Wood Chips

Give your mushrooms a natural environment

Think about it. How often do you see mushrooms growing out of rotted logs? A lot, right? That’s because wood and wood chips make fertile substrates in which mushrooms thrive.

Mushroom Shack offers non-sterile White and Red Oak chips, priced by the pound. Our chips are perfect for creating an outdoor mushroom garden. Just add your spawn as directed, and, depending on the species, you should see a first flush (crop) within 9 months to a year. You’ll also be recycling wood, which is good for your garden… and good for the planet!

Some people like to mix wood chips with sawdust. Another interesting practice is to mix smaller and larger wood chips together. Choose chips that range from ½ to 4 inches in size. The smaller pieces will stimulate a quick growth spurt, while the larger chips create air spaces that can improve the mushrooms’ respiration. This also encourages the mycelium to form thick, cord-like strands (rhizomorphs), which penetrate and carry nutrition through the mushrooms’ cells.

Mushrooms can also grow well in a variety of woods other than Oak —primarily hardwoods such as Alder, Birch, Willow, Ash, Elm, Sweetgum, and Maple. There are a few softwoods that make good habitats, too, such as Douglas Fir and Hemlock.

If you’d like to use any of these woods to grow mushrooms, choose our grain spawn for the best results.Buy Substrates