How to Make a Spore Print

Published on the DoubleBlind website: https://doubleblindmag.com/mushrooms/how-to-grow-mushrooms/how-to-make-a-spore-print/

“A spore is like a seed. As you would collect seeds from plants you grow, or from wild plants, you can collect and store spores from fungi in the form of a spore print. A spore print is formed from the accumulation of spores as they are ejected from the mushroom cap and collect on a surface. You may have noticed the discoloration caused by spores if you ever left a mushroom on a bench, a book, or in a paper bag. Often spores from larger mushrooms are deposited on the caps of smaller mushrooms, making them a different color and leaving some beginner cultivators wondering what has gone wrong!

If you are new to foraging, it is a good practice to do spore prints to aid in identifying the shrooms you have collected. Or if you have successfully grown from a spore syringe and harvested your first mushroom crop, it is recommended to store spores from your cultivated mushrooms—you never know when things are going to go wrong, especially when you are starting!”