How magic mushroom spore prints are made

You can grow magic mushrooms at home without worrying about anything. However, to grow magic mushrooms, you need spores. A spore is to a mushroom what a seed is to a plant. The best way to get spores to grow mushrooms is to make spore prints.

Before we explain how to make spore prints, let’s talk a little about sterile environments. When growing mushrooms and making spore prints, you must maintain a sterile environment (in other words, a very clean environment) because of the risk of contamination.

Moulds and other fungi can contaminate the spores and make them unusable. To maintain sterility, you must isolate certain areas of your home and keep them as clean as possible. Some people find that the bathroom is the best place to start growing.

In addition to your environment, you should also keep yourself clean. Wear clean clothes when you enter the area and remember to use a sanitiser to keep your hands clean.

Now that you have a clean work environment, there are a few other things to keep in mind.

Ripe mushrooms with their caps open

A sharp knife (preferably a scalpel).

A gas stove

Two sheets of unblemished paper

A glass of water

Tweezers

A small ziplock bag

The spores are inside the umbrella of the mushroom, so you need to cut them out.

To do this, you need to sterilize the knife by heating it on a gas burner until it turns red; let it cool for about 30 seconds, then cut the cap off as high up the stem as possible without touching the spores.

Remove the cap and place it on a sheet of paper with the spores facing down. Cover the screen with a clean glass, as the spores should not be exposed to the air; after two hours, carefully remove the umbrella from the paper, place it on another sheet of paper, and cover it again with the glass.

Since the spores on the first sheet of paper have a higher risk of contamination, the second printing of spores will be more sterile. Now you have to wait up to 24 hours for all the spores to fall out.

Now remove the cap from the paper. You can now carefully cut the paper and fold it to seal the print. Then, using sterilized tweezers, place the spore print in the pouch.

If you want, you can wrap them in aluminium foil for added security. Make sure the pouch is tightly closed and keep it in a dark, cool place. This way, the spores can be stored for several years.

As you can see, spore printing is not a big problem. As you can see, spore burning is not a big problem. We encourage you to try growing your own magic mushrooms.