PF Classic Spore Print

Something of a founding mushroom. PF Classic is the strain that came bundled with the technique that taught the world to grow mushrooms at home (PF TEK) — and if you've ever put brown rice flour and vermiculite into a jar, you've been standing in its shadow. It's a straightforward, unfussy performer: reliable colonisation, dependable pinning, and modest but consistent flushes of tidy golden-brown fruits. Nothing flashy. That was rather the point.

What it does exceptionally well is behave predictably, which matters more than it sounds. The strain was selected and circulated alongside the method it's named for, so it's been pressure-tested by more first-time growers than almost any other strain in cultivation. Fruits tend towards the small-to-medium range with slim stems and neat caps, and it fruits happily in small containers where bulkier strains would feel cramped — a legacy of having been bred, effectively, for the jar.

Something to keep in mind: PF Classic has been passed hand to hand for three decades, and not every line has been maintained with equal care. Some circulating cultures have drifted or picked up vigour problems along the way, so provenance matters more here than with a recently isolated strain. It's also, by design, a modest yielder — if you're chasing weight, there are strains that will give you considerably more for the same effort. What you're buying into is dependability and a bit of history.

A little history: the initials stand for Psilocybe Fanaticus, the Seattle outfit run by Robert McPherson, who published the PF Tek in the mid-1990s and gave away the method for free while selling the spores. The genetics are generally traced to Amazonian stock. The tek spread through zines, early internet forums, and mail-order catalogues, turning home cultivation from a specialist pursuit into something anyone with a pressure cooker could attempt. The operation was eventually shut down and McPherson prosecuted in 2003, by which point the technique had long since escaped into the wild. The strain outlived the company and unfortunately Mr PF himself.

Storage: Keep your spores refrigerated, not frozen, from the moment you receive them. Pop them in the fridge straight away, and they’ll happily keep for a couple of months and, in perfect conditions, even for years.

Remember: All our products are sold for microscopy purposes ONLY; do not try to grow mushrooms with any of our products; that would be illegal and very naughty. While I have your attention on this matter, it is very surprising to learn how many naughty people there are out there. No judging, but I cannot answer any questions about growing mushrooms. It doesn’t matter if you live somewhere where growing is legal; I still won’t answer any questions – please don’t ask. However, if you do ask me naughty questions, I will unfortunately have to add you to my banned list, and you will be unable to enjoy any of my lovely products. I will also inform Santa about your naughty behaviour and ask him to put you on his naughty list – that’s now Christmas stuffed. So please, no naughty questions.

Don’t Forget:

• Keep them in a cool, dark place; about 5’c is nice

• Keep the product in a clean and tidy place

• Don’t let the product get hot

• Don’t let them freeze

• Don’t let them become dusty or dirty