster mushroom will definitely be high on your priority list.

These types of mushrooms have a tendency to grow incredibly quickly and the mushroom does not have particular temperature requirements. 

Oyster mushrooms can be grown indoors or outdoors and when they are grown right, they usually appear in large clusters of mushrooms which you can harvest.

They also tend to overtake almost any wooded plant material. 

As crazy as it may sound, some people have even grown mushrooms at home using cardboard boxes, cotton material clothes and toilet paper holders. 

Indeed, they are very resilient and due to the mycelium (the white part of the mushroom) growing so strongly, it can even deal with contamination, at least to some degree. 

The most common strains of these mushrooms appear white, black, gray, brown and sometimes blue – and these colors appear on the top of the cap.

How intense the colors get usually depends on how much sunlight the mushrooms have been exposed to.

When it comes to pins (baby mushrooms), you might find it necessary to increase the airflow and humidity.

This is because oyster mushrooms are very sensitive to carbon dioxide, so without these two factors, it’s possible that their growth can be stunted.

Mushroom Profile

• Species: Pleurotus ostreatus
• Other names: Tree oyster, pearl oyster, (color) oyster 
• Texture and flavor: Woody, mild, delicate 
• Geography and media: Outdoors or indoors, hardwood, straw, coffee grounds, wooded plant material 
• Difficulty: Very easy 

Tips For Growing 

You shouldn’t have too many problems growing this mushroom, but if you are using a kit – then you might accidentally run into challenges by accident.

Be aware of the instructions and be careful not to inhale the spores from mature mushrooms. 

2. King Oyster Mushrooms

From the oyster mushroom to the king oyster mushroom, you will find this one is far more meaty than the previous mushroom. It has a classically “mushroomy” taste to it and it’s very soft to bite into.

As you can probably tell from its name, it is a distant cousin of the oyster mushroom. This particular mushroom grows horizontally with a very thick, chunky stalk which also has a very narrow cap. 

While its flavor is similar to that of the tree oyster, this mushroom has a much more thick and firm texture – which makes it perfect for barbecues, grills or even the frying pan, as you can cook large slices.

This mushroom originates from the Mediterranean, but despite its native lands, it tends to thrive in cooler conditions – and therefore, you will usually find these mushrooms sprouting up around the fall. 

Of course, this presents a challenge if you were trying to grow these mushrooms at home. If you use a kit, you need to ensure the right growing conditions for these mushrooms to survive and develop from pins.

Mushroom Profile

• Species: Pleurotus eryngii
• Other names: French horn, the king trumpet, Boletus of the Steppes
• Texture and flavor: Very meaty, firm and woody 
• Geography and media: Indoors or outdoors, hardwood, sawdust, grains
• Difficulty: Medium 

Tips For Growing 

As these mushrooms have a fondness for the cooler climates and conditions, you will do best to grow them over the fall and winter season.

Naturally cool areas like the garage or attic can work very well and this can encourage fruiting.

Some people even opt to use an air conditioning unit or a fridge for a few days. However, you need to increase the temperature around the mushrooms when you see small mushrooms forming. 

3. Golden Oyster Mushrooms 

Going from a mushroom that prefers colder conditions to a mushroom that much prefers warmer temperatures. The golden oyster mushroom thrives in temperatures like 80°F but it can happily grow in normal room temperatures.

This makes it distinct from other members of the oyster mushroom family, along with the fact that your mushroom harvest will be lower with this type of mushroom when compared with the others.

Now, while it might be common for people to enjoy eating mushrooms raw or uncooked, if you were to do this with the golden oyster mushroom, you will likely find a very bitter taste. In fact, you need to cook this mushroom well.

Once they have been cooked, they have a nutty, cashew-like taste and their color fades from their natural yellow. 

Mushroom Profile 

• Species: Pleurotus citrinopileatus
• Other names: Tamogitake, the yellow oyster 
• Texture and flavor: Nutty and strong when cooked, otherwise bitter. Delicate.
• Geography and media: Outdoors or indoors, hardwood, grains and coffee grounds
• Difficulty: Very easy

Tips For Growing 

As many people like to grow these mushrooms for the color alone, rather than their taste, you may want to allow its yellow color to shine. To do this, you need to expose it to more sunlight.

