# How to grow lion's mane at home: kit, block or grow bag

Source: https://spawnrun.com/blog/how-to-grow-lions-mane
Published: 2026-10-01
Publisher: Spawn Run

**Short answer:** The fastest way to grow lion's mane (lions mane) at home is a ready kit: cut an X in the bag, keep it at 55 to 70 F with moist air, and harvest about 2.5 to 4 weeks after opening. A home-made sawdust block from purchased spawn takes 2 to 3 weeks to colonize, then 10 to 21 days to fruit. Pick when the spines are 1/4 to 1/2 inch long.

Lion's mane is a hardwood sawdust species. The supplier guides checked do not grow it on straw, so the real choice is how much of the block you make yourself. With a kit the supplier has done the substrate and the spawn run. With a ready block you add your own humidity setup. With purchased spawn you mix, heat and colonize the block as well. On every route the outcome depends on two things: moist air around the mushroom without water on it, and enough fresh air. The numbers here are compiled from Field & Forest, North Spore and GroCycle guides, not measured by this site.

## Three ways of growing lion's mane at home, compared

All three routes end with the same thing, a block of colonized hardwood sawdust that fruits through a cut in its bag. They differ in how much of the work the supplier has done. A fourth route, spawn in beech, birch or maple logs outdoors, takes about a year before the first mushrooms: see [what wood mushrooms grow on](https://spawnrun.com/blog/what-wood-do-mushrooms-grow-on).

| Route | What to buy | Time to first harvest | Difficulty |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ready kit | Colonized block in its box, spray bottle | About 2.5 to 4 weeks after opening | Easiest |
| Ready block in a humidity tent | Ready-to-fruit block, tent or holed plastic bag, optional humidifier | Pins in 3 to 7 days, harvest 5 to 10 days later | Easy, more setup |
| Home-made sawdust block | Spawn, hardwood pellets, bran, filter patch bags | 2 to 3 weeks of spawn run, then 10 to 21 days | Hardest: clean work decides it |

Timings compiled from Field & Forest, North Spore and GroCycle guides. Strains differ, so a kit label wins.

## Route 1: a ready lion's mane kit

A kit is the answer to most searches for how to grow lion's mane at home. The block arrives colonized, so the job is to open it and keep the air around it moist. Kits are compared in the [lion's mane grow kit guide](https://spawnrun.com/best/best-lions-mane-grow-kit).

1. Start the kit within a week of arrival. If it has to wait, refrigerate it and follow the label, because storage times differ by seller.
2. Open the box panel and cut an X in the bag as the kit's instructions show. Field & Forest cuts 1 inch X's. Leave the plastic flaps in place.
3. Stand the kit at 55 to 70 F with 8 to 12 hours of indirect light a day, away from direct sun, heaters and drafts.
4. Mist around the cut 2 to 4 times a day. Aim at the air and the bag, not at the mushroom: direct spray turns lion's mane yellow or brown.
5. Wait for pins, the first tiny mushrooms. From a kit in room air they take 12 to 18 days. They reach harvest size 5 to 10 days later.
6. Harvest when the spines are 1/4 to 1/2 inch long and before any yellowing. Twist and pull the whole mushroom off, or cut it close to the block.

## Route 2: a ready block in a humidity tent

Dry air is the usual problem when growing lions mane indoors. Suppliers quote **80 to 95% humidity** for it, with 90 to 95% while pins form, and heated or air-conditioned rooms sit far below that. A tent closes the gap. The simplest is a loose clear plastic bag with plenty of 1/2 inch holes placed over the block: lift it and spray underneath. A small growing tent with a humidifier does the same with less attention. Tent controllers are commonly set to switch on near 70% and off near 90%.

The tent must still breathe. Lion's mane wants fresh air, with CO2 around 500 to 700 ppm while pins form, and stale air gives malformed mushrooms. In a tent, pins can show in **3 to 7 days**. Sources disagree on humidity for this species more than for any other, and one supplier accepts 70 to 85%. All the figures are in [lion's mane growing conditions](https://spawnrun.com/blog/lions-mane-growing-conditions) and in the [temperature chart](https://spawnrun.com/tools/mushroom-growing-temperature-chart).

[Tents and small fruiting chambers](https://spawnrun.com/best/best-mushroom-growing-tent)

## Route 3: your own sawdust block from purchased spawn

Two block recipes are published for lion's mane. The sterilized recipe uses a pressure cooker and a small amount of spawn. The low-tech recipe from Field & Forest uses boiling water and a heavy dose of grain spawn instead. Spawn is the grain or sawdust carrying the living mycelium, and the spawn run is the time it takes to colonize the block. Each recipe makes one block of about 5 lb.

