Growing magic mushrooms is a fantastic adventure: nothing is more rewarding than a journey through your own production. This may seem complicated, but some accessories and kits can simplify it.
Moreover, some of them are almost essential, such as a thermometer / hygrometer, non-powdered or sterile gloves or heating mats.These accessories allow comfort and a significant saving of time and energy, in exchange for a few euros.
The phases of the growth of magic mushrooms
Colonization
The growth of magic mushrooms includes several phases. The first phase is colonization: during this stage, the mycelium grows and spreads.
It then needs a constant temperature between 24 and 27 degrees for psilocybe cubensis, the most common.
Fruiting
The second step is fruiting: the mycelium has grown and the first pinheads appear. It is then necessary to increase the air exchange and have a temperature of about 23 to 25 degrees for psilocybe cubensis. We see that mushrooms are sensitive to heat: a few degrees can make the difference.
The importance of temperature
Temperature, like humidity and air exchange, are important factors in the growth at any time of development that should not be neglected, otherwise its harvest will be reduced if the temperature is too low.
Fungi will have trouble developing properly and will be smaller or fewer. The shoot can even be stopped, if the thermometer drops below about 18 degrees. Some mycelium loaves cannot even be restarted.
Tips: how to increase the temperature of your crop
Choose your location and use a heater
With the onset of winter and gas and electricity supply problems in 2022 and 2023, homes will be cooler than usual.
If it is too cold at home, it is advisable to have a thermometer and measure the different places in your home. Once this is done, place your crop in the hottest place. Remember that the heat also tends to rise, while the coolness goes down.
Some growers even dedicate a room to mushroom growth, a smaller piece that they heat more than others. But in the middle of winter, it is possible that this is not enough to reach the desired temperatures, even with the heating on, not to mention the costs that this generates and the ecological impact.
You can also use an auxiliary heater in the same room or close to your kit. There are several types but the best option is convection heaters, which will not risk drying out your grow kit and will distribute the heat evenly. They are equipped with a thermostat that will make regulation easier.
These methods are also used by those who have a terrarium, the primary utility of the heating mat.
The incubation chamber
If this is not enough, or you do not want to turn on the heating, you can opt for a homemade incubation chamber.
The incubation chamber is a small confined space in which you will artificially raise the temperature, thanks to a heat source.
However, this method requires investment to buy the necessary hardware and time to create it. Although effective, this method can also dry bread.The air exchange is also changed, so be careful not to smother the bread.
The incubation chamber, as its name suggests, is mainly used during the colonization phase, since during this phase air exchange is less frequent.
The heating mat
If you have a grow kit, a simple solution to set up at an affordable price is the heating mat to place under the mycelium bread. It heats the bread during the colonization and fruiting phase.
The heating mat is recommended in cold parts of the world, in cool environments and rooms, during cold seasons but is especially useful when the thermometer varies greatly, for example between day and night, because it can easily be unplugged and then reconnected.
Each specialized site on the web counts them among their flagship products. Each has its own model, brand, power and price. It is up to you to choose the range you will find most suitable. The heated tapi is also available for delivery.
It is important to note that a heating mat under a kit can add a few degrees but will not be able to compensate for a too cold environment. If your room is below 16 or 17 degrees, your carpet will not work miracles. It will probably allow fungi to develop, but with difficulty and the yield may be weakened.
In the same way, if your environment is around 22 to 23 degrees, a carpet will not be necessary in the fruiting phase but may be useful in the colonization phase.
What is a heating mat?
Heating mats are generally suitable, in their dimensions, for crop kits or mini-greenhouses. They are originally used as a solution to heat a terrarium but can be used for mushroom cultivation.
Heating mats use electricity, usually around a power of 230 V, regardless of the brand or product. The electricity then heats a resistor, which diffuses heat. In a way, their power is moderate, but on the heating mat itself, the temperature reaches up to 35 degrees. All this heat, coming from under the bread, then heats it and improves the growing conditions in the grow kit or in the mini greenhouse.
