How to grow turkey tail mushrooms
Trametes versicolor
Turkey tail fruits on hardwood sawdust or logs at 61–70°F (16–21°C); bags reach first harvest in about 1–4 months, logs in about a year. It fruits slowly, as rings of velvety brown brackets.
By Derick · October 24, 2026
- Fruiting temperature
- 61–70°F (16–21°C)
- Humidity
- 95–100% RH to pin, then 85–90%
- Inoculation to first harvest
- About 1–4 months in bags; about a year on logs
- Grows on
- Hardwood sawdust or hardwood logs
Difficulty: Moderate. GroCycle calls turkey tail one of the easiest medicinal mushrooms to grow and tolerant of a broad range of conditions, but bags need sterilized sawdust and fruiting can run for months (GroCycle).
Turkey tail growing conditions at a glance
| Stage | Temperature | Humidity | Fresh air / CO2 | Light | Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spawn run (sawdust bag) | 75°F (24°C) ideal; 64–70°F (18–21°C) works, slower | Sealed bag | Sealed bag | Dark, no direct sun | 14–21 |
| Pinning | 61–70°F (16–21°C) | 95–100% | Fresh air starts pinning | Not stated (200 lux in one study) | White blobs over 2–3 weeks |
| Fruiting | 61–70°F (16–21°C) | 85–90% | Fresh air | Not stated (200 lux in one study) | Up to about 3 months; pick at 1–2 months old |
| Logs, outdoors | Outdoor weather | At least 1 inch (25 mm) of rain a week | Outdoors | Not stated | First fruit about a year after inoculation |
Where these numbers come from
- Temperatures, humidity, bag colonization and log timing are GroCycle's, a company that sells growing kits and courses. It gives 75°F (24°C) as ideal for incubation and 14–21 days to colonize a bag, then 61–70°F for fruiting with 95–100% humidity for the first three weeks and 85–90% after. Its page prints the fruiting range as "61 and 70°F (18 and 21°C)"; 61°F is 16°C, so one of the two figures is a typo, and we use the °F range (GroCycle).
- Fruiting time. GroCycle says fruiting "can take up to three months from the first signs of growth to harvesting" and picks at one to two months old (GroCycle).
- The 1–4 month total spans a 2026 study in Iran, where bags reached first harvest 29.7–51.7 days after inoculation depending on the substrate, and GroCycle's slower timeline. The study fruited bags warmer than GroCycle's range, at about 73–75°F (23–24°C), with 80–90% humidity under 200 lux (Asian Journal of Mycology).
- Logs fruit late summer to early autumn, about a year after inoculation, and need at least 1 inch of rain a week (GroCycle).
What does turkey tail grow on?
Supplemented hardwood sawdust
GroCycle uses hardwood sawdust with less than 10% supplement, hydrated to about 60% water, and sterilized at 15 psi for at least 2 hours (GroCycle). In the Iranian study, 70% sawdust with 30% wheat bran gave the best yield (Asian Journal of Mycology).
Hardwood logs
Oak, maple, beech, alder and birch all work. GroCycle cuts logs 4–6 inches (10–15 cm) across and 36–40 inches long and rests them at least two weeks before inoculating (GroCycle).
Straw or bagasse with bran
Wheat straw and sugarcane bagasse mixed with wheat bran also fruited in the Iranian study; 70% bagasse with 30% bran reached 41.3% biological efficiency (Asian Journal of Mycology).
How to grow turkey tail, step by step
Mix and sterilize the sawdust
Hydrate hardwood sawdust to field capacity, about 1.5 liters of water per kg of dry sawdust. A squeeze that gives more than one or two drops is too wet. Sterilize at 15 psi for at least 2 hours (GroCycle). See sterilization vs pasteurization.
Inoculate
Mix in grain spawn at 5–10% of the moist substrate's weight, the rate GroCycle reports spawn suppliers recommend (GroCycle).
Colonize in the dark
Keep the bag warm and dark, ideally around 75°F (24°C), with no drafts or direct sun. Colonization takes 14–21 days and is done when dense white mycelium covers the whole block (GroCycle).
