Top 5 At-Home Mushroom Growing Kits Reviewed: 2026

Collection of at home mushroom growing kits on a table. Blue oyster mushroom grow kits in order from largest to smallest.

1. Winner: Mushroom Grow Kit Co. - Best Value

Weight: 5lbs
Price: $35

Fresh Mushrooms Grown: 2-3 lbs

Not the cheapest mushroom grow kit, but the best value and quality for your money spent. Mushroom Grow Kit Co. makes up that value difference in growing twice as many fresh mushrooms compared to other brands like North Spore, Back to the Roots, Le Petit Champi, and Golden Mushroom Co.

Mushroom Grow Kit Co. uses first-generation grain spawn for their grow kits (which means it is stronger and younger). They also use organic master's mix for their substrate. Master's mix consistently grows the most mushrooms because of how nutrient-packed the hardwood oak and soy hulls are when combined with grain spawn. This is why their grow kits work so well for home growers.

They autoclave and fully sterilize every mycelium block so the mushroom grow kits come completely hydrated and healthy.

Other companies tend to use supplemented sawdust for their substrate. Using only sawdust cuts the yield in half compared to master's mix. It also leads to drier, less hydrated blocks, especially if the sawdust blocks are steam pasteurized and not fully sterilized in a proper autoclave.

Every mushroom growing kit from Mushroom Grow Kit Co. comes with top-notch customer service, personalized grow tips from actual mushroom farmers, 100% guarantee to grow, and are hand made in the USA.

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A healthy five pound grow kit from Mushroom Grow Kit Co. next to North Spore's four pound dry, partially colonized mycelium.

4lbs Spray and Grow Kits

2. North Spore

Weight: 4lbs
Price: $30

Fresh Mushrooms Grown: 1-1.5 lbs

One of the pioneers of at home mushroom grow kits. North Spore still makes a good grow kit compared to Back to the Roots, but customers have reported issues with mold, contamination, kits drying out and barely producing mushrooms or growing mushrooms. North Spore uses supplemented sawdust for their mushroom grow kits and fruiting blocks (not master's mix). Customer service can be hit or miss. Their guarantee to grow is only good for 3 months from the date of purchase. Good for people who want to save money and grow only 1 lbs or so of fresh mushrooms.

North Spore Customer Reviews

  • Three North Spore Spray and Grow Mushroom Kits sitting on a table. All three grow kits are open. One is a pink oyster mushroom grow kit showing no growth, one is a blue oyster mushroom grow kit showing no growth, the last one is a lion's mane mushroom grow kit showing a small amount of dry yellow lion's mane growing out of the open kit.

    ★★☆☆☆ - Only 1 out of 3 grew

    "Ordered the pink oyster also, only the lions mane have grown the 2 others haven't done anything. Spent $90 total and only 1 has produced anything. Used these for a science fair project and had to purchase new kits from other vendors."

    - Rachel

    (2 Star, Amazon.com 12/3/2025, North Spore Spray and Grow Kit)

  • Green Trichoderma mold growing inside an open North Spore pink oyster mushroom Spray and Grow kit.

    ★★★☆☆ - Growing Mold

    "Ordered on 2/7/26. Followed instructions and started to see a lot of grey mold growing. Contacted them as there is supposed to be a 30 day grow guarantee. Took one week to receive response but they are sending me a replacement kit."

    - MNLakes

    (3 Star, Amazon.com 2/24/2026, North Spore Spray and Grow Kit)

  • ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ - Didn't germinate well for us

    "Packing is very nice and love that it comes with a spray bottle. Instructions were easy to follow. Sadly though it really didn’t grow for us. First round of one box had a little bit of growth (<1/2”) but it turned pink and brown that same day. I tried cutting it off and soaking for another round but nothing."

    - A. Law

    (1 Star, Amazon.com 2/5/2026, North Spore Spray and Grow Kit)



  • ★★☆☆☆ - Not worth it, inferior and substrate, not fully colonized, got moldy.

    "bought this and a golden oyster kit together which i also reviewed. Both got moldy quick due to the fact the mycelium has not fully colonized the substrate (not to mention the substrate itself is quite dry and no good)and required a lot of scrapping and hydrogen peroxide to make it bloom.

    North spore is selling dry and under-colonized grow kits instead of actually waiting for them to fully colonize. Not sure if this is intentional , bad logistics, or the substrate they using its so bad it doesnt colonize correctly, but this is a bad product. Only reason i dont give it 1 star is that after much work, i got it to bloom at least.

    do not buy this product, i want a refund."