As the mushroom enjoys warm climates anyway, this can be beneficial for both color and growth speed.

4. Pink Oyster Mushrooms

This mushroom holds up to the old adage of “you either love it or hate it”. It has a prolific and vibrant pink color and it loves to grow in warm temperatures.

Many people who have eaten this mushroom before have likened its taste to that of seafood. 

The texture of the mushroom will depend largely on its size. The larger pink oyster mushrooms are usually much more meaty, whereas the smaller ones are very delicate. 

As we mentioned a moment ago, you will either love the taste of this mushroom or hate it.

Many people are put off by the inconsistency of its flavor and texture, but they may be highly fond of its color anyway. 

It’s quite easy to look after at home though, as it isn’t too picky about the growing conditions that it needs to thrive. 

Mushroom Profile

• Species: Pleurotus djamor
• Other names: Strawberry oyster, flamingo oyster, salmon oyster 
• Texture and flavor: Very savory, sometimes like seafood. Smaller ones are delicate
• Geography and media: Outdoors or indoors, hardwood, grains or sugarcane fibers 
• Difficulty: Very easy

Tips For Growing 

If you want the very best out of your harvest, then you should pick these mushrooms when the cap opens up. The reason you should get them when they’re young is because they don’t have a long shelf-life. 

After a week, they will usually perish, so you will want to put your mushroom into a breathable bag and place it into the refrigerator, a couple of days before you decide to cook it. 

If you are looking to enhance the vibrant color, then just like the previous mushroom, you will want to expose it to as much light as possible. 

5. Shiitake Mushrooms

Shiitake mushrooms are incredibly well known and some people call them the king of the umami.

However, they’re not just a staple of Japanese cuisine, they are for sale in so many grocery stores across the country – and there’s a great reason for that.

They’re very meaty and they have an excellent savory taste when compared with a lot of other mushrooms. Not only this, but they’re extremely easy to grow at home! 

A large number of kits for these mushrooms will come with sawdust or grains, but they should also include some nutritional benefits for the mushrooms like rice hulls or soybeans.

As a result, you will normally see your first mushroom harvest within a few weeks.

Despite this though, if you are okay with waiting a little longer for your harvested mushrooms, you can easily grow them using logs.

This process known as log cultivation involves spiking wooden plugs into hardwood logs and awaiting for the spread.

Even though this takes more time, it can often result in more mushrooms for the harvest, and it can also make it easier to get mushrooms back time and time again.

This consistency means that this method is very popular.

Mushroom Profile

• Species: Lentinula edodes
• Other names: King of the umami, Black Forest mushroom, sawtooth oak mushroom
• Flavor and texture: Meaty, strong, umami flavor 
• Geography and media: Outdoors or indoors, logs and hardwood
• Difficulty: Easy 

Tips For Growing 

For first time growers of the shiitake mushrooms, you might find it somewhat tricky. But once you have got the hang on things, you will find it incredibly easy to grow them. 

It’s a good idea to allow the shiitake block to dry out and poke holes in it to help with the rehydration process. After this, soak it in ice-cold filtered water for around one full day.

While tap water can do the trick, you might find it helpful to let it sit. 

This is so you can get the chlorine and minerals to dissipate – otherwise it’s possible to get sick from eating them. Place your mushrooms in a breathable bag and put them into the refrigerator.

After you follow the kit’s instructions, you should find yourself getting a healthy harvest within a week – at least the baby mushrooms anyway. 

6. Wine Cap Mushrooms

By far, the easiest mushrooms to grow outdoors are the wine cap mushrooms. When you grow them healthily, they provide you with big and juicy mushrooms with a relatively complex flavor profile.

Almost exclusively, these mushrooms can be grown with an entirely passive and hands-off approach. As soon as these mushrooms have taken a liking to your garden, you can expect them to live and thrive over and over again.

These mushrooms are very meaty and large with a deep burgundy color for their caps. Their name is partially derived from the fact that their cap looks as though someone has poured wine on them and given them a stain.

