- 🍄 Most magic mushroom grow kits make 2 to 4 sets of mushrooms when you take care of them right.
- 💧 Adding water back to the grow stuff between sets helps a lot with how many mushrooms you get and how big they are.
- ⚠️ You get fewer mushrooms in later sets because they use up the food and the mycelium gets tired.
- 🌡️ Keeping the air very humid (90–95%) and the temperature steady (21–24°C) is key to getting many sets of mushrooms.
- 🧼 Mold is the most common reason you get fewer sets or the kit stops working.
Magic Mushroom Grow Kit: How Many Sets of Mushrooms Can You Get?
If you got a magic mushroom grow kit recently or are thinking about it, you probably wonder how many times it can make mushrooms before it stops. You need to understand mushroom flushes. These are natural cycles where the kit grows mushrooms, and with good care, you can get them many times. Let's look at how to get the most from each grow kit and keep it making mushrooms for many flushes.
What Is a Mushroom Flush?
A "mushroom flush" means a group or bunch of mushrooms that grow up and are ready to pick at the same time. A magic mushroom grow kit usually starts this after the mycelium grows all through the substrate and the conditions are right for mushrooms to grow. Each flush is a different time of growing and picking mushrooms.
Mushrooms have different stages: spore, germination, mycelium growth, when it grows all through the substrate, making mushrooms (flush), and letting out spores. The flush is when you see mushrooms start to grow from the substrate.
Things About a Mushroom Flush
- Rapid growth: Mushrooms grow fast during a flush. They often get twice as big every day.
- Ready together: Mushrooms in the same flush tend to be ready at the same time.
- Short time to pick: Best time to pick is short to keep potency and help future flushes.
- Can happen many times: One grow kit can have many flushes if the mycelium stays healthy and has food.
Knowing what a flush is helps you plan when to pick and how to care for your kit.
How Many Flushes Can You Get from a Grow Kit?
If conditions are just right, a magic mushroom grow kit can make between 2 to 4 flushes. Some people who have grown before say they got five flushes from a kit with extra food or that they took very good care of. But this does not happen often and you cannot be sure you will get this many.
How Many Mushrooms You Get Each Time
- First Flush: This is usually the biggest flush. The mycelium is new, and there is lots of food.
- Second Flush: Still makes mushrooms, but usually fewer than the first.
- Third Flush: Even smaller, often takes longer to grow back.
- Fourth Flush Onward: You get much less. It's also more likely to get mold. Many growers stop using the kit now.
Andy Letcher wrote in Shroom: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom (2007) that you can usually expect at least three good flushes if you do things the right way.
When to Harvest Each Flush
When you pick affects how strong they are, how they look, and how healthy your kit stays.
How to Know Mushrooms Are Ready to Pick
- Veil tearing under the cap: When it's fully grown, the thin skin under the cap stretches and breaks. This shows it's as strong as it will get.
- Cap shape: As the cap starts to flatten out from its dome shape, it shows it's ready.
- Size consistency: Mushrooms in one flush should be about the same size when ready.
Pick mushrooms right before or as the veil starts to break. If spores drop, they can cover the substrate. This might stop new mushrooms from starting and could cause mold.
Tips for Picking
- Use clean scissors or a sharp blade.
- Wear gloves or clean your hands well.
- Twist gently at the bottom instead of pulling hard. This helps avoid hurting the substrate.
Doing it right and on time is very important to get more flushes and keep the substrate healthy.
Getting Ready for the Next Flush: Care After Picking
After picking a flush, it's very important to get things ready for the next time. This time between flushes is very important.
Things to Do After Picking
- Clean the surface: Carefully take off mushroom bits that are left and tiny mushrooms that stopped growing.
- Spray water: Gently spray the top to keep it wet but not too wet.
- Let it rest: Let the mycelium rest for 3–5 days before small mushrooms start again.
- Light and air: Keep giving it light and fresh air even while you wait for the next flush.
If you don't do these things, you might get weak flushes or no flushes at all. So think of caring for the kit after picking as part of growing, not just something you do after you're done.
Soaking the Substrate – Adding Water for More Flushes
Mushrooms are more than 90% water. This means adding water to the substrate between flushes is something you must do to keep getting mushrooms (Chang & Miles, 2004).
How to Soak for Better Flushes
- Take the block out of the grow kit box.
- Put it under cold, clean water. It's best to use bottled water. Keep it under water for 12–24 hours.
- Use something clean and heavy to hold the block down in the water.
- Let all the water drain out well for 1–2 hours. Then put it back in the grow box.
What Soaking Does
- Puts water back in.
- Helps new small mushrooms start growing.
- Washes away waste products that might stop growth.
Without soaking, later flushes will likely be too small or won’t appear at all.
How Healthy the Substrate Is and Signs of Mold
Your substrate—the stuff the mushrooms grow in—is alive. How it looks and smells can show you important things about how healthy your magic mushroom grow kit is.