Start fruiting
Open the top or cut a slit in the side, then raise humidity to 95–100% and give fresh air at 61–70°F (16–21°C). Over the next two to three weeks the mycelium thickens into white, blob-like bumps (GroCycle).
Let the brackets grow
Drop humidity to 85–90% after three weeks. The blobs flatten into rings of velvety brown caps (GroCycle).
Harvest
Pick while the white growing edge is still there, before it recedes or the underside discolors (GroCycle).
What's different about growing turkey tail?
A long fruiting phase
Turkey tail fruits slowly: GroCycle allows up to three months from the first bumps to harvest. The white growing edge tells you it's still growing; when it gets thinner, the brackets are about to stop (GroCycle).
Logs are slow but keep going
A common wild log fungus
Turkey tail is so common that University of Kentucky Extension lists it as a competitor on shiitake logs, though less aggressive than Hypoxylon (University of Kentucky). By our reading, a turkey tail on an outdoor log doesn't prove it came from your spawn.
When and how do you harvest turkey tail?
Turkey tail is ready while it's young and still growing, one to two months old, with its white growing edge intact. On logs, grab the brackets, twist and pull. Fresh turkey tail keeps up to two weeks in the fridge and is often dried or frozen (GroCycle).
Yield is low by gourmet standards. In the Iranian study, the best bag (70% sawdust, 30% wheat bran) gave 159 g per 1 kg bag over three flushes, a 45.5% biological efficiency; 100% wheat bran gave 29 g (Asian Journal of Mycology). GroCycle gives no flush count for bags. For care between flushes, see our second-flush guide.
Common turkey tail problems
Mold or slow colonization in the bag
GroCycle warns that the wrong moisture slows colonization and raises the chance of contamination (GroCycle). Check the squeeze test, and use our contamination ID guide to name what you see.
Colonized, but no bumps form
Turkey tail needs fresh air and 95–100% humidity to start pinning (GroCycle). Work through why mushrooms aren't pinning.
Logs dry out
Logs need at least 1 inch (25 mm) of rain a week. In a dry spell, GroCycle sprinkles them once or twice a week (GroCycle).
Brackets stopped growing
A thinning white edge means they're about to stop, so harvest before the edge recedes or the underside discolors (GroCycle).
Tracking a turkey tail grow in Hypha
Hypha tracks each bag from inoculation to harvest, with reminders for its next step in the Schedule tab. Its default timings are the same for every species, so push turkey tail's fruiting and harvest dates out to match its slow brackets. Hypha keeps photos by grow, so you can watch the white growing edge week to week, and compare strains' success and contamination rates once a few bags finish.
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Turkey tail growing FAQ
How long does turkey tail take to grow?
Turkey tail takes about 1–4 months from inoculating a sawdust bag to first harvest. Bags colonize in 14–21 days, and fruiting can take up to three months more (GroCycle); a 2026 study reached first harvest in 30–52 days in a warmer room, at about 73–75°F (23–24°C) (Asian Journal of Mycology). Logs fruit about a year after inoculation.
Can you grow turkey tail indoors?
Yes, turkey tail grows indoors in bags of sterilized hardwood sawdust, even in an apartment, and a ready-to-fruit kit is the easy way to start (GroCycle).
What temperature does turkey tail need?
Turkey tail fruits at 61–70°F (16–21°C). It colonizes best around 75°F (24°C) and still grows, more slowly, at 64–70°F (GroCycle).
Is turkey tail hard to grow?
Turkey tail is moderately easy: GroCycle calls it one of the easiest medicinal mushrooms to grow, but still suggests oysters for a first grow (GroCycle). The hard parts are sterile sawdust bags and patience. See our oyster guide.
What wood does turkey tail grow on?
Turkey tail grows on many hardwoods, including oak, maple, beech, alder and birch (GroCycle).
Sources
- GroCycle (grocycle.com/how-to-grow-turkey-tail-mushrooms)
- Asian Journal of Mycology (asianjournalofmycology.org/pdf/AJOM_9_1_13.pdf)
- SARE (projects.sare.org/sare_project/fnc25-1444)
- University of Kentucky (publications.mgcafe.uky.edu/sites/publications.ca.uky.edu/files/FOR84.pdf)
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