    - Darkunorthodox

    (2 Star, Amazon.com 9/24/2025, North Spore Spray and Grow Kit)

  • Green Trichoderma mold growing inside a North Spore fruiting block grow kit.

    ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ - Green Mold

    "North Spore has a serious trichoderma problem. 6 of the 7 products I’ve ordered have arrived contaminated."

    - Grayson Greener

    (1 Star, Amazon.com 12/13/2025, North Spore Spray and Grow Kit)

  • ★★★☆☆ - Still waiting..

    "First product arrived barely colonized and smelled sour, and had clearly been opened previously, so I returned it and got a replacement. The replacement was similarly barely colonized, but didn't smell sour, so I put it to test. It's taken 3-4 weeks for the bag to fully colonize and reach a point where it's starting pins. So .. it'll be around 6 weeks from when it arrived to harvest time. Still not there yet.

    Other companies I've dealt with have generally sent kits that are nearly fully colonized. I'm new to all this, but it's unlikely I'll order from North Spore again if this is how their products normally are."

    - Brian Robinson

    (3 Star, Amazon.com 6/16/2025, North Spore Spray and Grow Kit)
A large five pound mushroom grow kit from Mushroom Grow Kit Co. next to a small three pound grow kit from Golden Mushroom Co.

3 lbs DIY beginner-friendly mushroom grow kits

3. Golden Mushroom Co.

Weight: 3lbs
Price: $30

Fresh Mushrooms Grown: 1 lbs

Golden Mushroom Co.'s easy DIY 3 lbs mushroom grow kits are perfect for beginners who want to grow a small amount of mushrooms at home. These mushroom grow kits are nice if you are hesitant on trying a new mushroom for the first time.

Being on the smaller side, made from supplemented sawdust and only 3 lbs, the most you can really expect out of them is about 1 pound of fresh mushrooms or less.

Keep in mind, Golden Mushroom Co. grow kits do not include a free spray bottle. They are also not made by a mushroom farmer who grows fresh mushrooms for their local community as a living. This can lead to quality control issues and a lack of performance oversight.

Golden Mushroom Co. Customer Reviews

  • ★★☆☆☆ - Blocks were not close to being ready

    "Blocks were not close to being ready, barely 1/4-1/3. Waiting to see fully myceliated substrate like I was taught by Max at SD Myco. I was hoping to have them prior to Thanksgiving. However, I will be patient."

    - James T.C.

    (2 Star, goldenmushroomco.com 11/15/2025, 4-Pack DIY Grow Kit for Gourmet Mushrooms at Home)

  • ★★★★★ - Love

    "Quick to deliver and the mushrooms started to pin within the day of opening it. Such a fun process and can’t wait to taste"

    - Alexandra T.

    (5 Star, goldenmushroomco.com 3/11/2025, 4-Pack DIY Grow Kit for Gourmet Mushrooms at Home)

  • ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ - I still have not received my order and can’t get anyone to respond to me.

    "I still have not received my order and can’t get anyone to respond to me."

    - Brian S.
    (1 Star, goldenmushroomco.com 1/05/2026, Blue Oyster DIY Grow Kit for Gourmet Mushrooms at Home)
A large five pound mushroom growing kit from Mushroom Grow Kit Co. next to a small half pound grow kit from Back to the Roots

1/2 lb Organic Mushroom Grow Kit

4. Back to the Roots

Weight: 1/2 lb
Price: $25

Fresh Mushrooms Grown: 1/4 lb

Back to the Roots is good if you want to grow mushrooms for the sake of saying you grew your own mushrooms at home. They do not produce enough mushrooms to cook a meal with and often sit on store shelves for 5-6 months before being sold. This causes old, dehydrated mycelium blocks to barely grow fresh mushrooms. Back to the Roots is a large seed and soil corporate conglomerate and does not grow mushrooms for a living. Back to the Roots using sawdust for the mushroom growing kit substrate.

Back to the Roots Customer Reviews

  • ★★☆☆☆ - Fun and tasty but very few mushrooms for the money

    "I got 110 grams at first shot, 80 grams second and 40 grams at third shot. Had to cut the whole block out of the plastic because the mushrooms were poking their noses out from here and there, not only at the cut-out. I'm unhappy with the product because I purchased the set for culinary purposes, not for entertainment. The set is OK for kids or adults to watch the progress of growing but forget about cooking for a family. There is barely enough mushrooms coming out to get the taste on the tip of the tongue of one person."

