frequently asked Questions

At Mycosphere, we care about quality. We work with living products (mycelia) which have a limited lifespan. We therefore produce most of our mycelia to order, to be able to send them at peak vigor.

Here you will find our production and delivery times depending on the products.

1. Can I receive my mycelia outside the European Union?
   We currently do not ship our mycelia outside the European Union. However, you have the option of carrying them in your personal luggage. With each purchase, we will provide you with an invoice and a delivery slip. Please note that although we carefully package mycelia in waterproof containers, we cannot guarantee that they will not be held up in customs depending on the final destination.
2. What documents will I receive with my mycelium purchase?
   With each mycelium purchase, you will receive a detailed invoice and a delivery slip to guarantee the traceability of your order.
3. How are mycelia packaged during shipping?
   We take great care to package our mycelia in waterproof containers when shipping to ensure their safety during transport. However, please note that the possibility of a customs hold depends on the final destination and cannot be guaranteed.

You can get an estimate of the shipping cost by visiting your shopping cart and entering the shipping destination. The cost of delivery varies depending on the products selected, their weight, the destination and the carrier you choose. We would like to point out that we do not apply any margin on delivery costs. Instead, we directly display the prices of our various partner carriers, including DPD, Chronopost, Bpost, UPS, PostNL, and Mondial Relay.

It is possible to collect your orders on site, by appointment. You can place the order on our site and choose the "collection" option when choosing the carrier, otherwise you can also place the order with us via the contact page.

Our company is located in Grez-Doiceau in Belgium. We are on site between 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.

If you receive a damaged package, the best option is to accept delivery while taking care to promptly document the condition of the package. We encourage you to send us a detailed description of the problem, along with photos showing the exterior of the damaged carton as well as the products inside. This will help us to correctly assess the situation.

It is essential to note that if you refuse the package, this could cause complications for the refund of your order. Returning or destroying a package by the carrier may incur additional costs, and live products such as mycelia or bales may become unusable due to return times generally longer than shipping times. However, a damaged box does not necessarily mean that the products inside are unrecoverable. Only a detailed description accompanied by photos will allow us to make the appropriate decision.

It is important to emphasize that the responsibility for delivery lies with the customer. We offer different carriers for you to choose from, and delivery costs are generally related to the quality of the shipping service you select. La Mycosphere cannot be held responsible for any deterioration of products during transport, whether due to temperature variations, delivery delays, customs holdups, or storage conditions at the collection point, among others ( non-exhaustive list).

In addition, Mycosphere cannot be held responsible if the package could not be delivered due to an incorrect address provided by the customer, the absence of the customer during delivery, or non-compliance with deadlines. at the relay point, for example.

We invite you to read our shipping policy here .

If you have a problem with one or more of our products, we strongly encourage you to contact us promptly by email . Please include a detailed description of the situation, providing as much information as possible. If possible, attach photos to help us assess the situation accurately.

On most of our products you will find a label with a specific batch number. If possible, please provide us with this lot number, as it will greatly facilitate our ability to identify and resolve the issue efficiently.

Our team is committed to responding quickly to your request and working collaboratively with you to find the best possible solution. Your feedback and cooperation are essential to ensure the quality of our products and services.

Our mycelia are certified organic “BE-BIO-01” by Certisys (Belgium). The grains used come from farms located in Belgium, also certified organic. You can view and download our certificate here.

Our bags are made from certified organic cereal grains (BE-BIO-01 Certisys), with a small percentage of untreated beech sawdust. 

If you do not plan to use the mycelium within 3 to 5 days, it is recommended to store it in the refrigerator, at a temperature of 1 to 4 degrees Celsius. The lower the temperature, the more mycelium metabolism slows down. It is important to note that mycelium on grains is not frost resistant, so it must be protected against very low temperatures.

Ideally, we advise you to use the mycelium within 30 days of receipt. Although the mycelium can be used after this period, it gradually loses its vigor over time. For optimal performance, it is best to use it promptly after receipt.

Regarding mycelia on pegs and in liquid cultures, they can be stored for several months without problem.

Grains or pegs may separate during shipping, which may make the mycelium less visible. However, it is important to note that we always ship our mycelia when they are fully colonized, which means they are usable as is. Typically, before using the mycelium, you will break it up to distribute it evenly throughout the substrate, which will make it look the same as it did when shipped.