However, it’s also because their taste can sometimes be described as having overtones of red wine. Whether that’s a psychological connection to the color is unclear though.

Most gardens are fine for these mushrooms to grow and adapt to – provided that they are not too dry or too hot. Because of the mycelium, these mushrooms survive incredibly well in northern climates.

Mushroom Profile

• Species: Stropharia rugosoannulata
• Other names: The garden giant, burgundy mushroom, king stropharia 
• Texture and flavor: Meaty, overtones of red wine and potatoes 
• Geography and media: Outdoors is best using woody plant matter 
• Difficulty: Very easy

Tips For Growing 

Growing wine cap mushrooms in your garden (see also: A Guide To Knowing How To Grow Wine Cap Mushrooms In Your Garden)is pretty simple. If you’re looking for very basic information though, you should pick an area in your garden that is usually covered with a good amount of shade.

This area should be mulched heavily by using hardwood chips (two layers for spawn). Ensure you water this well and keep the area moist – this will give the mushrooms the best chance to thrive. 

Annually thereafter, ensure you change the mulch and repeat the process. You will then get a large batch of mushrooms every single year! 

7. Lion’s Mane Mushrooms 

This is another type of mushroom that many people say has a seafood-like taste to it. Those that have tasted it have described it as having a lobster or crab undertone to it. 

Indeed, it’s a very unique looking mushroom that happily grows on wood. However, lion’s mane mushrooms are more well known for their health benefits – but even with these, you might find it a little tricky to source these mushrooms from a grocery store.

So, you’re going to need to grow it at home, which can be relatively difficult. One of the major problems that people have when they’re growing these at home is the long “teeth”, but we will look at that in a moment. 

The mushroom grows like a puffball but its teeth are as soft as the rest of it. It is known for having a subtle taste, usually with undertones of lobster or crab. Weirdly, when you slice this mushroom – you will find its texture is very similar to these crustaceans.

It’s usually a mushroom choice for people who aren’t especially fond of the classic mushroom taste, so it’s ideal for a lot of dishes. 

In order to promote fruiting, these mushrooms need cool temperatures but you will find it is not quite as “strict” as the king oyster mushroom for these conditions. In fact, it’s entirely possible to fruit these mushrooms at room temperature. 

Mushroom Profile

• Species: Hericium erinaceus
• Other names: The pom pom mushroom, monkey head, bearded tooth mushroom
• Texture and flavor: Subtle mushroom flavor with undertones of crab or lobster. Meaty.
• Geography and media: Outdoors or indoors using hardwood 
• Difficulty: Medium

Tips For Growing 

As we mentioned earlier, the most common problem people have when growing these mushrooms is the teeth. Lion’s mane mushrooms need a lot of airflow which helps to promote the healthy growth of these teeth.

On top of this, you need to ensure a higher humidity level so the mushroom can grow up to its potentially large size. Using a large tub can help out with these conditions and this is much easier than using a growing tent method.

Having said all this, if your mushroom grows and appears like a cauliflower, then there’s nothing actually wrong with it and it is still perfectly edible.

8. Beech Mushrooms 

Beech mushrooms are quite curious. While they appear to be somewhat ordinary in nature, they have an extraordinary taste and they can grow in huge abundance.

However, despite this – they’re pretty rare to find in your local grocery stores.

As a result, if you can grow these – you’re in for a real treat. As we said, even despite their ordinary brown or white appearance, they have a fantastic taste.

This taste is slightly sweet but also nutty – and they have a very firm texture. 

These mushrooms often grow in large numbers and they’re very easy to grow by using kits. However, they lack the same production of mycelium, which means they can be somewhat tricky to grow from spawn. 

It’s also good to note that, if you are cooking these mushrooms – undercooking them will result in a bitter taste. So it’s a good idea to do a taste-test while the heat is still on to check they are ready for consumption.