    - Mzeina

    (2 Star, Amazon.com 2/16/2026, Organic Pink Oyster Mushroom Grow Kit Back to the Roots)

  • ★★☆☆☆ - Dont be fooled by the massive flush of mushrooms on the pictures company provides

    "Mine worked poorly, waiting on second flush now. First flush was only 10 mushrooms. Not impressive. I have done this myself with my own stuff many times and had way better results. I hope the second flush will be better. Logs were very dry when they arrived. cardboard box with no protection that allowed mold to get in. I was able to remove it but is seems careless... Update: NO second flush. Log was full of mold. I was lucky to get 10 mushrooms. Total waste of money. Growing mushrooms at home is fine. I do it from scratch sometimes. This is a novelty at best. My mushroom tubs that I made from scratch yielded pounds and pounds. This is very expensive for what you get back."

    - Wapas

    (2 Star, Amazon.com 2/24/2025, Organic Pink Oyster Mushroom Grow Kit Back to the Roots)

  • Bag of old discolored oyster mushroom mycelium from Back to the Roots grow kits showing no signs of growth after being soaked in water.

    ★★★☆☆ - It's ok.

    "It appears I have an older bag. There are some dark areas in the "window" that will not germinate/grow or whatever you call growing fungus. I tried to saturate the substrate, but it didn't take much water. I did get one good clump of mushrooms out of it. I re-saturated the substrate. Hopefully I will get more. The small amount that grew the first time around was not worth the purchase. Still a cool project for people that have not grown mushrooms before. I have experience growing mushrooms from spore to harvest so this was a little on the weak side in my opinion."

    - Craig

    (3 Star, Amazon.com 5/25/2025, Organic Blue Oyster Mushroom Grow Kit Back to the Roots)

1.5lbs Mushroom Grow Kit

5. Le Petit Champi

Weight: 1.5 lbs
Price: $30

Fresh Mushrooms Grown: 3/4 lb

Le Petit Champi has very mixed reviews online with many customers complaining about how hard it is to get a refund or response from customer service. Their mushroom grow kits are smaller at only 1.5 lbs and can only grow up to 3/4 lb in fresh mushrooms per kit (needs multiple harvests to do so).

Le Petit Champi mushroom kits are made in Canada, not the USA. They are not made by authentic mushroom farmers who grow fresh mushrooms for a living.

Le Petit Champi Customer Reviews

  • ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ - Company deletes negative feedback on FB

    "If you were planning on buying the Le Petit Champi mushroom kits, don't bother. They don't work!The company deletes negative feedback on their FB page so you don't have real experiences being shared.

    @lepetitchamp #lepetitchampi"

    - Darcy Dewar

    (1 Star, Facebook.com 3/19/2025, Mushroom Kits by Le Petit Champi)

  • ★★☆☆☆ - Tiny, would not purchase again

    "These kits are tiny. Only 1.8 pounds. Good thing they were two for one, but i dont think id ever purchase them again."

    - Anonymous Verified Review

    (2 Star, Petitchampi.com 4/23/2025, Pink and Blue Oyster Mushroom Kits by Le Petit Champi)

  • ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ - Blue and Gold Oyster Mushroom Kit

    "Mushroom bloomed nice but got as big as a pea and died off, second bloom same thing"

    - t.G.

    (1 Star, Petitchampi.com 2/6/2026, Golden and Blue Oyster Mushroom Kits by Le Petit Champi)

  • ★★★☆☆ - Only 1 kit grew

    "I bought 2 mushroom grow kits and only 1 kit grew. The other one has been in the same environment and has been cared for exactly the same and has not grown at all.
    I was really hoping to have 2 kits that produce mushrooms."

    - Andrea S.

    (3 Star, Petitchampi.com 1/13/2026, Blue Oyster Mushroom Kit by Le Petit Champi)

  • ★★★☆☆ - One did one didnt

    "Started at same time followed instructions the golden oysters grew good only got one flush they tasted awesome the chestnut had no growth at all bummed about that it was fun watching them grow."

    - Patricia T.

    (3 Star, Petitchampi.com 1/31/2026, Golden Oyster Mushroom Kit by Le Petit Champi)

  • ★★★☆☆ - Lions Mane Mushroom block

    "Examining the block it appears that at best 20% of material has visible mycelium. The block is drier than what I normally recieve from other vendors. I have a good amount of experience with Lion's Mane. Hope there is enough mycelium to produce at least one healthy flush. A bit disappointed in first impression"

    -George B.

