Shaggy Mane mushrooms (Coprinus comatus) are also known as shaggy ink caps or lawyers wigs. They are a delicious gourmet mushroom which grows on lawns, fields, or soil / compost which is rich in organic matter.
 
You won't find these mushrooms for sale in the shops, and the reason for that is simple - shaggy manes only last for a couple of hours after they are picked. After that, they begin a process of 'deliquesence', which means that they basically begin to digest themselves, resulting in the entire cap turning into a black, ink-like substance.
 
So, the best way to have a good supply of these delicious mushrooms, is to grow some right in your own back yard or garden! Then you can pick them and cook them straight away. The mushrooms should be picked while the cap is still closed and 'torpedo' shaped, and white. When the cap starts to open and turn black at the base, the self digestion process has begun. Shaggy manes are a great breakfast mushroom, and are often fried up with butter and garlic to have on toast, or used in omellets. They're also often used in soups, and sometimes they're crumbed (parmesan crumb reccomended), there are plenty of recipes online for these mushrooms.
 
The process of making a patch is simple - spread the spawn over the ground, this can be your lawn or a garden bed, and then cover the spawn with a layer of compost approximately 5cm deep. After that, just water the patch sometimes if the weather has been dry, and wait for mushrooms to grow! Another option is to 'seed' the spawn directly into your lawn. This can be done by digging or poking holes in the soil (I use a 'dibbler') and stuffing some spawn into it. One kilogram of spawn will be good for about five holes arranged like the dots on the five side of a dice, approximately one meter square. These mushrooms commonly pop up in the autumn and spring, but can grow at any time of year if the weather has been damp or dewey for a while. A patch will take a few months before producing its first crop. The patch can be topped up with compost once or twice a year to keep it going.
 
This spawn is a spawn matrix comprised of a mix of grain, woodchip and copost, coated with pure culture of live Coprinus comatus mycelium.
 
We reccommend 1kg of spawn, and 1 bag of compost per 1m2 of ground.
 
1kg Spawn Matrix = $24.90
2kg Spawn Matrix = $46.90
3kg Spawn Matrix = $64.90