Signs the Substrate Is Healthy
- Mycelium looks bright white and soft.
- Smells fresh and earthy.
- You see small mushrooms starting.
Bad Signs
- Green mold (Trichoderma): Common mold that spreads fast.
- Black mold: Very bad; throw your kit away right away.
- Slimy surface: Means there are bad germs.
- Bad or sour smell: Almost always means something is rotting.
Once mold starts, it's hard (and sometimes not safe) to get more flushes. Act fast to separate the bad spots or throw away the kit if mold spreads a lot.
Conditions to Keep Getting Many Flushes
Mushrooms grow best when conditions are just right. Even small changes can lower your chances of getting full flushes again.
Best Conditions
- Humidity: 90–95%. This helps get pins and mushrooms to grow well. Use a humidity tent or spray water often.
- Temperature: 21–24°C (70–75°F) is best for most kinds of Psilocybe cubensis.
- Air Exchange: Too much CO₂ slows down growth. Fan your kit 3–5 times a day or use a system that filters air.
- Lighting: Light that isn't direct, like day and night (12 hours on, 12 off), helps them grow right.
Using tools to check humidity and temperature helps you check and keep conditions steady. This is very important to get flushes.
Why You Get Fewer Mushrooms Later
Your grow kit is like a battery that only has so much power. Each flush uses some of it.
Main Reasons You Get Less
- Not enough food: The substrate runs out of sugars and plant-based nutrients needed to grow lots of mushrooms fast.
- Dryness: Even if you soak it, the substrate stops holding water as well over time.
- Mycelium gets old: Like anything alive, the mycelium gets tired and doesn't work as well when it gets old.
- More mold risk: Each flush means the surface is open longer. This raises the chance of bringing in mold or bad stuff.
Know what to expect and know when to stop using a kit. This is part of growing mushrooms.
Mistakes That Mean Fewer Flushes
Many people just starting out accidentally hurt their grow kits by making these common mistakes:
- Picking too early or too late: Waiting too long lets spores drop. This stops future growth.
- Too much water: Overwatering kills the mycelium and brings mold.
- Dirty tools/hands: Not keeping things clean often ruins a kit before it's done.
- Conditions change too much: Light, temperature, or humidity going up and down slows flushes or stops them completely.
- Not soaking the substrate: This very important step is often forgotten after the first flush. This means you get less later.
Not making these mistakes helps the mycelium keep making mushrooms longer.
Tips to Get the Most Flushes and Mushrooms
To get the most from your kit, follow these tips that work:
- Keep notes: Write down the conditions, how much you picked, and when you sprayed water.
- Use food-safe hydrogen peroxide (3%) for small mold spots.
- Don't touch the kit too much: Use tweezers or wear gloves to stop germs from spreading.
- Don't fan too hard: Too much air can make the substrate dry.
- Check your tools weekly: Sensors and lights can move or stop working right. This messes up your setup.
People who pay close attention do better in the long run than those who just do it for a short time.
How to Know When Your Kit is “Spent”
Knowing when a kit is done helps save time, stop you from getting mad, and makes space for your next grow.
Signs Your Kit Is Done
- The substrate looks thin or changed color.
- Mushrooms are tiny, look strange, or stop appearing at all.
- Bad molds or awful smells take over.
- Soaking it many times doesn't make new small mushrooms within 7–10 days.
Trying more usually just wastes time for almost nothing.
Should You Try to Get More Than 3 Flushes?
You can maybe get one or two more flushes than usual. But it depends on how good the substrate is and if you control the conditions.
Things to Think About First:
- Time vs. how many mushrooms you get: Later flushes often aren't worth the effort.
- Mold risk: Goes up a lot the longer you use a kit.
- Using space well: Starting a new kit might make more in less time.
But many growers like trying to get that extra flush. They do it for science, practice, or just because it's fun.
How to Get Rid of Used Kits in a Good Way
When your mushroom grow kit cannot make mushrooms anymore:
- Add the substrate to your compost if there's no mold. This helps make garden soil better.
- Don't use old kits for new spores. The risk of mold is too high.
- Clean all your tools well if you plan to grow again.
Wasting less is good for the earth when you grow.
Get the Most From Your Grow Kit
Mushroom flushes are very important for growing at home. If you know how mushrooms grow, add water to your substrate the right way, keep things very clean, and have the best conditions, you can get 2 to 4 good flushes from every magic mushroom grow kit. You might get more flushes than that, but it doesn't work as well and the kit is more likely to fail. Make sure to pick at the right time, soak carefully, and keep your kit safe from mold. This will help you get the most from each grow. If you practice and are patient, you will get a lot more and better mushrooms.
Sources
Chang, S. T., & Miles, P. G. (2004). Mushrooms: Cultivation, Nutritional Value, Medicinal Effect, and Environmental Impact. CRC Press.
Letcher, A. (2007). Shroom: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom. Harper Perennial.
Stamets, P. (2000). Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms (3rd ed.). Ten Speed Press.
