As more of us rediscover the pleasure of growing our own food, North Spore is making one of nature’s most fascinating foods surprisingly possible to cultivate at home.
There is something happening in the way we think about food.
We see it in the Saturday morning farmers market that has become a ritual rather than an errand. In the herbs growing along kitchen windowsills. In raised beds appearing in backyards, tomatoes climbing balconies, sourdough starters being passed between friends, and the increasingly common desire to know not only what we are eating, but where it came from.
For many of us, growing food has become less about self-sufficiency and more about connection.
Connection to the seasons. To the soil. To the people who grow our food. And perhaps most importantly, to the simple satisfaction of eating something we had a hand in producing ourselves.
But there is one thing most of us probably haven’t considered adding to the garden.
Mushrooms.
That is where North Spore comes in.
What Is North Spore?
Founded in Maine in 2014 by three college friends — a mycologist, an organic farmer and a photojournalist — North Spore began with a shared fascination with mushroom foraging and cultivation. That interest eventually became an urban mushroom farm and, from there, a company built around making the world of fungi more accessible to everyday growers.
Today, North Spore offers everything from beginner-friendly indoor mushroom grow kits to mushroom spawn, outdoor garden-bed supplies and more advanced cultivation equipment.
In other words, you don’t have to become a mushroom farmer to grow mushrooms.
You can simply start.
From the Farmers Market to the Backyard
There is something particularly satisfying about arriving at a farmers market and finding a table covered in mushrooms — oyster mushrooms cascading over one another, beautiful clusters of lion’s mane, shiitakes with their earthy brown caps.
For many of us, this is where more unusual mushroom varieties first become accessible.
And we love farmers markets for precisely that reason. They reconnect us with growers, seasons and foods that don’t always make their way into the conventional grocery-store aisle.
But North Spore takes that relationship one step further.
Instead of only bringing those mushrooms home in a paper bag, you can bring home the ability to grow them yourself.
The company’s beginner Spray & Grow mushroom kits are designed to fruit mushrooms indoors with very little equipment. Depending on the variety, the basic process can be as simple as opening the kit, cutting into the grow bag and misting it regularly. North Spore says its Spray & Grow kits can produce a first flush in roughly two weeks under suitable conditions.
Lion’s mane can emerge from a box on the kitchen counter.
Oyster mushrooms can grow only steps from where you’ll eventually cook them.
And suddenly an ingredient that once required a trip to the market becomes something alive in your own home.
Growing Mushrooms in the Garden
This is where things become even more interesting.
Mushrooms can become part of the garden itself.
North Spore offers mushroom spawn and kits intended specifically for outdoor cultivation, including varieties that can be established in garden beds and others that can be cultivated on logs.
Think of mushroom spawn somewhat like the starting material for a vegetable garden. Technically, it isn’t seed: spawn is living fungal mycelium grown onto another material. North Spore produces different forms of spawn for different cultivation methods, including sawdust, grain and wooden plugs.
For the home gardener, wine cap mushrooms are particularly intriguing.
Also known as Garden Giants, wine caps can be grown outdoors in beds of woody material such as hardwood chips. North Spore describes them as beginner-friendly, and an established bed can potentially continue producing for several years when properly maintained.
The company also provides guidance for growing oyster, blewit, almond agaricus and nameko mushrooms in outdoor beds.
It changes the idea of the edible garden.
There can be tomatoes and lettuces above the soil, herbs around the edges — and an entirely different kingdom quietly growing beneath and among them.
Why Eat Mushrooms?
Part of our growing fascination with mushrooms is culinary.
They bring something to a meal that is difficult to replicate: depth, texture and that deeply savory quality we call umami.
But mushrooms are nutritionally interesting, too.
Depending on the species and how they are grown, edible mushrooms can provide nutrients including B vitamins, selenium, copper, phosphorus and potassium, while generally being low in calories and fat. Mushrooms also contain naturally occurring compounds including polysaccharides and polyphenols that continue to be studied for their potential biological effects.
Mushrooms are also unusual in their relationship with vitamin D. When exposed to ultraviolet light, ergosterol within mushrooms can be converted into vitamin D2. The actual vitamin D content varies considerably according to species, growing conditions and UV exposure, so not every mushroom should automatically be considered a significant source.
Then there is the enormous interest surrounding mushrooms such as lion’s mane and reishi.
These mushrooms have long histories of traditional use and are now the subject of modern research into areas including cognition, inflammation and immune function. But there is an important distinction between promising research and proven treatment. The health effects of many mushroom compounds remain an active area of study, and mushrooms should not be treated as cures simply because they are natural.
Perhaps we don’t need extraordinary claims to make mushrooms extraordinary.
They are already one of the more fascinating foods we can grow.
The Pleasure of Growing What We Eat
The renewed interest in growing food at home feels connected to something larger.
For decades, convenience moved us further and further away from the origins of our food. Everything became available, packaged and remarkably consistent regardless of season.
And convenience has its place.
