Mind & Mycelium Tabletop Mushroom Farm

Most functional mushrooms arrive as a powder in a bag. These ones grow on your kitchen bench.

Mind & Mycelium is a tabletop mushroom farm built around three of the most studied functional species in the world — Lion's Mane, Reishi and Shiitake — across four fully colonised 2.2kg blocks. You grow them yourself, which means you know exactly what you're consuming, what it was grown on, and where it came from. No supply chain, no fillers, no label to take on faith.

Two of the four blocks are Lion's Mane, in two different strains. That's deliberate — it's the variety most people come looking for, and running two genetics side by side is the most interesting thing in the box.

What you'll be growing

• Lion's Mane ‘Pom Pom’ Hericium erinaceus 1 block
  Cascading white pompoms of soft, icicle-like spines — one of the strangest and most beautiful things you can grow indoors. Cooked, it pulls apart into rich, seafood-like strands, most often compared to crab or scallop, and browns superbly in butter.
• Lion's Mane ‘HULK’ Hericium erinaceus 1 block
  The same species, different genetics. HULK produces larger, denser, more robust fruiting bodies with the same flavour and texture — more mushroom off the same size block.
• Reishi Ganoderma steyaertanum 1 block
  Australia's own Reishi, grown from our Tamborine Mountain stock. It starts as pale antler-like fingers before flattening into glossy, lacquered kidney-shaped conks in rust, mahogany and cream — genuinely display-worthy, and the most photogenic thing on the bench. Reishi is far too woody and bitter to eat; it's traditionally simmered into a long tea or extracted as a tincture, and dries into a specimen that keeps for years.
• Shiitake Lentinula edodes 1 block
  Domed tan-brown caps over cream gills, the best of them cracking into a marbled surface as they swell. The bridge between functional and gourmet: deeply umami, meaty enough to stand in for beef, and it only gets richer the longer you cook it.

What you'll notice

• Two Lion's Mane strains, side by side. Same species, same substrate, same shelf — and visibly different results. It's the closest thing to a home cultivation experiment in the range.
• Reishi grows in two acts. The antler stage alone runs for weeks before a cap forms. It's slow, and it's the part people photograph.
• Shiitake blocks go brown before they fruit. This alarms first-time growers — it shouldn't. Browning is the block maturing and it's exactly what you want to see.
• Up to 500g on the first harvest from the Lion's Mane and Shiitake blocks, with up to four flushes possible as yields taper.
• Nothing to buy, nothing to set up. It grows on a kitchen counter or any indoor bench. No tent, no fan, no humidifier, no prior experience.

Growing conditions

Lion's Mane (both blocks)

• 18–22°C Temperature — the sweet spot for tight, well-formed pompoms.
• High + airflow Humidity — needs both. Too much trapped CO₂ and the mushroom elongates into coral-like fingers instead of forming a compact head. Mist twice daily and don't seal it in.

Shiitake

• 15–20°C Temperature — the coolest grower in the box.
• 2× daily Humidity — mist the block surface morning and evening.

Reishi

• 16-25°C Temperature — the warmest and slowest of the four.
• Patience Timeline — Reishi takes considerably longer than the others. Antler primordia first, then cap formation. Don't judge it against the Lion's Mane blocks.

• Ambient Light — all four blocks: normal indoor light is plenty. Keep out of direct sunlight.

The method: unbox and stand each block upright, keeping them separated so each can sit at its own preferred temperature if you have the space. Open the bag for airflow as directed in the included instructions. Mist lightly twice a day, out of direct sun. Harvest Lion's Mane while the spines are still short and white, before they lengthen and yellow. Harvest Shiitake once the cap has opened but the edge is still curled under. Rest the block a week between flushes and keep misting.

Storage, preparation & care

• Before opening: keep blocks sealed, out of direct sun, somewhere cool. Start them within a week or two of arrival for the best first flush.
• Preparing Reishi: it isn't eaten. Slice the fresh conk thinly, dry it fully, then simmer for an hour or more to make a tea, or use it in a tincture. Dried slices store in an airtight jar almost indefinitely.
• Cook Shiitake thoroughly. Raw or lightly cooked shiitake causes a temporary skin reaction in a small number of people. Cooking it through avoids this entirely — and it tastes far better anyway.
• Cook Lion's Mane too. Dry-sear it first to drive off moisture, then finish in butter or oil.
• Fresh storage: harvested mushrooms keep 5–7 days in a paper bag in the fridge. Never plastic — they sweat and go slimy.
• Pets: keep blocks and harvested mushrooms out of reach of cats and dogs.
• Spent blocks compost beautifully — break them through the garden or compost when finished.

This product is a mushroom growing kit and is sold as food and as a horticultural product. Nothing here is intended as medical or health advice, or as a claim to treat, prevent or cure any condition. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, taking prescribed medication, or managing a health condition, speak with your doctor before adding any mushroom to your diet regularly.

What's in the box

• Four premium 2.2kg fruiting blocks — 2 × Lion's Mane (Pom Pom and HULK), 1 × Reishi, 1 × Shiitake. Taken straight from our farm production lines, fully colonised and ready to fruit, grown on certified organic substrate with our own locally developed spawn.
• Mister bottle — for the twice-daily misting that keeps humidity where these species want it.
• Simple step-by-step care instructions — species by species, opening day through to final flush.
• A mushroom book of your choice — pick from children's, cooking, foraging, medicinal, or colouring. Leave your choice in the order notes at checkout; if you forget, we'll be in touch after your order to confirm.

Made on our farm, backed by us

Every block in your Mind & Mycelium farm is inoculated, colonised and packed on our family farm on Tamborine Mountain in Queensland's Scenic Rim. We grow and eat these mushrooms ourselves — nothing is imported, warehoused, or repackaged from someone else's supply. 

Behind it you get free email support from the people who actually grew the block, and a grow guarantee. We want your tabletop farm to thrive as much as you do.

Dispatch: ships from Tamborine Mountain, QLD, within 1 business day (excluding Fridays). Free shipping Australia-wide. Not available to WA due to biosecurity restrictions.