Commercial / Farm

A 5 lb block costs $4–7 in substrate + spawn + bag + labour. It yields 1–2 lb of fresh mushrooms over 2–3 flushes. At $12–18/lb wholesale, that's $8–28 gross per block.

Net profit depends on labour efficiency and contamination rate. Below 80% success and you're losing money. Above 95% and you can scale.

Oyster, lion's mane, and king oyster are the three commercial pillars. All fast cycles, all high demand at restaurants and farmers' markets.

Shiitake and chestnut sell at a premium but cycle slower — better as a secondary line, not a primary.

Pressure cooker → autoclave is the first jump. A 25-gallon autoclave handles 30 bags at a time. Cost: $2,500–8,000 used.

Still air box → laminar flow hood. A flow hood ($800–1,500) eliminates 95% of contamination problems and roughly pays for itself in saved bags within 3 months.

Grow tent → climate-controlled fruiting room. The single biggest leap. Below 200 sq ft of dedicated space, you're capped at ~$2,000/mo gross.

Direct to restaurants: highest margin, hardest to land. Bring a sample box, follow up consistently, deliver on time.

Farmers' markets: built-in customer base, but you eat the weekend labour cost.

Wholesale to grocers: lowest margin, highest volume, requires consistent supply (often 50+ lb/week).

CSA boxes: predictable revenue, but binds you to weekly delivery commitments.

If you can't reliably hit 80% success on home grows over 5+ cycles, don't scale. The economics flip from "fun" to "painful" instantly.

If you don't already have a customer or two asking for more than you can produce, don't scale. Distribution is harder than growing.