But somewhere along the way, many of us began craving the opposite experience, too.
We wanted the imperfect tomato from someone’s garden.
The eggs from the farm down the road.
The peaches that are only extraordinary for a few weeks each summer.
The mushrooms from the person at the farmers market who can tell you exactly how they were grown.
Growing something yourself takes that curiosity to its natural conclusion.
You watch it happen.
Mushrooms Make You Pay Attention
There is also something wonderfully different about cultivating fungi.
Plant a tomato seed and, even if you have never gardened before, you have a general idea of what will happen.
Mushrooms still possess an element of mystery.
What we recognize as a mushroom is only the fruiting body of a much larger fungal organism. Beneath it is mycelium, a network of threadlike structures moving through its substrate.
When you cultivate mushrooms, you begin noticing moisture, shade, temperature, wood, soil and decomposition differently.
A pile of wood chips is no longer simply mulch.
A fallen hardwood log can become a growing medium.
The shady corner of the garden that wasn’t particularly useful for tomatoes suddenly has possibilities.
It is gardening, but through an entirely different lens.
North Spore Makes Mushroom Growing Approachable
Perhaps North Spore’s most interesting contribution is removing some of the intimidation from mycology.
Someone completely new to mushroom cultivation can begin with a Spray & Grow kit for varieties such as lion’s mane, blue oyster or pink oyster mushrooms.
A gardener ready for something more involved can establish a mushroom bed using sawdust spawn.
Someone with access to appropriate hardwood can explore log cultivation.
And the person who becomes completely fascinated can continue into increasingly advanced forms of cultivation.
That progression matters.
Growing food shouldn’t require already knowing how to grow food.
Sometimes all we need is an accessible way in.
Who Might Enjoy Growing Mushrooms at Home?
+ The vegetable gardener may find mushrooms open up entirely new areas of the garden, particularly shady spaces and wood-chip beds.
+ The farmers-market regular can experience the satisfaction of cultivating some of the specialty mushrooms they might normally purchase from local growers.
The curious cook gets an ingredient at its freshest and a better understanding of how it grows.
+ The apartment dweller doesn’t necessarily need a vegetable plot at all. North Spore’s indoor kits are specifically designed to make small-scale mushroom growing accessible at home.
+ Families with curious children may simply enjoy watching the process. A mushroom can transform dramatically over a relatively short period, making the invisible world of fungi suddenly very visible.
And then there are those who simply want to become a little more involved in the food they eat.
You don’t need to call yourself a gardener for that.
North Spore Frequently Asked Questions
What is North Spore?
North Spore is a Maine-founded mushroom cultivation company established in 2014. It produces mushroom grow kits, spawn and cultivation supplies designed for everyone from first-time home growers to experienced mushroom cultivators.
Can you grow North Spore mushrooms at home?
Yes. North Spore sells beginner-friendly indoor mushroom kits as well as products for outdoor cultivation. Its Spray & Grow kits are designed to make indoor cultivation particularly approachable for beginners.
Can you grow mushrooms in your garden?
Yes, although the appropriate method depends on the mushroom species and your conditions. North Spore recommends several mushrooms for outdoor beds, including wine cap, oyster, blewit, almond agaricus and nameko.
What are some of the easiest mushrooms to grow at home?
North Spore specifically describes its Spray & Grow kits as beginner-friendly, with lion’s mane and several oyster mushroom varieties among its indoor options. For outdoor garden beds, the company describes wine cap as one of the easiest choices for beginners.
What is mushroom spawn?
Mushroom spawn is living fungal mycelium grown onto a substrate and used to establish mushroom cultivation. North Spore describes it as roughly analogous to seed in a farm or garden, although biologically it is quite different from a plant seed.
Can mushrooms come back year after year?
Some outdoor mushroom beds can continue producing over multiple years when the species, environment and maintenance are suitable. North Spore says its wine cap beds, for example, can produce for several years when fresh woody material is added to maintain the bed.
What are the nutritional benefits of eating mushrooms?
Different mushroom species have different nutritional profiles, but edible mushrooms can provide B vitamins and minerals including selenium, copper, phosphorus and potassium. Some mushrooms can also contain vitamin D2, particularly following sufficient UV exposure.
Bringing It Home
There will always be something special about the farmers market.
We hope there always is.
Knowing the people who grow our food, eating according to the seasons and supporting small growers are things worth preserving.
But perhaps the next chapter isn’t choosing between buying locally and growing ourselves.
It is doing a little of both.
North Spore gives us another way to participate.
To turn the shaded corner of a garden into something edible. To watch lion’s mane emerge on the kitchen counter. To harvest oyster mushrooms minutes before they reach the pan.
And, in the process, to become a little more connected to what sustains us.
At Dwellrefine, we talk about refining how we dwell — not simply through what we bring into our homes, but through how intentionally we participate in the lives we create there.
Sometimes that can begin with something remarkably small.
A garden bed. A little mycelium. And the decision to grow something ourselves.
