When it comes to cultivating mushrooms in the garden, few species rival the Wine Cap mushroom. They can easily be grown in almost any setting and with none of the sanitary demands required of other species. Indeed, you can set aside the disinfectant sprays, gloves, and pasteurization methods, as growing Wine Caps is more like growing lettuce than it is other mushroom species.

Their resilience in outdoor settings makes Wine Caps an excellent choice for gardeners, first-time mushroom growers, or those who don’t have the space/time/patience required for conventional cultivation methods. We find them to be particularly exciting for gardeners who want to add another novel “layer” of production into their garden designs. In fact, research shows Wine Caps can actually improve crop health by helping protect plants against pests like pathogenic nematodes. Decomposition is already happening in your garden; might as well make it to your advantage!

How To Grow Wine Caps

Wine Caps are by far some of the easiest mushrooms to grow. They don’t require a controlled environment or meticulous sanitary processes. Really, all you need is a bit of outdoor space, some spawn, and organic materials to feed them!

While we’ll go into all the details soon, the basic concept of cultivating wine caps involves planting mushroom spawn in a moist area along with organic materials like woodchips and straw. Over the course of about 6 months to a year, the fungal mycelium consumes these materials and eventually bears fruit when conditions are ripe, usually in the spring or fall. Once established, wine caps can be produced for many years and even spread around the garden, finding suitable habitats in areas rich with organic matter.

Materials

• Wine Cap Mushroom Spawn: This is fundamental and is essentially the “seed” you will use to plant the mushroom. Spores are not typically utilized for planting Wine Caps directly in beds. You can learn more about spawn in our article focusing on spawn. It’s recommended to utilize sawdust spawn (as opposed to grain spawn) for Wine Caps as it reduces the risk of contamination and predation. A 5-lb block of spawn can cover about 15-45 square feet. If you don't plan to use the spawn immediately, refrigerate it and try to use it within 6 months.
  
  
• Substrate: This can be any carbon-rich material, like hardwood wood chips, sawdust, or straw. It can also be great to utilize a combination of straw and chips. Straw tends to break down quicker and provide a quick, easy food for the mycelium, while the chips are longer-lasting. If you had to choose one, wood chips would be most recommended.
  
  
  • Wood Chips: Soft hardwoods like box elder, cottonwood, willow, soft maple, alder, and magnolia are best. Oak, Beech, and other hardwoods also work fine, but take longer to decompose. Pine chips can be used, but it’s best to age them for a little bit or only use them as 25-50% of the substrate max. You’ll probably want at least a couple wheelbarrow loads, but having them in excess is always better.
    
    
  • Straw: We recommend you find organic straw or straw that has not been sprayed. Rice, wheat, oat, or any other cereal straw will work fine.
    
    
• Cardboard: Utilize cardboard that is clean and free of a plastic covering or excessive paint.

Choosing Your Planting Site

• Choose an underutilized site in your garden/backyard that will be minimally disturbed. You can get away with planting it in a garden bed or a lightly used path, just consider that you’ll want to avoid tilling/mixing the soil or causing other significant disturbances. For example, don’t plant it with root crops that result in disturbance during harvest.
  

• If possible, choose a naturally moist microclimate. This is especially true if you live in an arid environment where moisture availability could limit growth. Next to your water spigot or on the shady side of a building, wall, or fence. Also, under fruit trees or even in a forested area is a great option. Avoid full exposed areas that are prone to drying out. If you can take advantage of water from existing irrigation, that is also great.
  

• You can plant in almost any type of soil as long as it’s not contaminated or excessively wet. Avoid soils that appear boggy or hold lots of water. Utilizing cardboard as a base layer, you can also easily plant it over grass or weeds with no extra effort.
  

• Lastly, you want a site that is relatively well-visited. That’s because when these mushrooms appear, it can be sudden and unexpected. If you plant them in a remote part of your garden or property, you might not be able to catch them in time to harvest.

Best Time Of Year To Plant Wine Caps

You can plant any time of the year during the growing season. Spring is a great time to grow, and can be done as early as 2-3 weeks before the final frost. Spring plantings will usually result in a fall fruiting

Making The Wine Cap Bed

Once you have your materials together and have chosen a site, it’s time to plant the Wine Caps!