    (3 Star, Petitchampi.com 11/20/2025, Lion's Mane Mushroom Kit by Le Petit Champi)
Comparison chart of at home mushroom grow kits with Mushroom Grow Kit Co. as the clear winner and best value for your money. 1. Mushroom Grow Kit Co. - $35, 5lbs, grows up to 3lbs of fresh mushrooms, organic, made by mushroom farmers, high quality mycelium grow kit blocks. 2. North Spore - $30, 4lbs, grows up to 1.5lbs of fresh mushrooms, organic, dry old mycelium grow kit blocks :( 3. Golden Mushroom Co. - $30, 3lbs, grows 1lbs 4. Back to the Roots - $25, 1/2lb, grows 1/4lb of fresh mushrooms, organic

Best Value For Money Spent

Conclusion: Mushroom Grow Kit Co.

"Mushroom Grow Kit Co. for the win!

I've tried a lot of different grow kit brands over the years as a hobby cultivator. Mushroom Grow Kit Co. is hands down the best so far. Their quality is top notch with thick, meaty oyster mushrooms. I think part of this is because their mycelium is only a few weeks old so it has more nutrients available. It's also a 5 pound block which leads to bigger yields. If you are trying to decide which brand of mushroom grow kits to buy I highly recommend Mushroom Grow Kit Co. for both the price and quality.

- Alexis W. 02/16/2026

See Mushroom Grow Kits

Mushroom Grow Kit Co. Customer Reviews

  • ★★★★★ - Arrived 100% fully colonized

    "I ordered this after my lion's mane grow kit from North Spore was delivered only about 10% colonization. I was pretty upset I had to wait another 2-3 weeks for North Spore's bag to colonize and so relieved to receive a fully colonized, ready to use bag from Mushroom Grow Kit Co. I'm going to return the one from North Spore on amazon. Can't wait to fruit these bad boys!"

    - Chase smith

    (5 Star, Mushroomgrowkitco.com 2/17/2026, Mushroom Grow Kit Co. 5lbs Lion's Mane Mushroom Growing Kit)

  • ★★★★☆ - Bigger Harvest Than North Spore

    "I’ve used a North Spore kit before, so I had something to compare this to. This mushroom grow kit from Mushroom Grow Kit Co. definitely produced a bigger first flush. The clusters were fuller and felt like a better value for the money. For an at home mushroom grow kit, it outperformed what I’ve used in the past and I’d buy them again."

    - Marilyn T.

    (4 Star, Mushroomgrowkitco.com 8/6/2025, Mushroom Grow Kit Co. 15lbs 3-Pack Lion's Mane, Pink, and Blue Oyster Mushroom Growing Kits)

  • ★★★★★ - So much better than Petit Champi

    "No mold and excellent customer service (from before even making a purchase). Their grow kits are twice the size of Petit Champi and actually grew mushrooms. I also like that Mushroom Grow Kit Co. is in the USA and not Canada. I still haven't received a refund from Petit Champi 🙄"

    - Jodi C.

    (5 Star, Mushroomgrowkitco.com 3/2/2026, Mushroom Grow Kit Co. 15lbs 3-Pack Lion's Mane, Pink, and Blue Oyster Mushroom Growing Kits)

  • ★★★★★ - No more flops like North Spore

    "This one from Mushroom Grow Kit Co. gave me a bountiful harvest. So worth it. North Spore was smaller and didn’t hold moisture (half the time my kit from North Spore never grew)."

    - Byron J.

    (5 Star, Mushroomgrowkitco.com 1/8/2026, Mushroom Grow Kit Co. 15lbs 3-Pack Lion's Mane, Pink, and Blue Oyster Mushroom Growing Kits)

  • ★★★★☆ - Way more reliable and consistent

    "Owned a North Spore pink oyster kit once and man I kept it misted, but that thing dried up quick and barely fruited. Switched to the kit from Mushroom Grow Kit Co. and the difference was clear. Bigger blocks that held moisture better, way more consistent growth. Lost a star because my first flush was way bigger than the second, but compared to North Spore’s hit-or-miss stuff, this is way more."

    - Fredo

    (4 Star, Mushroomgrowkitco.com 1/7/2026, Mushroom Grow Kit Co. 5lbs Pink Oyster Mushroom Growing Kit)

  • ★★★★★ - Worth every dollar based on yield alone

    "The oyster mushroom grow kits are incredibly productive. I weighed both flushes and was surprised at how much I harvested from a single box. The value per pound compared to store prices makes this mushroom grow kit a no-brainer."

    - Charlie P.

    (5 Star, Mushroomgrowkitco.com 1/11/2026, Mushroom Grow Kit Co. 5lbs Blue Oyster Mushroom Growing Kit)
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