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Organic Wine Cap Mushroom Sawdust Spawn
Skill level | Beginner |
Grow location | Outdoors |
Spawn shelf life | 6 months (refrigerated) |
Bag weight | 5.5 lbs |
Incubation | Beds: 2-8 months |
Fruiting temps | 50-70°F |
Also known as the "Garden Giant," Wine Cap (Stropharia rugoso-annulata) is a delicious mushroom with a mild, earthy flavor reminiscent of artichokes and potatoes. It's an ideal mushroom for beginners as it colonizes quickly and yields reliable flushes.
Wine Cap can fruit in as little as two months and will produce in the same bed for several years. Fresh woody material (like hardwood chips) can be added each year to maintain the health of the bed. Inoculated material from one bed can also be used as spawn to inoculate new beds!
Recommended use:
- Wine cap sawdust spawn is only recommended for use in outdoor beds.
- Wine cap sawdust spawn must be combined with a substrate (like wood chips) in order to fruit.
- Please note: Wine cap does not grow on logs.
Upon receiving your spawn:
Remove it from the shipping box as soon as possible. Then, unfold the top of the bag, making room for air space. It's also important to check and confirm that the filter patch is not obstructed. This will help the organism breathe and continue to thrive!
Scroll down for cultivation, inoculation, and storage guides.
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Click here to download our pamphlet on outdoor bed cultivation using sawdust spawn. Be sure to use clean, untreated products when making outdoor beds.
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Wine Cap is a vigorous mushroom that grows naturally on outdoor beds of woody debris. It grows best on straw (not hay), hardwood chips or sawdust. Hardwood recommendations are soft maple, poplar, box elder, and magnolia. They can tolerate a mixture that includes some softwoods - generally no more than 25%. You can also mix different woody materials.
Wine Cap seems to do better if the beds have a variety of particle sizes, such as a mix of both sawdust and wood chips. Avoid branches or other very large pieces of wood as these take longer to colonize and can create too much air space in the bed. Freshly cut wood is preferred, though Wine Cap can also grow well on more aged materials. Many folks are having success with the chip mixes coming from roadside crews pruning under power lines -- and it's a free resource!
Wine Cap does best in partial shade but can tolerate some direct sun. Ideal locations would be at the edge of fields and woods, around the base of trees, in perennial gardens, or as part of the mulch in vegetable gardens, where annual veggies will provide some shade. Once established, Wine Cap beds require little maintenance. During dry periods, the bed can be watered but do not over-water, as excessive watering can suffocate the mycelium.
- In a suitable location, remove any leaves, etc., down to either bare ground or plain grass. No need to dig a trench, but the bed should be in contact with the soil. One bag of sawdust spawn is enough to inoculate approximately 16 square feet.
- Spread mixed woody material over the soil, about 1'' deep.
- Break up the Wine Cap sawdust spawn and evenly sprinkle the spawn on top of the layer of woody debris.
- Add a second layer of woody debris about 2-3'' thick.
- Thoroughly water the bed.
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If you don't plan to use immediately, refrigerate your Wine Cap sawdust spawn. Use within 6 months of receipt.
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Wine Cap mushrooms are best when braised, grilled, or sauteed. When young, Wine Cap mushrooms can be eaten with the stem and offer a tender yet crunchy texture when lightly cooked in oil. They can also be sliced and mixed into meat sauces or risotto, roasted or braised along with other fall vegetables and served with meat, fowl or fish, added to soups, or stuffed and baked. If using the larger, more mature mushrooms, it is recommended to remove the stems as they become stringy and to slice or chop the cap to ensure even cooking. Wine Cap mushrooms pair well with lemon juice, wine, ramps, nutmeg, fennel, polenta, pasta, quinoa, and rice.
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All our spawn is made using organic cultures from our own culture bank. Our sawdust spawn is handmade from a blend of locally sourced, all-natural, organic, and non-GMO woods and supplements from farms and forests in New England and North America.
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If you’re going to consume home-grown mushrooms, make sure to cook your fresh mushrooms thoroughly with heat. If it is your first time eating this species, it is best to start with a small amount to check for allergies, even if cooked.
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- Reviews
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A bumper crop 8 months later!
I ordered 3 bags of wine cap spawn and scattered over our garden beds and topped with wood chips and leaves in fall. I just noticed tons of big mushrooms growing in one of the beds! They were delicious! (Next time we have to harvest them sooner before bugs get them.) Thank you North Spore for the quality products and great customer service!
North Spore
We're so glad the wine caps worked out, Noriko! Please reach out if you ever need anything.
Recent order
Well, I got the beds prepared and keeping them damp. Just waiting for them to start fruiting. It’s only been a few weeks so I can’t say much right now. It’s been in the 80’s and I have the bed covered with a few feet above for shade. Got my fingers crossed. If it goes well I’ll send some pics. Joe
North Spore
Thanks for sharing, Joe! If you need help with anything, please reach out.
Awesomeness
Excellent, I’ll post in my YouTube and FB Feed!
North Spore
We're so glad you're enjoying the experience, Kathleen! Our team is here if you need anything!
Always works great!
North Spore
Thanks for sharing, Molly! We're so happy everything is working out for you!
Awesome customer service and product
Initially was sent grain spawn in error, but North Spore was on top of it and sent a replacement bag of sawdust spawn no questions asked. 2 months after inoculation on hardware store woodchips and I'm getting a handful of huge mushrooms every time it rains. Couldn't ask for a better experience overall!!
North Spore
Congrats on your successful grow, Andrew!
Excelled mushroom spawn.
A little pricey, but a great product.
North Spore
We appreciate your review, Charles!
So easy to grow!
I inoculated these in a bed on the edge of my yard under some trees with just straw. I had fingers crossed that I'd have mushrooms growing by the next summer but 2 months to the day later, I had mushrooms.. and loads of them! They're absolutely delicious! Mushroom risotto is my favorite but I use them in so many recipes. I also dehydrate them and save them. They rehydrate very well. I loved these so much!
North Spore
Your review made our day, Kanina! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience.
2 Months!
I just checked my email, I placed the order for the winecap sawdust on Feb 19th. I turned and mulched and added compost in early march, and around mid March I added the sawdust spawn to the garden, and turned everything over again. Last weekend (the 27th of April) I planted some tomatoes and peppers I had, and noticed the mycelium had exploded! thick veins of it all over, everywhere I dug a hole for a plant. "Cool!" I thought, hoping maybe fall or spring of next year for some wine caps. Its May 1st, and these two are popping up. I am so stoked! Another awesome and hearty product from North Spore!
North Spore
Wow, how exciting! Thank you for your review, Travis. Enjoy the wine caps!
Remarks about wine cap spore
Since I put them in just a short while ago, day after delivery, there’s nothing much to report. I put them in a bed of fresh box elder chips covered with clean straw and watered in. We’ve also had a bit of rain the last few days, so hopefully they’ll be happy and fruitful later this summer or fall.
North Spore
Our team is here if you need anything, Matthew! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience.
2nd harvest in just over a year
Planted these with some fruit and nut trees last spring, got my 1st harvest of 1 lb in the fall, and I’m 1 lb into my second with more on the way!
North Spore
Great photo, Robert! We're so glad everything is working out for you. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience.