So you have grown your own magic mushrooms, either by using a magic mushroom grow-kit or another way, and now you want to harvest them? That’s great! But how do you know when the time is right to harvest, and how do you even harvest them? Well, if you’re embarking on this magic mushroom journey like many others, these are some questions you have to know the answer to. Luckily for you, today we’re going to tell you all about it!

When to harvest magic mushrooms?

Most people who are interest in growing magic mushrooms already know it can be a very lengthy, time consuming and time sensitive process. There are all kinds of things you have to be aware of, like creating an environment with a perfect humidity, knowing how you should mist the mushroom bed (or bag) without overwatering it, and even learning how much light reaches your grow area to produce the best possible psychedelic mushrooms. But even after taking in account all of these steps, one of the most important steps is the eventual harvesting - and knowing when and how to do it.

It isn’t just a matter of knowing how to pick the mushrooms once they are done, but maybe even more important is knowing when the exact right time to pick them is. In the image below you can see very well when you will be exactly on time, and when it is actually too late. Mind you, this might be a window as small as a few hours. The timing has everything to do with the membrane at the bottom of the mushroom's cap. It is best to pick the mushrooms when the membrane is just closed and about to break. Here’s why: When the membrane breaks, the cap of the mushroom opens. Spores will then end up on your mycelium substrate. The mycelium will sense that it has already propagated, after which the current mycelium will be stopped.

So whether your magic mushrooms are ready to harvest can be determined by the veils under their hats. Is it no longer intact and is it about to come off? Then that’s exactly the moment you should start harvesting. In most cases you should harvest the magic mushrooms slightly before the veils come off. This will prevent the spores inside the shrooms from being released. Here at Avalon Magic Plants, we usually advise to harvest the shrooms rather a little too early than too late. The spores have a black inky oily appearance that ends up on the surface of other caps, and ends up being quite problematic. The release of spores could eventually lead to the kit being unable to produce consecutive flushes, which will greatly reduce your yield.

How to harvest magic mushrooms?

When you have determined now is the right time to harvest your perfectly grown magic mushrooms, the next step is to actually - you know - harvest them! When picking magic mushrooms (or when doing ANYTHING to magic mushrooms) hygiene is a great priority to get in check. Wash your hands, or even use sterile latex gloves, to avoid contamination.

You harvest fully grown mushrooms by grasping them at the bottom of the stem and then making a counterclockwise turning movement. It should then be easy to get the mushroom out. Are the mushrooms too small to use your hands? Some tweezers might do the trick. Do not use too much force when pulling, otherwise they will break. You don't rinse mushrooms under the tap, but brush them.

How to store your magic mushrooms?

Next up: storing your amazing shrooms. In most cases the yield is way bigger then you would ever eat in one session - so knowing how to store the magic mushrooms can be important. Will you consume the mushrooms within 10 days? Then they can easily be kept in the refrigerator. Mushrooms you want to keep for a longer period of time, require a drying process - an extremely easy process.

One way of doing this, is by spreading all of your shrooms on a kitchen towel and simply letting them dry while making sure none fo the mushrooms is in contact with other ones. Simply change the towels regularly, and soon you should be good to go. Shrooms that are dried at room temperature are usually finished in about 7 to 10 days. Some people also use a dehydrator to dry their magic mushrooms. Want to learn more? We tell you all about this process in our article about drying magic mushrooms.

So there you have it: all you need to know about when and how to harvest your magic mushrooms. Of course there is still plenty to learn, but when using our magic mushroom grow kits, we always include a handy guide for you to use.