PF Tek for Beginners: A Simple Guide to Growing Mushrooms at Home
If you’ve ever dreamed of growing your own mushrooms — watching the white threads of mycelium weave through a jar and turn into beautiful clusters of gourmet fungi — the PF Tek is the perfect place to start.
Developed by Robert McPherson (a.k.a. Psilocybe Fanaticus) in the 1990s, PF Tek quickly became the most accessible mushroom-growing method for beginners. It’s simple, low-tech, and reliable — everything you need to learn the fundamentals of mushroom cultivation without expensive lab equipment.
At Kai Kai Farm, we use the same principles in our own production systems and teach them to home growers who want to start clean, small, and successful.
🧂 What Is PF Tek?
PF Tek is a step-by-step process for creating a nutritious, sterile substrate inside small jars. It uses brown rice flour, vermiculite, and water — a trio that provides food, moisture, and structure for the mushroom mycelium to grow. A great beginner friendly approach to mushroom growing that doesn't require a big investment or space to grow mushrooms.
Once colonised, the jars are turned out as “cakes” and placed in a humid environment to fruit. With good care, each cake can yield several flushes of mushrooms.
The beauty of PF Tek is its simplicity and consistency — no lab skills, no special tools, just a clean workspace and patience.
🪴 What You’ll Need
Most materials are inexpensive and easy to find — and we’ve linked the essentials from our farm store below.
Ingredients & Supplies
-
Brown rice flour – the food source for your mycelium
-
Vermiculite – keeps the mix light and evenly moist
-
Clean water – filtered or boiled and cooled
-
Half-pint glass jars with lids (regular or wide-mouth)
-
Spore syringe or liquid culture (choose your gourmet or medicinal species)
-
Aluminium foil
-
Large pot or pressure cooker for sterilising
-
Still-air box or clean area for inoculation
👉 Try our Kai Kai Farm Vermiculite and Organic Brown Rice Flour — the same materials we use on the farm for consistent results.
⚗️ Step-by-Step PF Tek Process
1. Mix Your Substrate
Combine in a bowl:
-
2 parts vermiculite
-
1 part brown rice flour
-
1 part water
Mix gently until evenly moist — not soggy. When you squeeze a handful, only a few drops should come out.
2. Load Your Jars
Spoon the mix loosely into each jar, leaving 2 cm of space at the top. Wipe the rim clean, then fill the top with dry vermiculite (this acts as a contamination barrier).
Cover with the lid, add a layer of foil, and they’re ready for sterilisation.
3. Sterilise
Steam the jars for 60–90 minutes (or pressure-cook for 45 minutes at 15 psi). Allow to cool completely before the next step.
4. Inoculate
Working in a clean space, shake your spore syringe or liquid culture and inject through small holes in the lid — usually four per jar, around the edge. Wipe the holes and reseal with tape.
5. Incubate
Store jars at 22–26 °C in a clean, dark place. Over 2–3 weeks you’ll see white mycelium spreading through the substrate. Wait until each jar is fully white before moving on.
6. Birth & Fruit
Remove the jar lid, tap the “cake” out, and rinse gently under water. Place on foil inside a humid fruiting chamber (a clear tub with moist perlite works well).
Mist and fan 1–2 times a day. Within a week or two, you’ll see tiny pins forming — soon to become full-grown mushrooms!
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
-
Rushing incubation: Wait until full colonisation before fruiting.
-
Too wet substrate: Excess water slows growth and encourages contamination.
-
Dirty workspace: Always clean your hands, tools, and surfaces before inoculating.
-
Poor airflow: Mushrooms need oxygen — stagnant air can stunt growth.
🌱 Why PF Tek Still Matters
Even after decades, PF Tek remains the foundation of modern home mushroom cultivation. It teaches the core principles of sterilisation, humidity, and patience — skills you’ll use in every grow that follows.
Once you’ve mastered PF Tek, you can easily scale up to monotubs, grain spawn, or commercial grow blocks like the ones we produce at Kai Kai Farm.
🔧 Optional Enhancements
-
Use a still-air box for cleaner inoculations.
-
Try a liquid culture for faster colonisation.
-
Upgrade to ready-to-fruit grow blocks for even bigger harvests.
👉 Explore our Substrate Supplies — perfect next steps after your first PF Tek success.
🌾 Final Thoughts
PF Tek is more than just a method — it’s an invitation to connect with the fascinating world of fungi. With a few basic tools and a little patience, you’ll watch life unfold in real time, from spores to harvest.
Start small, stay curious, and enjoy every stage of the process.
🍄 Ready to Begin?
Grab your vermiculite and brown rice flour from the our growing supplies along with some liquid culture or mushrooms spawn, and start your first PF Tek today.