1. Measure 5 cups of hardwood fuel pellets into a filter patch bag. Add bran: 1 1/4 cups for the sterilized recipe, 1/2 cup for the low-tech recipe.
2. Sterilized recipe: add 6 cups of water, mix until a squeezed handful gives a drop or two, sterilize 2.5 hours at 15 psi and cool for about 8 hours.
3. Low-tech recipe: pour 5 cups of boiling water into the bag, close it tightly and leave it in a clean spot to cool for 12 to 24 hours.
4. On a wiped surface, add the spawn: about 5% of the wet weight (4 oz for a 5 lb block) for the sterilized recipe, or 1 1/2 cups of grain spawn for the low-tech one. Mix and seal.
5. Leave the bag undisturbed at 68 to 75 F for 2 to 3 weeks. Count the days: lion's mane mycelium is thin and faint, so the block never looks solid white.
6. Cut small X's in the bag and move it to 55 to 70 F with moist air. The first harvest comes 10 to 21 days after opening.

Note: Follow the pressure cooker's manual and never open it under pressure. Use only colonized spawn of a named edible species from a supplier.

## Growing lion's mane in buckets: what the guides say

North Spore describes lion's mane as suited to bucket projects because it fruits from the side, through the holes. No bucket recipe with amounts for it appears in the guides checked, though. The published bucket method is for oysters on straw, and straw is not a lion's mane substrate. The filter patch bag is the documented container, so that is the method given above. To make several blocks, the [substrate calculator](https://spawnrun.com/tools/mushroom-substrate-calculator) scales the sawdust recipe by the number of bags.

## Lions mane growing tips: air, water and timing

Lion's mane shows its problems in color and shape. These five habits cover the causes that the supplier guides name for them.

- Mist the air, not the mushroom. Yellow or brown patches come from direct spray, dry air or picking too late.
- Keep it cool. Sources agree on 55 to 65 F, and the full published span is 55 to 70 F.
- Give it fresh air. Too little air exchange produces malformed mushrooms, so a tent needs holes or regular airing.
- Do not wait for thick white mycelium on a home-made block. Thin, faint growth is normal for this species.
- If the block has dried out before the next flush, soak it for 5 to 15 minutes only. Its mycelium is delicate.

[Kit not growing? Causes and fixes](https://spawnrun.com/blog/why-are-my-mushrooms-not-growing)

## How to tell lion's mane is ready to harvest

The spines are the sign. Pick when they are **1/4 to 1/2 inch** long and the mushroom is still white, before any yellowing. At that point the mushroom has stopped gaining size and feels spongy. Take the whole mushroom: twist and pull it off the block, or cut it close to the base with a sharp knife. The [growth stages page](https://spawnrun.com/blog/lions-mane-growth-stages) follows the change day by day.

Then let the block rest for 2 to 3 weeks without letting it dry out. Expect 2 to 4 flushes (a flush is one crop), each smaller than the last. Suppliers report 0.5 to 2 lb from the first flush of a 5 lb block, which is a range and not a promise. Cook lion's mane before eating, and never eat from a block that shows mold.

## Quick answers

Short answers on growing lion's mane mushrooms at home. Ranges are compiled from supplier guides, and a kit label overrides them.

- **How long does growing lion's mane at home take?** From a kit, about 2.5 to 4 weeks after opening. From spawn, 2 to 3 weeks of spawn run plus 10 to 21 days of fruiting.
- **Is growing lions mane indoors possible without a tent?** Yes, with misting 2 to 4 times a day. A humidity tent helps where room air is dry.
- **Can you grow lion's mane in buckets?** One supplier says it suits buckets, but the guides checked give no bucket recipe for it. Use a filter patch bag.
- **How do you grow lion's mane without a pressure cooker?** Use a ready kit, or the low-tech block: 5 cups pellets, 1/2 cup bran, 5 cups boiling water, 1 1/2 cups grain spawn.

## Gear guides for this topic

- https://spawnrun.com/best/best-lions-mane-grow-kit
- https://spawnrun.com/best/best-mushroom-growing-tent
- https://spawnrun.com/best/best-humidifier-for-mushroom-growing
- https://spawnrun.com/best/best-mushroom-grow-bags

## Sources

- [Field & Forest Products: How to Grow Lion's Mane from Ready-to-Fruit Blocks](https://fieldforest.net/how-to-grow-lion-s-mane-from-ready-to-fruit-blocks/)
- [Field & Forest Products: How to Make Lion's Mane Grow Blocks](https://fieldforest.net/how-to-make-lion-s-mane-grow-blocks/)
- [GroCycle: How To Grow Lion's Mane Mushrooms](https://grocycle.com/growing-lions-mane/)