1. Soak Your Substrate (optional): Unless you are in a very wet climate  it’s a good idea to soak your substrate for 12-24 hours before planting. Dry substrates are a bit hydrophobic and can take a while to properly hydrate. You can soak it in a large tub or just moisten it in a large tarp.
   

2. Cardboard (also optional): Cardboard is good if you’re planting in an area with grass or weeds. It will help suppress them, although a little bit of weeds isn’t catastrophic. The mycelium also likes the cardboard and can easily move through it. Remember to poke some holes in the cardboard (a pitchfork is perfect for this, but a knife works) to avoid potential pooling.
   

3. First Layer Of Substrate: Whether you utilize cardboard or not, what you’ll want to do next is spread your first layer of substrate. You do this just like you would mulch in the garden. You want this to be at least 4-5 inches deep. If you are utilizing both wood chips and straw, it’s best to utilize straw for this bottom layer.
   

4. Spread You’re Spawn:  Now you want to break up your spawn and sprinkle it evenly through the bed. As mentioned earlier, a 5 lb block can be utilized for an area between 15-45 feet. The more densely you plant the spawn, the quicker and more vigorous it will grow.

5. Second Layer Of Substrate: Now, you want to spread another layer of substrate. If you utilize straw for the bottom layer, it’s highly recommended to use chips for this top layer as they help hold down the straw and keep it moist. If you don’t have chips, a thick layer of straw will do.

Maintenance, Monitoring, and Harvest

Maintaining Moisture: Wine Caps are really low-maintenance and may only require occasional irrigation if you are in a dry climate. A good rule of thumb is to water when the top 3-4 inches of the substrate dries up. If you are in a relatively moist climate, there is no need to provide extra irrigation. 

Monitoring: It’s good to keep a regular eye on it to make sure it’s not getting dug up by the neighbor's dogs or some other disturbance. After a couple of months, you can usually begin to see mycelium appearing on the substrates just beneath the surface.

Harvesting: Wine Caps usually appear 6-12 months after planting, depending on the conditions and the quantity of spawn utilized. You’ll want to keep an extra eye on your Wine Cap patch in the spring as temperatures rise or in the fall as they drop.

Add Additional Mulch: After harvesting, you can add additional mulch to provide more food for the mycelium. You can maintain a patch for many years like this. If you feel like your patch has really weakened, you can add extra spawn. 

Best Way To Cook Wine Caps

The first time I tried Wine Caps, I was pleasantly surprised by how delicious they were. Their flesh was soft, and the flavor reminded me of a cross between a button mushroom and a king bolete. I’d say that they are some of the most underappreciated mushrooms. This said, in my experience, young specimens harvested before the veil breaks are much more delicious than older specimens that can have a mild metallic taste.

Wine Caps can be cooked in many different ways, but for me, simply cooking them in butter is great. Just cut into one-inch slices and then throw them in a hot pan until golden brown. Add a bit of salt, pepper, and garnish with parsley and lime. Delicious. You can also utilize it like this as a universal topping for almost any savory meal. Realistically, Wine Caps are pretty adaptable and can be cooked in soups, pastas, and a wide variety of dishes.

Note On Safety

• DO NOT consume Wine Caps raw, as this can cause significant indigestion issues. It is recommended that these mushrooms be cooked very thoroughly before consumption.
  

• Avoid eating in excess or too frequently. While Wine Caps are considered perfectly edible, it has been noted that they can cause gastrointestinal issues if consumed in larger quantities over various days. While the reason for this is not well known, and it could be due to improper preparation, it is recommended to not eat this mushroom more than three days in a row.
  

• Before eating any new mushroom, it is recommended to eat it in small quantities first. Essentially, don’t go overboard before you know how your body will react, as some folks can have adverse reactions to specific species.
  

• Identify it properly! Since these mushrooms aren’t cultivated in controlled conditions, other species may pop up in areas where you planted them. While they are pretty unique and easy to ID, just make sure you are actually harvesting what you planted.

Conclusion

Wine Caps are unique mushrooms that are easy and fun to grow. There are really few other mushrooms that can be cultivated using such “low-tech” methods. This really makes them a shining star when it comes to outdoor mushroom cultivation.

Those interested in outdoor cultivation may also want to consider cultivating mushrooms on logs. This technique, which is also very low-tech, can be done with many different species and in diverse habitats. To learn more about this, make sure to check out our in-depth guide.

Cheers and happy growing :)