Culinary Profile
How to grow Nameko at home
Pholiota microspora, Nameko
Updated
Nameko (Pholiota microspora), also called butterscotch mushroom, takes about 39 days to grow at home, from spawn to the end of the first harvest. Colonize at 22 °C (72 °F) in the dark, then fruit at 14 °C (57 °F) and 93% humidity with moderate fresh air and 12 h of light a day.
Cool, very wet fruiting. The slime coat is normal.
Use this profile on your chamber
What conditions does Nameko need at each stage?
| Stage | Days | Temperature | Humidity | Fresh air | Light |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colonization | 20 | 22 °C (72 °F) | 90% | little fresh air: fan runs 15 s every 60 min | Dark |
| Pinning | 7 | 15 °C (59 °F) | 95% | moderate fresh air: fan runs 25 s every 20 min | 12 h a day, white 20%, blue 80% |
| Fruiting | 12 | 14 °C (57 °F) | 93% | moderate fresh air: fan runs 25 s every 18 min | 12 h a day, white 20%, blue 80% |
How long does Nameko take to grow?
About 39 days from the start of colonization to the end of the first harvest window.
- Day 1 to 20: Colonization
- Day 21 to 27: Pinning
- Day 28 to 39: Fruiting
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
No variety-specific light numbers were found. Colonization is dark. Fruiting uses the general default: 12 h, 20% white (92 lux on this chamber), and 80% blue as a WS2812 stand-in for 440 to 470 nm.
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 20% | RGB 0 / 0 / 80 |
| pinning | 12 h on | white 20% | RGB 0 / 0 / 80 |
What goes wrong when growing Nameko?
No pins after colonization
Make sure the block is fully colonized first. Then check that the chamber reaches the pinning conditions: 15 °C (59 °F), 95% humidity, and moderate fresh air. Pins need more fresh air than colonization. More on this.
Dry, cracked, or curled caps
Usually humidity is too low, or air is blowing straight on the mushrooms. This profile holds 93% humidity while fruiting. 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.
Nameko growing FAQ
What temperature does Nameko grow at?
In this profile Nameko colonizes at 22 °C (72 °F) and fruits at 14 °C (57 °F). Colonization: 22 °C (72 °F). Pinning: 15 °C (59 °F). Fruiting: 14 °C (57 °F).
What humidity does Nameko need?
93% while fruiting. Colonization: 90%. Pinning: 95%. Fruiting: 93%.
How long does Nameko take to grow?
About 39 days with this profile: 20 days of colonization, 7 days of pinning, 12 days of fruiting. Real blocks vary, so move on when the block is ready, not only when the days run out.
How much light does Nameko need?
Colonization: dark. Pinning: 12 h a day, white 20%, blue 80%. Fruiting: 12 h a day, white 20%, blue 80%.
How much fresh air does Nameko need?
Moderate fresh air: fan runs 25 s every 18 min while fruiting. Colonization runs with little fresh air.
Related grow guides
- How to grow Chestnut Mushroom
- How to grow Chestnut: long stem
- How to grow Beech / Buna Shimeji
- How to grow Beech Shimeji: tight bouquet
- 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
Download, rate, or report a grow
Sources
- General default. No variety-specific photoperiod or lux was found for this species. Colonization is dark (Sakamoto 2018; Penn State oyster spawn run). Fruiting uses 12 h as a labeled default, not a page-cited Stamets value, and 20% white, which is 92 lux on this chamber, inside the Penn State oyster 50 to 300 lux band. Blue 80% approximates the 440 to 470 nm finding. This is a labeled default, not a measured value for this variety.
- Sakamoto 2018. Yuichi Sakamoto, Influences of environmental factors on fruiting body induction, development and maturation in mushroom-forming fungi, Fungal Biology Reviews 32 (2018). Light is a fruiting cue for many basidiomycetes. Blue light is the usual photomorphogenesis signal. Agaricus bisporus is called out as not needing light for a cap. Flammulina velutipes can fruit in the dark as a long stem with a tiny cap.
- Stamets. Paul Stamets, Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms, Ten Speed Press. Used here as a general cultivation reference. This recipe does not take a photoperiod or lux number from a cited page in that book.
- Penn State oyster production. Daniel J. Royse, Cultivation of Oyster Mushrooms, Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. First 12 to 21 days of spawn run may be completed without artificial lighting. After spawn run, 4 h of cool white fluorescent light at 50 to 300 lux may be provided. This recipe uses 12 h as a labeled default photoperiod, not a page-cited Stamets value, and maps 20% white to 92 lux, inside that 50 to 300 lux band.