If you want to check the viability of the mycelium, you can store the sachet at room temperature (20°C) for 5-10 days, and the mycelium should start to cover the substrate again and become visible to the naked eye. You can also test it on a Petri dish or on moistened cardboard.

Note: It is important to note that some varieties of mushrooms have thicker, whiter mycelia than others. Lion's Mane (Hericium erinaceus) and Stropharia rugosoannulata (Stropharia vin rouge) mycelia tend to be more fragile.

If you still have any doubts, do not hesitate to send us an e-mail with one or more photos of your mycelium, and we will respond to you as soon as possible at the following address: contact@mycosphere.com.

To evaluate the viability of a mycelium on grains, the most common method consists of cultivating it in a Petri dish by placing a few grains on an agar medium. A simpler alternative is to use brown corrugated cardboard. Here's how to do it:

1. Immerse a piece of cardboard in boiling water for 10 seconds.
2. Drain it carefully.
3. Place a few grains of mycelium on the cardboard.
4. Gently roll the cardboard onto itself to form a roll, taking care not to compress it excessively in order to maintain some ventilation.
5. Place the cardboard in a tightly closed plastic box.
6. Store the box at room temperature around 20°C for about a week.

You should watch the mycelium develop around the beans and then onto the cardboard over time.

We produce all of our mycelia in our laboratory located in Gembloux, Belgium.

Our supply of strains consists of different sources: some are directly collected from the surrounding nature, while others come from recognized producers in the field. The choice of our strains is based on various criteria, including their natural robustness against diseases, their taste quality, their productivity, their visual appearance, etc.

We preserve the vitality and quality of our strains through regular cultivation of mushrooms in non-sterile environments. Using spore-based breeding and sterile laboratory breeding, we guarantee the purity of our strains. This allows us to provide you with high quality and reliable products.

With the exception of growing on logs, other growing methods generally require pasteurization or sterilization of the substrate.

This is of course not an obligation. Sometimes you have success with an unpasteurized substrate. But the chances of success are significantly reduced. As long as you give time and energy to harvest beautiful mushrooms, you might as well do it well to increase the chances of success in harvesting beautiful mushrooms rather than a pile of green mold...

The surrounding world is full of micro-organisms invisible to the naked eye: mold, bacteria, etc. These are present almost everywhere, in the air and in the substrates that you are going to sow. 

The objective of pasteurization is to eliminate the majority of competitors by increasing the heat between 65° and 99° and thus give more chances. It is also possible to pasteurize cold, with soaking in a calcareous lime bath. 

Changing the pH will limit the growth of bacteria and mold and give our mycelium more chances again. The aim of sterilization is to eliminate all the micro-organisms present in the substrate by raising the temperature with pressure to 121°.

For amateur cultivation, we generally recommend cold or hot pasteurization.

If you are considering growing mushrooms for the first time, we advise you to start with oyster mushrooms for growing indoors. This is the simplest and most rewarding strain to produce, ideal for beginners. You can find ready-to-grow kits on our site that contain everything you need, as well as mycelium if you want to create your own substrate.

For outdoor cultivation, we recommend stropharia . Their mycelium is very robust and productive, and they can produce mushrooms over several years. This is a great choice for those who want to grow mushrooms outdoors.

We count as a percentage the weight of the wet mycelium in relation to the wet substrate:

- In sterile laboratory conditions: 0.5-2%

- In non-sterile conditions, at home: 5-10%

- In outdoor cultivation: 20%

The quantity of mycelium required may vary slightly depending on pasteurization techniques and substrates.

It depends... We provide estimates of potential harvests based on our own experiences on the sheets for our different mycelium varieties. However, it is important to note that the amount of mushrooms harvested can vary depending on several factors, including the type of substrate used, the humidity level, and the number of harvests made.

In general, a successful grow typically produces between 15% and 25% of the wet substrate weight in fresh mushrooms. However, these figures may vary depending on specific crop conditions. It is therefore recommended to follow the instructions provided with our products and carefully monitor the growing process to achieve the best results.

It is recommended to harvest mushrooms before they reach maturity, i.e. before the sporulation stage. Mushrooms generally become more fibrous and have a reduced shelf life after this point.

It is important to note that this optimal harvest time can vary for each species, and is something that is learned with experience.

Generally, you can spot the optimal time for harvest when you notice that the growth of the caps begins to slow down. Additionally, the color of the caps may begin to lighten, and in the case of oyster mushrooms, the edges of the caps may turn slightly brown and stand up.

