How many blocks should my farm start with?

Most farms pilot 25–50 blocks to dial in humidity, airflow, and workflow. Scale to 100–300+ once you confirm sales channels and harvest cadence.

What yield should I expect from a quality wholesale block?

Yields vary by species and environment, but reliable suppliers provide a target range and timing for first and second flushes so you can plan inventory and labor.

Do I need a lab to sell mushrooms?

No. Buying fully colonized wholesale blocks lets you skip sterile lab work. You provide a clean fruiting space with proper humidity, temperature, and fresh air.

Which species are best for beginners?

Blue and Gold Oysters are fast and forgiving. Once your workflow is steady, add Lion’s Mane for premium pricing and Chestnut for niche chef demand.

Can I compost spent substrate?

Yes. Spent substrate enriches soil structure. At Hernshaw Farms, we also use it in land-reclamation projects to build living soils on former mine land.

Wholesale Mushroom Blocks for Farms | Reliable Supply from Hernshaw Farms

November 11, 2025

Why Buying Wholesale from a Reliable Supplier Is Key to Expanding Your Farm’s Mushroom Offerings

Adding gourmet mushrooms to your farm can unlock year-round revenue—fresh markets, CSA add-ons, dried retail packs, and restaurant sales. The difference between a profitable program and a frustrating one often comes down to a single choice: partnering with a consistent, high-quality wholesale supplier.

Wholesale inquiry: Ready to pilot or scale? Visit Spawn, Supplies & Wholesale or call 304-303-5514 (10am–4pm ET).

The Power of Consistency in Wholesale Supply

Uniform Colonization & Predictable Yields: Blocks that fruit on schedule let you plan harvests, labor, and deliveries. Our tunnel-grown blocks are produced under steady temperature and humidity for reliable results.
Traceable Quality Control: Sterile procedures, lot tracking, and clear handling guidance protect your brand and customers.
Steady Fulfillment: Buffer inventory and transparent lead times prevent empty market tables and missed chef orders.
Real Tech Support: Responsive troubleshooting and practical tips shorten your learning curve and improve margins.

Why Mushrooms Fit Existing Farm Operations

Space Efficient: Fruiting can happen in shaded sheds, greenhouses, basements, or containers.
High Value per Square Foot: Specialty mushrooms often command premium pricing.
Year-Round Cash Flow: Controlled environments smooth seasonality.
Soil Benefits: Spent substrate composts into rich organic matter for beds and fields.

How to Evaluate a Wholesale Mushroom Partner

Operational Signals

Stable production environment (e.g., our Memorial Tunnel facility on the West Virginia Turnpike)
Clear species specs (substrate, strain notes, target temperature/humidity)
Published lead times and fulfillment schedules

Support & Scalability

Prompt communication and troubleshooting
Capacity to grow from pilot (25–50 blocks) to scaled orders (100–300+)
Education resources: instructions, SOPs, and post-harvest guidance

Recommended Starter Mix (by Market Goal)

Goal	Suggested Species	Why
Fast Fresh Sales	Blue & Gold Oyster	Beginner-friendly, quick fruiting, strong visual appeal.
Premium Restaurant Accounts	Lion’s Mane, Black Pearl/King Oyster	High plate value; sears like seafood or steak.
Chef-Driven Specialty	Chestnut	Crunchy, nutty clusters; niche demand and good margins.
Shelf-Stable Retail	Reishi (dried), Shiitake (fresh & dried)	Tea/decoction education + pantry-friendly products.

From Tunnel to Field: Closing the Loop

Our wholesale program is part of a bigger Appalachian story. We fruit year-round inside the historic Memorial Tunnel, and we repurpose spent substrate to build soil on reclaimed mine land beside our farm. When you source blocks from Hernshaw Farms, you’re not just buying inventory—you’re investing in local jobs and land restoration.

Get started today: Explore Spawn, Supplies & Wholesale, or email support@hernshawfarms.com for a quote and lead times.

FAQ: Wholesale Mushrooms for Farms

How many blocks should we start with?

Pilot 25–50 blocks to dial in humidity and workflow. Scale once sales channels are steady.

Do I need climate control?

Basic control helps. Aim for species-appropriate temperatures, high humidity during fruiting, and steady fresh air exchange.

What about food safety?

Handle mushrooms with clean tools and surfaces; refrigerate promptly after harvest. We provide handling guidance with wholesale orders.

Which species sell fastest?

Oysters are reliable crowd-pleasers; Lion’s Mane commands premium pricing; Chestnut wins chef attention; Reishi excels as a dried, educational product.

Ready to add mushrooms to your farm? Partner with a supplier built on consistency and support. Shop Wholesale.

