Before I got the Northspore Martha Tent, I tried growing mushrooms in buckets. And let’s just say… it didn’t go great.

I was using a mix of wood chips and coffee grounds and I got the ratio wrong. I successfully turned $30 in inoculated sawdust into a single oyster mushroom. not great stats. Too much coffee, not enough structure, I later learned.

When I finally sat down and read through the resources on the Northspore website, it all made more sense. They break down using different growing media and what your mushrooms actually need to thrive. Once I understood that, it changed everything about how I approached growing.

Early Wins Build Confidence

This fall, I decided to set myself up for success with a Northspore Martha Tent and their ready-to-fruit growing blocks. It’s kind of like training wheels for mushroom cultivation: you still learn the cycle and get hands-on experience, but without the guesswork that comes from mixing your own substrate too soon. And at around $450 for the tent and accessories, it may seem like too much, but we are tracking inputs to see how much we can grow and sell with the tent depreciating over 2 years.

Here is the deal: having the automation of humidity and air control has made a HUGE difference in eade of growing the mushrooms. A predictable crop schedule helps me plan sales, or farm to table dinners that use mushrooms.

In my first month, I’ve already had multiple flushes of lion’s mane and oyster mushrooms. The tent controls humidity and airflow automatically, and the blocks just… do their thing. I check them once a day, spray them with filtered water, and harvest when they stop doubling in size.

It’s been pretty easy.

I filmed the whole process and you can watch the video here:

What’s Next: Holler Roast Mushrooms?

Since we roast a lot of coffee around here, my next goal is to put Holler Roast Coffee grounds to good use. With what I’ve learned from Northspore’s guides on substrate balance, I’m going to start testing a coffee-based growing mix.

I’ll share the results (and the inevitable mistakes) as we go.

A Quick Note About the Affiliate Link

If you’re ready to grow your own mushrooms, Northspore is running a 20% off Fall Growing Blocks Sale right now. If you use my affiliate link, I’ll earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It’s one way to support the work we’re doing here at LFTN while you grow something awesome.

Get 20% Off Northspore Growing Blocks (FALL SALE!)

If you are looking for a fun indoor mushroom project this winter, the Martha Tent is a great place to start. Sometimes the best way to learn is to make it easy enough that you actually do it.

And once you’ve got that first flush of mushrooms under your belt, you can do some mad scientist stuff next! I’ll share my experiments as we dive more deeply into this side hustle. So far I have earned $0 but we’ve eaten about 5 meals with mushrooms at the center.