Substrate yield calculator
A mushroom substrate yield calculator works from two numbers: the dry weight of the substrate and the typical biological efficiency of the species. Enter the substrate weight and choose a species to see the projected harvest range, then add what you actually picked to work out your real biological efficiency.
Your inputs
nothing is sent anywhere
Species without a listed range use a general 25% to 70% envelope.
Weigh the dry ingredients before you add water. A wet measurement makes the efficiency figure look far lower than it is.
Enter total fresh weight across every flush to see your real biological efficiency.
Projected yield
Based on typical biological efficiency ranges for the species you selected.
- Low estimate
- 2.50 kg
- 50% BE
- Midpoint
- 4.25 kg
- 85% BE
- High estimate
- 6.00 kg
- 120% BE
- Your BE%
- —
- add a harvest weight
Keep the record
This calculator gives you a projection. The grow log records what actually happened, per batch, per flush, and tells you which substrate recipe performed best over a season.
Start a free grow logRead about biological efficiencyHow biological efficiency is worked out
Biological efficiency is the fresh weight of everything you harvested divided by the dry weight of the substrate, multiplied by one hundred. If a batch used five kilograms of dry substrate and produced three and a half kilograms of mushrooms across all its flushes, the biological efficiency is seventy per cent.
BE% = (total fresh weight ÷ dry substrate weight) × 100
(3,500 g ÷ 5,000 g) × 100 = 70.0%
The figure is cumulative across a batch, not per flush. Most species produce their largest flush first and decline afterwards, which is why tracking efficiency alongside flush number is more informative than a single headline number.
Typical biological efficiency by species
| Species | Typical BE% range | On 5 kg dry substrate |
|---|---|---|
| Pleurotus ostreatus (Oyster) | 50 – 120% | 2.50 – 6.00 kg |
| Pleurotus djamor (Pink Oyster) | 45 – 110% | 2.25 – 5.50 kg |
| Pleurotus eryngii (King Oyster) | 35 – 80% | 1.75 – 4.00 kg |
| Agaricus bisporus (Button) | 40 – 90% | 2.00 – 4.50 kg |
| Stropharia rugosoannulata (Wine Cap) | 30 – 75% | 1.50 – 3.75 kg |
| Hericium erinaceus (Lion’s Mane) | 25 – 60% | 1.25 – 3.00 kg |
| Flammulina velutipes (Enoki) | 25 – 60% | 1.25 – 3.00 kg |
| Cyclocybe aegerita (Pioppino) | 25 – 65% | 1.25 – 3.25 kg |
| Lentinula edodes (Shiitake) | 20 – 55% | 1.00 – 2.75 kg |
| Grifola frondosa (Maitake) | 20 – 50% | 1.00 – 2.50 kg |
Ranges are typical figures reported for each species across a full flush cycle. They are guides rather than targets, and technique moves the number substantially.