Culinary Profile
How to grow Cordyceps militaris at home
Cordyceps militaris, Cultivated militaris
Updated
Cordyceps militaris, also called scarlet caterpillar club, takes about 57 days to grow at home, from spawn to the end of the first harvest. Colonize at 20 °C (68 °F) in the dark, then fruit at 18 °C (64 °F) and 84% humidity with moderate fresh air and 12 h of light a day.
Grown on supplemented grain/rice, not logs. Wants 12/12 light once orange initials show.
Use this profile on your chamber
What conditions does Cordyceps militaris need at each stage?
| Stage | Days | Temperature | Humidity | Fresh air | Light |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colonization | 12 | 20 °C (68 °F) | 82% | little fresh air: fan runs 15 s every 60 min | Dark |
| Orange initials | 10 | 18 °C (64 °F) | 86% | moderate fresh air: fan runs 20 s every 30 min | 12 h a day, white 51%, blue 80% |
| Stroma | 35 | 18 °C (64 °F) | 84% | moderate fresh air: fan runs 20 s every 25 min | 12 h a day, white 51%, blue 80% |
How long does Cordyceps militaris take to grow?
About 57 days from the start of colonization to the end of the first harvest window.
- Day 1 to 12: Colonization
Dark. Do not start light until the surface is colonized.
- Day 13 to 22: Orange initials
Bright, cooler light helps stroma form.
- Day 23 to 57: Stroma
Get dates for each stage from your own start day with the grow timeline calculator, or compare every species in how long mushrooms take to grow.
Light recipe
Dark while it colonizes, then 12 h a day of cool white with some blue.
Light details
Colonization stays dark. Fruiting uses 12 h and 51% white, mapped from 1250 lux (cordycepin optimum in Wu 2016; 1750 lux gave more dry weight). RGB is blue-heavy from later LED work on compound levels, not from a yield result or a measured spectrum on this strip.
WS2812 blue is roughly 465 to 475 nm. The RGB mix is an approximation of cited wavelengths, not a measured spectrum.
| Phase | Hours on | White | RGB mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| colonization | 0 h on | white 0% | RGB 0 / 0 / 0 |
| fruiting | 12 h on | white 51% | RGB 0 / 0 / 80 |
| pinning | 12 h on | white 51% | RGB 0 / 0 / 80 |
What goes wrong when growing Cordyceps militaris?
What does this profile watch for?
This profile only sets climate. Media (brown rice + silkworm-pupa or vegan analog) is on you. Keep jars or trays in the chamber.
No pins after colonization
Make sure the block is fully colonized first. Then check that the chamber reaches the orange initials conditions: 18 °C (64 °F), 86% humidity, and moderate fresh air. Pins need more fresh air than colonization. More on this.
Green, black, or slimy patches
Patches that are not white mycelium are usually contamination such as green mold or bacteria. Bag the block, take it out of the chamber, and clean the chamber before the next grow. More on this.
Kit or block doing nothing? Work through grow kit not growing. To check your fresh air, put your chamber size and fan into the fresh air planner.
Cordyceps militaris growing FAQ
What temperature does Cordyceps militaris grow at?
In this profile Cordyceps militaris colonizes at 20 °C (68 °F) and fruits at 18 °C (64 °F). Colonization: 20 °C (68 °F). Orange initials: 18 °C (64 °F). Stroma: 18 °C (64 °F).
What humidity does Cordyceps militaris need?
84% while fruiting. Colonization: 82%. Orange initials: 86%. Stroma: 84%.
How long does Cordyceps militaris take to grow?
About 57 days with this profile: 12 days of colonization, 10 days of orange initials, 35 days of stroma. Real blocks vary, so move on when the block is ready, not only when the days run out.
How much light does Cordyceps militaris need?
Colonization: dark. Orange initials: 12 h a day, white 51%, blue 80%. Stroma: 12 h a day, white 51%, blue 80%.
How much fresh air does Cordyceps militaris need?
Moderate fresh air: fan runs 20 s every 25 min while fruiting. Colonization runs with little fresh air.
Is Cordyceps militaris good for beginners?
It is one of the harder species in this library. Try an oyster first if you have never grown before.
Related grow guides
- How to grow Cordyceps: deep orange under pink light
- How to grow Reishi
- How to grow Button / Cremini
- How to grow Enoki
- How to grow mushrooms at home
- What is the easiest mushroom to grow at home?
- Grow kit vs monotub vs smart chamber
- How much humidity and fresh air do mushrooms need?
- All species and conditions
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Sources
- Wu 2016 Cordyceps militaris. Chiu-Yeh Wu et al., Effects of Illumination Pattern during Cultivation of Fruiting Body and Bioactive Compound Production by Cordyceps militaris, Int. J. Med. Mushrooms 18 (2016). Colonization in a spawn room without a stated photoperiod. Primordia and fruiting at 12 h per day. Highest dry yield at 1750 plus or minus 250 lux. Highest cordycepin at 1250 plus or minus 250 lux. This recipe maps 51% white to about 1250 lux.
- Lin et al. 2024 Cordyceps LED. Yu-Wen Lin et al., Growth of Cordyceps militaris cultivation and its bioactive component accumulation as affected by various single-wavelength LED light sources, International Journal of Food Properties 27 (2024). Single-wavelength LEDs changed bioactive compound levels. This paper is used only for a blue bias, not for a yield or lux number.