Learning the way of the mycelium

So it turns out that mushroom cultivation is really easy ? once you wrap your head around all the intricacies, that is. And setting aside all the ?wow? moments you?ll have as you begin to delve into the wonderful world of fungi. But apart from that, it?s simple!

We just hosted a mushroom propagation course at Milkwood Farm, and it was a full-on two days. So much awesomeness! So many possibilities! Why don?t we all learn mushroom propagation in kindergarten? It?s a total fit.

Will Borowski, mushroom whisperer, explaing how the heck mycelium does its thing

Pending how-tos and why-tos as we lope along the path of mushroom growing at Milkwood Farm (we intend to do quite a bit of it), here?s a peek into the first weekend of fungi induced fun + learning.

Sharn's fab 'from mushroom to mushroom' diagram. Click to enlarge

Adam Kennedy drilling 'just a couple' of logs for shiitake plugs...

Bring on the shiitake!

Shiitake mycelium on grain spawn, colonising plugs to be inserted into logs...

Plugging plugs into logs to grow shiitake mushrooms

Sourdough cinnamon swirls (with Milkwood honey) - Rose outdoing herself again...

Will Borowski with a big lump of shiitake mycelium, ready to fruit

Nick's flow chart of how mushroom cultivation works (we were all trying to wrap our heads around it)

Just picked blackberries, plus pastry and almond meal, equals yum.

Using a very DIY 'glove box' as a still air, semi-sterile environment to clone mushrooms from shop-bought cuttings

Learning to propogate mycelium from mushroom samples

Making sawdust and straw substrate to grow mycelium on

Sterilising the substrate before adding mycelium

Will with his trusty pressure cooker, showing the class how to prep ingredients

Our woolshed is now stacked with bags of spawn, and there are shiitake logs piled high outside, awaiting their final resting place in the forest garden? so much still to learn, but we?re getting there!

Super big thanks to Will Borowski for setting us on the path and sharing his quietly awesome knowledge. Big thanks also to Adso for his help with prepping everything, Trev for keeping the weekend smooth, Rose for the culinary delights and to all the great students who came to learn alongside us.

Next Mushroom course with Will Borowski is on 10-11 March, in Sydney. We?ll be doing another at Milkwood Farm in the spring. By which time we should have shiitakes aplenty, to share as part of the fun?