Mushroom Profile

• Species: Hypsizygus tessellatus
• Other names: Shimeji, the clamshell mushroom, the brown or white mushroom 
• Texture and flavor: Nutty and slightly sweet. Very firm.
• Geography and media: Outdoors or indoors using hardwood logs
• Difficulty: Easy to medium depending on kit or spawn

Tips For Growing 

Luckily, these mushrooms grow in clusters – so you can easily and happily harvest them in numbers. Simply use a knife to cut them at the base and then twist off the clump of them.

Growing from spawn can be tricky. Be sure to take care when sterilizing because the mycelium takes much longer to colonize.  

9. Enoki Mushrooms 

Finally on our list of mushrooms, we have these pearly white mushrooms that are long and skinny and have a crunchy texture when eaten. 

They’re among the most versatile and unique of mushrooms and they can be grown at home – but you will find that they are not the easiest to grow. Their taste has been described as subtle because people don’t eat them for their taste.

The reason these mushrooms are sought after is because of their unique texture, which has a crunchy feel and even a noodle-like texture when eaten al-dente. 

One of the most bizarre things about these mushrooms is the fact that they are completely different from the enoki mushrooms you will find in a grocery store.

When grown naturally, these mushrooms have a stumpy appearance, with a red and orange coloration.

However, these mushrooms are grown in mushroom farms – and as a result of this, their shape changes during cultivation, so they have skinny stems and appear very white.

Although enoki mushrooms are popular to use in soups for their texture, you have so many more options with them. Many chefs use these mushrooms in salads for that extra crunch.

In fact, you can take this further and wrap the mushrooms in bacon or cheese.

The fact is, due to their versatility, you can do whatever you like with them. As long as you are a fan of the texture, you will be incredibly pleased with the result.

Mushroom Profile 

• Species: Flammulina velutipes
• Other names: The winter mushroom, velvet shank, enokitake 
• Texture and flavor: Mild and subtle flavor, very crunchy 
• Geography and media: Outdoors or indoors using sawdust 
• Difficulty: Medium to hard 

Tips For Growing 

You can actually use a lot of the same methods for growing these mushrooms as you would for the king oyster mushroom.

In order for these enoki mushrooms to grow and perform at their best, you need to grow them in dark conditions, so they don’t get any color.

However, in order to get the long noodle-like mushrooms that have very small caps, you should improve the amount of carbon dioxide that the mushrooms are exposed to.

Those mushroom farms we mentioned earlier use cones to trap carbon dioxide from sawdust.

It’s actually a pretty simple process to conceptualize.

Mushrooms, like animals, release carbon dioxide and this is heavier than oxygen – so when you trap this gas using cones, you should be able to easily increase the levels of carbon dioxide in its environment. 

Why Grow Mushrooms On Wood?

There are a few different reasons why you might want to grow mushrooms at home on wood. In fact, some people take it further and make their own small business from it.

This method allows for diversification of their products. 

But in general, people grow mushrooms on wood at home either for their color – like the bright yellow or bright pink – or to enjoy them at home instead of spending money at the grocery store.

Growing your own resources is always a great thing to do. It’s a fun hobby but it’s entirely natural and you know exactly what you’re getting when you harvest them.

However, there are a few things to remember when you’re doing this.

Things To Keep In Mind

The things you need to try to bear in mind when you’re growing mushrooms on wood at home if you’re going to eat them include the following:

Pests 

Mushrooms are a fungus, and they can be an excellent source of food for other animals and critters. Be sure that you’re aware of this and always keep an eye out for other “diners” before you chow down. 

Hygiene 

While you might not add any chemicals or pesticides around your harvest, it’s possible that your mushrooms can become contaminated.

Always try to protect your mushrooms as much as you can from animals and their waste, insecticides and weed killer. 

Know Your Mushroom

While the mushrooms we’ve spoken about on this list are edible, you need to be aware of the mushrooms you are dealing with.

Some mushrooms are deadly to humans and you could find yourself in trouble if you’ve got the wrong mushrooms growing in your garden! 

Careful When Cooking 

Some of these mushrooms change wildly when they are cooked in terms of their taste, so be sure you know what you’re in for before you cook them and ensure thorough cooking! 

Final Thoughts 

And that’s all you need to know about growing mushrooms on wood! We hope this guide has been helpful for you. Good luck with your harvest!

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