My First Lion's Mane Harvest.
Hello folks! I have been on sabbatical and not posting much lately.
But who doesn't love to hear about growing mushrooms?!?!
So here ya go.
Awhile back I saw a talk by Paul Stamets who is a dedicated mycologist for over forty years. He was talking about the benefits of Lion's mane for brain function and nerve regeneration.
I had been feeling groggy and sometimes my toes tingle so I thought "What the Heck!"
I started taking Lion's Mane capsules. After a week I did notice some of the effects of mental alertness.
If you are wondering what it feels like, the only way I could describe it is "the alert feeling you get with magic mushrooms but without the trip."
I had grown mushrooms in the past. (Oyster and Shitake) So I decided to give the Lion's mane a try.
I ordered a kit from Fungi Perfecti and it arrived within the week. ($35 U.S...That is including the shipping.)
It was real easy to start! Lion's Manes need humidity so the only thing you really need to do is spritz the inside of the dome/bag that covers them. After one week, you start to see slightly pinkish lumps forming where you poked holes in the bag holding the substrate.
This pic is near the end of the first flush
At around two weeks, the mushrooms are really starting grow and the tendrils are starting to form. These are slightly larger than a golf ball. Every morning from here on I could see noticeable growth.
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At three weeks the mushrooms are at maturity and are about the size of a softball! They grow fast.
Look at that fluffy boi!
Time to cook them up!!! I tried a bit of raw mushroom and it wasn't bad at all. It had just a slight seafood taste like a scallop or lobster. More sweet than fishy.
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| The first step is to dry fry them for 5 minutes on each side. Once they get a nice brown sear move on to seasoning. | I only added about a tablespoon of butter and some salt and pepper. |
They were delicious! I was most surprised by the consistency and texture. I thought they would be very fragile and delicate but they ended up being very chewy....Think calamari.
Holy moly! The fresh Lion's Mane had such a better effect than those capsules I was taking. Mind blown!
Who knows....It could be a placebo effect but I definitely felt like my brain was more on point. I split the pieces I cooked between two days.
It was sure fun growing the shrooms and hopefully I will have a second flush coming in the next 3 weeks.
The kit is supposed to be good for 2 flushes and then you can possibly inoculate a log with the remaining substrate. We'll see if I get that far. :)
I had four different lion's manes growing. Here is me with one of the smaller ones.
I'm the one on the right
Thank you for reading friends and as always...
Keep Being Cool Steemit!!
I reckon they would be even better for you if you ate them raw :D
Yea. after eating them, I thought that a vegan seafood salad would be a perfect use for these.
They have the same consistency as that fake crab meat.
Is that even a thing there? Know what i'm sayin?
I have never heard of or seen any shroom like that...those are pretty crazy lookin’
Just 3 weeks! That is a fast turn around time, granted I ain’t no shroom specialist but it seems fast to me.
Hey @splatz ... you see these crazy Lion’s Mane Shrooms?
Dang!!! Don’t bug me so early in the morning!! Wait what??? Hold up!! Those are amazing Mushrooms, not to be confused with the magic ones.
I shall proceed in doing my Steemit Duties
Yes super fast growing time. You can actually notice a day to day difference in growth. Thanks for the splat! :)
What a cute mushroom :) I'm glad to see you're trying to grow them at home. I've never seen this type before but it looks good. We also had grown mushrooms in the past, so I know the process but those were different. Congrats and good luck :)
They are cute aren't they. :) Thanks
The pleasure is all mine :)
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You made me think of my husband. He's having some digestion issues and is frustrated about it. Yesterday he started to take probiotics and today he claims that he feels much better than ever before. Talk about placebo effect :D
I didn't know that these mushrooms have such effects. I actually only have them once as it's quite difficult to buy them here.
I'm glad that you feel the difference (be it placebo or not) as it motivates to continue growing them :)
PS: Many mushrooms might feel very soft before cooking but once you cook them they become very chewy and have kind of meat texture..
Thank you for sharing your mushroom adventure with us! :)
Have a great weekend!
Probiotics have been proved to have beneficial effects on gastro intestinal health.
So encourage you husband to keep drinking his yogurt.
After I was done cooking them, They were like little jerky nuggets of brain activating goodness!
Interesting. I had never heard of that variety of mushroom.
If its effect on the brain are true, its cultivation and consumption should be widespread.
Any allergic reactions?
It's cultivation is fairly widespread. You can buy it in capsules at any natural food store here in the U.S.
No allergic reactions. It tasted great! :)
That's pretty wild. Seen them in the woods now and then, but didn't know you could grow them at home. Though I'm certainly no expert. I leave that to HH. And if it helps brian function, I certainly could use all the help possible in that department. Cheers and stay dry and warm.
Thank you good sir! :)
Excellent work @doctorcrypto, lionnsmane are one of the most yummy and medicinal srooms. Even nootropic, thats the efffect i like most of them. I hope I can cultivate this room son.
What is your average temperature for that mushroom?
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It grows in the range of 55-75 degrees F in indirect light.
What a fascinating post. The only wild mushrooms I've ever eaten are morels. Here in southern IL it's a regular spring ritual to hunt these delicious 'shrooms. There is much guarding and secrecy of favorite hunting spots. I've never heard of Lion's Mane but you have certainly aroused my interest, especially with the medicinal properties. The growing process looks pretty simple, but then everything looks simple when done by someone who knows what they are doing. I would like to try this though. Thanks for sharing this post! I'm going to follow you for more posts like this.
Morels are one that I have never found even though they do grow around here in Oregon. One day. :)