There is no disputing the health benefits of the chaga mushroom. The fungus has been trending in the last 10 years because of the research made about the link between chaga and a possible cancer cure. The sudden boost in popularity has made many wondering if we can grow our own chaga in our backyard instead of paying a hefty sum or harvesting it.
Many attempts have been made to “farm” the powerful mushroom, but unfortunately, none has shown any significant result. BUT DON’T GET DISCOURAGED IT MAY STILL BE A POSSIBILITY.
The Life Cycle Of Chaga
To understand how to grow chaga, we need to understand how the mushroom infects the birch tree and how it grows inside it until the inevitable death of its host.
The birch trees are contaminated by the spores of the chaga when it has an open wound. The spores, carried by the wind then enter the tree and start to develop.
The mushroom will grow and coexist with the birch tree for several years before finally blocking the entire circulation of the sap and killing the tree. The whole process can take two decades.
After the tree is dead, we have to wait a couple of years before the spores are ejected from the dead chaga into the wind. That’s when the spores find a new victim and continue the cycle.
How To Hack The Life Cycle Of Chaga?
The whole life cycle can’t really be hacked, but we can force things. What I mean by that is we can artificially recreate the birth of a chaga mushroom by following these steps:
- Find a dead Chaga that is ready to release its spores
- Create a wound on a birch tree in your backyard or your land
- Spread spores on the wound
- Wait until a chaga grows
- Harvest the mushroom when it’s at a decent size
The problem if we do this is that steps 1 to 4 take less than a day to do. On the other hand, step 5 can take 5 to 10 years to complete. This is what I call playing the long game.
What Can We Expect?
There is no doubt that you can artificially affect the birch tree in
Imagine a wheat farm that had to wait 10 years before starting to harvest. The farm would probably go out of business before the 10 years mark.
That is unfortunately why it is hard to grow chaga at home. You are better off buying it on Amazon and start to drink the incredible mushroom and receive the health benefits right now, than trying to grow it in your backyard.
But hey, if you are incredibly patient and have the time to wait all this time, go ahead.
In conclusion
If you are patient and want to play the long game, you definitely should try to grow chaga in your backyard. On the other hand, if you like a good hike in the forest, you should try to go out and harvest it on the trees that are already infected by the mushroom.
If you don’t have time or can’t harvest it in the wild, there are hundreds of companies that would be more than happy to sell you some chaga chunks or powder.
The important part is not where it comes from, it’s whether you take advantage o