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Perfect i can’t wait to te order again so far so good

These are the star of the order , great flavor and prolific producer

Only 1 of the 4 produced mushrooms before green mold formed . The one thst produced mushrooms is still going strong. All the others had yo be discarded so thry did not spread the mold to the othrrs . ( grown in 4 tier mushroom grow chamber )

My mom loved this kit so much!

My mom told me this one of the best presents she's ever received. She was so excited to check on it every day and see the growth. She got several harvests from it and says the mushrooms are delicious too. The only issue is that the instructions had suffered from some sort of printing error and some key instructions were missing as a result. But we figured it out!

Great value

I'm pretty new to mushroom growing, but I'm learning fast. I've bought two grow blocks previously from other suppliers. Both were fine, but only yielded about half a pound of mushrooms (so far, both are on their third flush now). They turned out to only be 2 pound blocks, and at the time I did not know that the maximum yield you can expect from a 2 pound block (at least for lion's mane and blue oyster) is about half the block weight, or 1 pound. It looks like I'll probably land at about 3/4 pound, and those early blocks were definitely not kept at ideal conditions so that's about as much as I could have hoped for.

Still, getting flushes that were only 2-4 ounces was disappointing to me at the time since that's only a few mouthfuls for my wife and myself!

When I found out that hernshaw farms was offering 8 pound blocks, and now knowing the math (that at ideal conditions I could expect 2 to 4 pounds over the course of all the flushes) I was entrigued. When they recently had a 20% off sale, making their "four fun guys" package a mere $16 a block (with free shipping!) I just had to bite.

I had been developing a Maker project, a mycology growing chamber with automated humidity, temperature, co2, and light level. My prior chambers had been 1 square foot. i realized I needed to build a new supersized chamber to hold 4 8-pound blocks blocks. So I ordered 1mm thick PETG sheets 2 feet by 3 feet and constructed a chamber 2 feet wide, 18 inches deep, and 12 inches tall. I doubled the humidifier output and built new LED lights to cover the entire area, then adjusted my PID algorithms to be more suitable to a larger chamber.

Well, the four blocks were even huger than I had estimated and fit in the chamber with just enough room for all the sensor units and actuator units! This was a pleasant surprise! It took several days to get the algorithms tuned to the much larger growspace, and I am still having trouble keeping the CO2 levels under 800 (recommended max for oysters is 750). I've got a larger fan on order to address this.

The blocks were in rough shape from the shipping, with large fissures in two of them. I saw some blue patches on one of the blocks, which I was initially afraid of contam, but I also knew it could just be bruising. I let all the blocks rest in the dark for 3 days to let them recover from shipping. (I was still adjusting my chamber anyway). The blue areas were engulfed by white mycelium and disappeared. All good!

After deploying the blocks in the supersized chamber, two of them started fruiting within just a few days (chocolate oyster and blue oyster). Four days later (today) the chocolate oysters look about ready to harvest and the flush is gigantic compared to what I was getting from my old 2 pound blocks. I haven't harvested yet but I'm estimating 3/4 pound right now. The blues look like they'll be ready in a few more days.

A third block, labelled "golden oyster" just started fruiting today. Surprise! It appears to me that this is really Lions Mane (I see the little white cauliflower-like heads forming quite clearly). I would have taken a star off my rating from having a block mislabeled, but since I really wanted a lion's mane anyway, I will not! This would have really confused a completely beginner though, so I would urge hernshaw farms to be more careful in their labelling.

The fourth block, labeled snow oyster, has still not fruited, although I think I see little tiny primoridia forming now. This block has really thick white "skin", which I think I have seen some people refer to as "overgrowth". I few days ago I ran a razor blade over the exposed area to break this up, and I think that stimulated the pinning. I will keep an eye on this block.

Needless to say, I am thrilled by this deal. $16 with free shipping for a block that could yield 3 to 4 pounds of mushrooms (in my area the economic value of gourmet mushrooms is about $20 a pound). Versus the other blocks (one from Amazon, one from Etsy) that were 2 pound blocks for $25 with an additional $8 for shipping for a total of $33 that will only yield probably 3/4 pound when all the flushes are done. So the score is:
Hernshaw 4 fun guys on sale: $16 total cost (per block) for at least $60 worth of mushrooms. ROI: 375%
Amazon/Etsy blocks: $33 total cost for a block for only about $15 economic value of mushrooms. ROI: 45%

Of course the biggest advantage is, I'm getting flushes that will make a hearty side dish instead of a few mouthfuls.

Bottom line: the quality of this offering is fabulous. Even when not on sale, the value is tremendous, but if you can pick up four fun guys on sale it's beyond amazing compared to other vendors. Blows the competition (at least the two I tried) away.