Resources/Equipment

What you need, organized by stage. You don't need all of it to start; the Essentials column is enough for a first monotub grow from a spore syringe or liquid culture.

Most of this is available locally at Colonizing Colorado in Colorado Springs. Items that are genuinely hard to find are linked under hard-to-find items below.

By stage

Stage	Essentials	Nice to have
Clean work	Still air box (a 60–100 qt clear tote), 70% isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle, nitrile gloves, face mask	Flow hood, butane torch, alcohol lamp
Sterilizing	Pressure cooker that holds 15 psi (a 16–23 qt model fits quart jars)	A larger canner or an All American for bigger batches; a dial gauge for altitude adjustment
Agar	Petri dishes, agar powder, light malt extract, scalpel	Media bottles, Parafilm, a digital scale that reads to 0.1 g
Liquid culture	Mason jars, lids with injection ports and filters, syringes with 16–18 gauge needles	Magnetic stir plate and stir bars
Grain spawn	Quart mason jars or filter-patch grain bags, lids with filters, grain (oats, rye, or millet)	Impulse sealer for bags
Bulk substrate	Coco coir bricks, vermiculite, gypsum, 5-gallon bucket or cooler with lid	Probe thermometer
Fruiting	54–66 qt tote, micropore tape or polyfill, spray mister	Hygrometer, clip-on LED, fan
After harvest	Paper towels, clean containers	Food dehydrator

Hard-to-find items

Bag tek

• Clear thick tape for holding injection ports in place on grain bags

Add more here as you find them. Include what it's for, not just the link.

Local suppliers

Colonizing Colorado

The league's home base. Colonizing Colorado is a cultivation supply shop and mycology education center on the east side of Colorado Springs, run by league founder Christopher Vinci and Nikki Vinci. Most of the supplies on this page are on their shelves, and you can ask questions in person.

• Supplies: grain, substrate ingredients, and growing gear
• Classes: regular hands-on workshops on cultivation, fungal ecology, and foraging
• Community: free supplies and classes for at-risk youth and low-income community members
• Address: 2314 E. Platte Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80909
• Phone: (719) 407-3883
• Web: colonizingcolorado.com (hours, class schedule, and online shop)
• Instagram: @colonizing_colorado

Denver Spore Company

A Denver-based spore vendor run by owner Eric B. Sells spore prints and syringes and live culture syringes, with local pickup available.

• Web: thedenversporecompany.com

Want your shop listed here? Contact the league admins.