General Information:

Identification: Ganoderma lingzhi
Classification: Medicinal, Edible 
Cultivation Difficulty: Intermediate 
Substrates: Hardwood Pellets / Sawdust, Straw, Spawn Bags
Ideal Fruiting Temperature: 65°F to 75°F

 

Reishi as a world-renowned Medicine:

Read more here: FreshCap Reishi Guide

Reishi has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for more than 4,000 years. The Chinese name lingzhi means "herb of spiritual potency." A Japanese name for the reishi is mannentake, meaning "10,000-year-old mushroom." Reishi's use is documented in the oldest Chinese medical text, which is more than 2,000 years old.

By cultivating your own Reishi, you can dehydrate, grind, and dose your own supplements without wondering if you were scammed with generic brown powder.

Cultivation Information:

Reishi is fast to colonize and resistant to many forms of contamination. Once it's colonized, it is extremely slow to fruit. It can be grown in two different forms, namely the "conk" form and the "antler" form, depending on the amount of fresh air it receives.

Don’t be surprised if the substrate block goes brown when colonizing or fruiting; this is completely normal. White bulbs should start appearing from the block, these are the pins.

Reishi mushrooms can be grown in a variety of different containers due to the fact they can tolerate high or low levels of CO2. Fruiting Reishi is relatively easy, as you can fruit in high-CO2 environments with little fresh air, and Antlers will form. If using a grow bag, allow antlers to form inside the grow bag on the top of the block Once the antler has reached desired size, you can cut off the top of the bag and bring the block into fruiting conditions. This increase of fresh air will cause the reishi to start forming spore-producing “conks”, increasing your yield. However, this step is not necessary. 

Reishi mushrooms will only produce one flush. 1/2 lb of mushrooms is typical from a 5lb block. For the biggest yields, allow the mushrooms to form conks instead of the antler form. This is done by allowing lots of fresh air exchange in the growing environment.

The Reishi mushroom has a heavy spore load which can cover a grow room with brown spores in no time. Use a sharp blade or serated knife to cut the mushroom off the block before it drops spores. You may have to saw through the mushroom, as it is incredibly tough. Usually the block is discarded after the first flush. Dry Reishi mushroom slices in a dehydrator for long term storage.

Each Liquid Culture Syringe purchased includes:

  1. One laboratory-grade 10mL Liquid Culture syringe filled with live Reishi mycelium in sterilized solution.

  2. One sterile 16 gauge needle per syringe.

Storing Liquid Cultures:

Store liquid cultures inside of a Ziploc bag in a clean fridge until later use. Liquid cultures can be stored for up to 6 months in this state or longer.