The Shaggy Mane, coprinus comatus, is one one of the most delicious mushrooms there is in my opinion. However, this mushroom is never found in grocery stores due to it’s rapidly disintegrating  auto digestive process. The shaggy mane mushrooms turns to liquid rather quickly so it’s not a good mushroom for storing. If eaten within a few days of harvesting before it becomes to mature, this is truly a delicacy. The shaggy mane is actually a common mushroom along roadsides, compost piles on ranches, around gardens, and in lawns. I’ve seen this mushroom on golf courses quite often. This is a great garden mushroom if your composting your lawn or garden. Although an enclosed composter can get to hot for this fungi, open air compost piles that are being turned are good choices, as well just starting patches from the completed compost. As well buying composted dung formulated especially for mushrooms is an excellent substrate for this mushroom such as this great mushroom growing kit from High Mountain Compost. 

The Shaggy Mane can be started on rye grain and the spawn used on either composted straw, horse or cattle dung, or just compost from your composter. 1”-2” of casing soil should be used if cultivated indoors.

Growth Parameters

Spawn run: 76-80°F, Humidity 90-100%, Time: 8-12 days; 

Primordia Formation: 62-66°F, Time: 2-4 days; 

Fruitbody Development: 62-65°F Time:7-10 days

Fruiting Cycle: Two Crops 7-10 days apart

Shaggy Mane mushrooms need to be harvested before the gills turn black and begin to liquify. 

The gills will start off whitish then grayish then black. In our photos, we have posted several pictures of edible shaggy mane mushrooms next to mature mushrooms with black gills which are no longer edible. Dunking the harvested mushrooms in cold water will slow the process allowing them to refrigerate for several days after picking.

We stopped selling this species due to lack of customer interest.