Growing Mushrooms in Buckets

You can produce edible mushrooms in your home easily using a bucket, some wood chips, and mushroom spawn (the “seeds” for growing mushrooms). If you follow the right process, you can harvest mature mushrooms several times from one mixture before the materials have completed all their growth. The method described here is best for growing oyster mushrooms but will also work for other mushroom varieties with some modifications.

Steps to the process 

1. Gather the needed materials
2. Prepare the bucket
3. Prepare the wood chips
4. Pack wood chips and spawn into the bucket
5. Place the bucket in the best location
6. Harvest mature mushrooms

Gather the needed materials

• Hardwood chips (5 to 6 pounds)—can be purchased at many gardening or feed stores. Aspen chips seem to work best.
• Mushroom grain spawn (1 pound)—find places to buy this online by searching for “mushroom spawn.” Not all types of spawn grow well on just hardwood chips, so choose a spawn that does, or add some extra nutrients to the bucket like wheat bran, soil hulls, or even used coffee grounds. Be sure to follow any recommendations on growing that particular mushroom from the place where you bought it. 
• 5-gallon bucket with a tight-fitting lid 
• Electric drill with 1/4” and 1/8” drill bits
• Large container (large enough to hold all the wood chips) with cover
• Boiling water and hot water 
• Hand sprayer with water 
• Large, clear plastic bag

Prepare the bucket

1. Using the 1/4″ drill bit, drill holes throughout the side of the bucket about 3 inches apart and about 3 inches from the top and bottom, for a total of about 30 to 40 holes. 
2. Using the 1/8” drill bit, drill about 10 smaller drainage holes in the bottom of the bucket. 
3. Clean the bucket and lid with soap and water and rinse thoroughly.  

Prepare the wood chips

1. Place the wood chips in the large container and add hot tap water to nearly cover them.
2. Add 2 gallons of boiling water to the container, spreading the boiling water over the entire mixture.  
3. Cover and let sit for 12 to 24 hours. 
4. Prepare the soaked wood chips for packing in the bucket by squeezing the water out of the wood and allowing any excess water to drain for about 5 minutes. 

Pack wood chips and spawn into the bucket

1. Place a double handful of the soaked wood chips into the bottom of the bucket.
2. Add a handful of the spawn on top of the wood chips.
3. Add another double handful of wood chips and press down on the contents of the bucket to pack everything tightly.
4. Continue adding layers of spawn and wood chips and packing them down until the bucket is full to the top.
5. Cover the bucket with the lid.

Place the bucket in the best location

1. Choose a location that is about room temperature (65 to 75 degrees) and away from sunlight. This could be a shaded spot in your yard in the spring or fall or a dark room in your house in the winter.  
2. Place the bucket on some cardboard to absorb any water that may drain out. 
3. Loosely cover the bucket with the plastic bag to keep the contents from drying out. The fungus needs a small amount of air, so either cut some small slits in the bag or leave it loosely open on the bottom. 
4. Leave the bucket undisturbed in this spot for about 14 days. Then start checking the bucket to see if young mushrooms (also called pins) are forming in some of the holes.
5. Once pins have started growing, remove the bag and spray the outside of the bucket with water to maintain a high humidity, then cover the bucket again with the bag. Do this at least twice a day as the mushrooms grow.

Harvest mature mushrooms

1. When the mushrooms get to full size, remove them from the bucket by cutting them off with a sharp knife right next to the side of the bucket. 
2. Keep spraying the bucket with water and harvesting the mature mushrooms over the next 4 weeks or until the bucket stops producing. 
3. After mushroom production stops, compost or discard what remains in the bucket.
4. You can use the same bucket again and again to grow more mushrooms.

Video tutorial and printable instructions

Watch the video below to see the process in action. You can also download a printable version of this webpage (PDF).

If you have questions about growing mushrooms in buckets, contact:

Page last updated November 2025.