Once these signs become evident, it is advisable to stop waiting and proceed with harvesting to obtain mushrooms at their best quality state.

There has been considerable excitement in recent years around growing mushrooms on coffee grounds, an intriguing concept. Coffee grounds have a certain advantage because they are already partially pasteurized during the coffee-making process. It can then be seeded with mushroom mycelium, turning it into a valued resource, producing both fresh mushrooms and compost. This concept has attracted many entrepreneurs around the world, who have launched their own start-ups in many different cities.

However, it is essential to specify certain important information:

1. This concept mainly works for growing oyster mushrooms. Most other varieties of mushrooms do not thrive as well with this substrate.
2. Coffee grounds used alone are not an ideal substrate because they lack carbon. It is therefore necessary to add a carbonaceous material, generally sawdust or straw. The level of coffee grounds in the mixture is generally 20 to 50% maximum.
3. Coffee grounds are not sterile. It is lightly pasteurized, but it can be quickly contaminated by microorganisms present in the ambient air. Due to its richness in nitrogen, it is conducive to the development of mold and bacteria. Therefore, it should be stored immediately in an airtight container and used within 48 hours of collection. This constraint can be difficult to respect for cafes or restaurants.
4. Although coffee grounds are basically a free resource, the logistical costs associated with collecting them, storing them in a cool place, and cleaning the containers should not be underestimated. Labor cost in mushroom production remains the largest cost driver, which can make it difficult to be profitable or competitive compared to more traditional production methods.

In conclusion, according to our experiences, coffee grounds are an interesting substrate for individuals wishing to carry out experiments at home. However, it should be considered more as an additive that provides nitrogen than a substrate in its own right. Nevertheless, coffee grounds can be an interesting element for the production of "white" (seeding mycelium), because each small grain of the grounds constitutes an additional seeding point, thus accelerating colonization by the mycelium. We have already carried out successful tests with oyster mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms using coffee grounds in this way.

Yes, most of the varieties of mushrooms you will find on our site are lignicolous saprophytic mushrooms, which means they feed on the organic matter found in decomposing dead wood. When growing these mushrooms on logs or stumps, it is important to consider the following:

1. The logs or stumps must have been cut recently. We recommend waiting about 2 weeks after cutting to allow any anti-fungal substances present in the wood sap to decompose naturally.
2. Do not wait more than 3 months to start growing, because beyond this period there is an increased risk that other, more robust varieties of native mushrooms will take over and leave our cultivated mushrooms with little chance of success. develop properly.

For more detailed information on growing each mushroom variety, you can visit our specific product pages.

We also have an article on log growing .

Most of the mushroom varieties we grow are generally better suited to hardwood species. However, we are conducting tests with different varieties that could be successfully grown on softwoods, whether indoors or outdoors. For example, our gray oyster mushroom variety KB1 shows good adaptability. Growing on firewood pellets with 20% softwood worked well, although yields were slightly lower than with 100% hardwood. The pulmonarius oyster mushroom also seems to adapt well to resinous woods.

If you want to grow mushrooms outdoors, here are some methods you can use:

1. Cultivation on logs or stumps: You can use our seeded pegs for this method.
2. Culture on mulch, shavings or sawdust: There are several varieties adapted to this method that you can discover on our site.
3. Cultivation on compost: The species most suited to cultivation on compost are agarics, bluefoots and coprins.

We provide more detailed information on each mushroom variety and suitable growing methods on our product sheets. In addition, we are working on the creation of specific sheets dedicated to growing mushrooms outdoors to provide you with more precise advice.

Here you will find the list of our points of sale in Walloon Brabant and Brussels.

You can also order directly from us (minimum 1kg) and come and collect them on site: 0483371561.

We recommend storing your mushrooms in the fridge in a paper bag. This way, the mushrooms will be more likely to dry out slowly. Mushrooms need to breathe.

Oyster mushrooms will keep for 5 to 7 days in the fridge, shiitake mushrooms and eryngii for between 10 and 15 days.

The farm is not open to the public. We generally hold one or two open days per year. Stay informed of our activities on our site or via social networks.

The organization of our activity makes it difficult for us to welcome and train people for short periods of time. Except in exceptional cases, we do not welcome interns or wwoofers.

Can not find the answer to your question?

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