Let’s talk mushrooms

Has anyone ever had any success with any of the mushroom kits, plugs, spawn.
I’m considering having a go at growing some of the slight more unusual varieties. I’ve been looking at buy fresh mushrooms deliveries online. Oddly enough I’ve not found any that offer delivery up here. So growing my own is the way forward, if it’s worth it. Obviously there will be foraging in the autumn of the well known wild varieties.
So any advise would be appreciated.

I've grown oyster mushrooms before using one of those cardboard box kits, it was pretty easy. I think the growing substrate was cardboard and coffee grounds. You can use sawdust but everywhere recommends hardwood over soft. If you have any logs you can grow shiitakes outdoors. There's a method of growing which uses lidded buckets with holes in the side which the mushrooms grow out from.

Thanks, I was looking at the oyster mushroom in the cardboard kits earlier. They did look good. How many crops did you get off yours?
We’re been looking at the plugs that go into hard wood logs for a long term thing. Apparently if they take they can produce for up to 8 years.

I've tried Oyster mushrooms in a cardboard box, impregnated dowels in logs (failed), Winecap mushrooms on woodchip (probably the most successful) and ordinary mushroom spawn in manure mixed with whatever is recommended.
None have been as productive as I hoped, unfortunately.

I think they’re quite fussy and temperamental. It’s going to be a challenge.

You may remember that, in another place, I mentioned that I was growing an oyster mushroom in a box. One of these https://growwild.kew.org/get-involved/fungus-labs
It was very exciting watching it grow but I became so attached to it I couldn't make myself eat it!
Rule No 1 - do not name your fungi - they are not your friends - they are food.

I do remember that   . Sound advice I’ll not name any fungus that grow     .

Thanks, I was looking at the oyster mushroom in the cardboard kits earlier. They did look good. How many crops did you get off yours?
We’re been looking at the plugs that go into hard wood logs for a long term thing. Apparently if they take they can produce for up to 8 years.

I think we got about 2 flushes. The first flush is normally the biggest then they get smaller.

Many heard ago I buried ‘spent’ mushroom compost in the greenhouse borders and got an enormous crop of mushrooms and some of them were HUGE.

Years ago when I was a young lad I worked weekends and school holidays in a mushroom farm. We grew mushrooms in warm dark damp growing houses, and when finished growing the house was gassed to kill any bacteria growths, the spent compost was then dumped in a farm yard and was available to locals to buy it for their gardens. This never grew any mushrooms, however, we then converted a number of glass houses, insulated them with polystyrene sheets about 3-4” thick, it didn’t darken the glass house but eliminated the UV light. The ground was concrete and we placed bags filled with compost, spawned and peat on top onto the concrete the mushrooms grew on these bags, later when growing was finished these bags were sold off (my weekend job) to locals, but as it was not gassed there was often mushroom growth in the gardens where it was spread. These were just not white button mushrooms.
I have tried some growing kits button and oyster type, I tried them in the garage and I tried them in the poly tunnel with very poor success.