Some heating mats sold on the web for delivery are supplied with a built-in adjustable thermostat, they are generally more expensive.
Install the heating mats
First of all, be sure to look for a warm place close to an outlet, in order to install your kit. Also try not to place it in a dirty place, or one with dirty air, to avoid contamination.
Then you have to choose what to create a slight gap between the carpet and the grow kit. You can take a piece of cardboard, wood or any other object that is not too afraid of heat and that raises your culture from about 1 to 4 centimeters from the carpet: caps, shot glasses, a trifle …
This space under the kit is essential to avoid overheating your mycelium, for which excessive heat can be harmful. It is also important because it heats the air, which will then heat the crop.The kit must therefore not be in contact with the heating mat.
Once you have several wedges or objects to raise your grow kit as well, place them on the carpet and put your kit on it: try to place it straight and contactless. The grow dish must remain inside the culture bag, in order to preserve moisture and protect the mycelium from contamination.
Then plug in the carpet that is under your kit and voila: your crop now benefits from the extra heat. You can light the carpet all the time or only when temperatures drop, for example at night.
Tips for use
If you have a lot to cover, your grow kit or mini greenhouse is larger than your carpet, you can place your carpets next to each other. The more surface area is covered, the more degrees you will gain and your device will be effective.
If you leave it on for several hours or all the time, make sure that the air circulates between the bottom of the box and the heating mat.
If you cannot have a voltage of 230V, you can use a universal adapter.Avoid placing your heating mat and kit on the floor, which will tend to be cold and dirtier.
It is plasticized, safe and hot without being burning. So you can place it in rooms with animals and children (watch out for rodents which are animals that gnaw wires and objects and can attack the carpet).
Also avoid spilling water on the heating mat, especially when watering: although plasticized, it is better to avoid damaging it.
The impact of the heating mat on other parameters
The heating mat is very useful and easy to use. However, like every change and addition in your crop, it has a significant impact on the other parameters, namely humidity and air exchange.
The heating mat adds heat unilaterally, that is, on only one side of the crop, under the mycelium bread. Therefore, the degrees on the heating mats itself and under the bread and on the surface will not be the same.
This is why it is preferable to have a thermometer/hygrometer to know the exact degrees on the surface of the bread and be sure that they are sufficient. Obtaining this accessory is recommended, with or without carpet.
Heating mats, by heating in this way under the mycelium bread, can also dry the bread. Be sure to maintain humidity around 80% in the growing environment: this is just as important as the rest.
To increase the humidity, you can add water and to lower it, you can increase the air exchange, that is to say open your grow kit more often and longer.
In any case, and especially with heating mats, it will be necessary to remain attentive to the conditions and climate created on the surface of your bread: an ideal temperature, sufficient hygrometry -but too saturated- and a regular air exchange, often neglected by novice growers.
Other uses of a heating mat
A heating mat to be used differently, for example in combination in an incubation chamber. In an enclosed space, the power of the resistor makes it easy to increase the temperature.
It will be particularly effective in small incubation chambers, in which you place your petri dishes or grains in the process of colonization.
It is better for this device to have a mat with a thermostat. In this case, it is not worth placing it under the incubation chamber, but in it.
As explained above, the heating mat is used for the growth of mushrooms but not only. It can also be used to warm a terrarium by placing it under it, for animals that appreciate the heat. Heating mats are also used for the growth of certain plants indoors.
The model available among the different products as well as the price range can then vary and it is better to ask for advice and take it on a site with a specialized brand, to adapt it according to the need.
Despite the usefulness and practicality of heating mats, they are not really compatible with certain growing techniques, such as Monotub Tek: the dimensions of the mats will often not be suitable for large plastic containers and may not heat up enough.
To conclude, although used to heat a terrarium, the heating mat, which you will find for delivery on our site and specialized sites, is one of the flagship products in growth accessories.
It is not mandatory but highly recommended if your temperatures are too low because it can heat the soil of your grow kit or mini greenhouse. However, care must be taken to install it well under the mycelium bread, for optimal use and without risk.