Let’s talk about thermo mats!  If you’re cultivating magic mushrooms then you’ve probably used one or considered using one. Heating mats can be very useful to maintain your mushroom kit on the right temperature, and it will increase your harvest. If they're used right! 

Every day we see a lot of examples of people using it the right way and the wrong way too. This article is meant to help out our fellow magic mushroom cultivators with some up to date tips on thermo heating mats. Updated instructions below!

Explore all the grow options in this blog post on How To Grow Magic Mushroom At Home!

Why use thermo mats?

A magic mushroom grow kit should be maintained somewhere between 18-28°C during cultivation. Thermo mats are a great tool to help you with this task. They enable you to cultivate all year around and keep your mushroom kit at an optimal temperature.  We would like to share a few tips and tricks, let's start by taking a look at our heating pad / thermo mat video: 

The video was done a few years ago and although these instructions are still useful we would like to share some additional tips that we have picked up since the production of that video that have to do with the usage of thermo mats with your magic mushroom kit.

Updated instructions for thermo mats!

Our instruction video explains that there should be airflow between the ground and the thermo mat. This technique works perfectly and has worked for years. But here’s the update to our instruction:.

Save energy!

It is said that a constant temperature of 24°C is the optimal temperature for the mushrooms to grow. But kits can also grow perfectly between the 20-24°C. We recommend to use the heating mat only if the room temperature is constantly lower than 20 degrees. If it's warm enough, consider not using a heating mat and save some energy :).

Airflow between the grow kit and thermo mat

If you're going to use the heating mats then you should think about diffusion. We’ve learned that it’s good to create airflow between the thermo mat and mushroom grow kit. This way, you can diffuse the heat more properly and increase your chance of optimizing the growing conditions for your grow kit. Here are some examples of ways to diffuse the heat:

Too hot to handle!

Most people have a thermo mat with one temperature level. This temperature level is probably between 30-40°C. This might be too hot for the substrate. If the substrate is too heated, then the mycelium might die. Death mycelium = no magic mushrooms. And we want mushrooms :)!

That's why diffusion is so important. Let's take a look at some examples of kits that are probably over-heated:

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Just a little bit more diffusion!

Some cultivators are already aware of how important diffusion is. But a few pencils might not always be enough. These are examples of kits that have diffusion but could maybe use a bit more space and diffusion:

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Use it and diffuse it!

So here you go. Now you're ready to use your heating mat and keep those lovely mushroom warm and cosy at the right temperature. It's always good to have a heating mat. Especially when the winter's coming. Just be aware of how to use it, and learn how to diffuse it :).

Are the mushrooms harvested? Make sure you know how to dry and store your magic mushrooms correctly!

What the Mushroom kits producers tell us about using a heating mat

FreshMushroom recommends using the heating mat only in the first few days of the cultivation. The instructions also suggests putting the mushroom cake upright and on it's side to get the best results.

We recommend; use diffusion and your brainzzz! Keep the substrate humid and give heating mats heat room. Your mushrooms will flourish!

Get your Thermo Mat Here!

Thermo Heatingmat

Grow magic mushrooms the whole year round. The thermo mat heats up your magic mushroom grow ki...