Mushroom Home Cultivation: Class 1

Class 1, 9/22. Starts with a discussion of Basidiomycota life cycle using images and viewing spores under magnification, explanation of sterile techniques of working, common types of contamination, selection of spore syringe, discussion of inoculation of spore plates using sterile technique.

Homework: Inoculate 5 spore plates.

Class 2, 9/29. The second class meets one week later unless students report no growth. Students will bring inoculated plates for analysis, selections of colonies will be recommended and marked on plates, discussion of transfer from inoculation plate to grow out plates, discussion of tomentose vs rhizomorphic mycelium, diploid vs haploid colonies, discussion of totally different potential each pairing will have, viewing mycelium under magnification.

Homework: Make recommended transfers onto 10 plates.

Class 3, 10/13. Students will meet 2 weeks later to give the plates time to grow. Students will bring plates for analysis and a recommendation will be made for which to use for creation of a liquid culture, discussion of preparing lc using provided dry medium to make 500ml of culture medium, discussion of 2 dimensional vs 3 dimensional growth, transferring mycelium from plate to jar, explanation of steps involved in making grainspawn with example provided, using lc to inoculate grainspawn jars.

Homework: Create sterilized lc and transfer mycelium from plate to jar, create sterilized grainspawn only after the lc is fully colonized, then us lc to inoculate the grainspawn jars.

Class 4, 11/10. Class will meet again after 1 month to allow enough time for liquid culture and grainspawn to grow out. Students will be provided 3 each bags of grow medium and clips, discussion of field capacity, discussion of low nutrient vs high nutrient grow mediums, recap on types of contamination, explanation of how to inoculate with grainspawn and the effects of different spawn ratios, discussion of pinning and when to harvest for optimum fruits, discussion of the different qualities mushrooms have even from the same flush, discussion techniques used to get multiple flushes, mono tubs vs Martha’s, making clones to prevent senescence , making spore prints and the future.

Homework: Sterilize grow medium bags, inoculate the bags with grainspawn and watch as your mycelium colonizes the bags and produces fruits.

Note: The $150 ticket price covers all four classes and the provided materials and supplies. Required equipment and supplies must be bought separately.

Still air box or laminar flow hood, 23 quart pressure cooker, 1 pint sized jar, 9 quart jars, scalpel, flame sterilizer such as a Bunsen burner or candle, spray bottle, bleach, gloves, jar or bottle for sterilizing agar grow mediums, small kitchen gram scale (optional)

Parafilm, 5 sterilized germination petri dishes, 10 sterilized petri dishes for growing out mycelium, lid for liquid culture jar, liquid culture medium with recipe, 9 lids for grain spawn jars, oats for grain spawn, syringes, choice of spore syringe, polypropylene grow bags, bag sealer clip, unsterilized grow medium with recipe.

Matt lives in Edmonds Washington with his wife Rebecca and operates a small mushroom farm on a piece of land where chickens and giant tortoises roam free. His interest in mycology goes back to the early 80’s when he foraged enough mushrooms to buy his first sweet set of wheels, a brown 77’ Subaru Sport Coupe. Since that time, his interests have only grown and in 2019, he founded Pure Fungal Fruits as a means of providing something of value to the community, spreading fungus and fungus knowledge far and wide.

Instructor: Matt Stewart

Phone: 206-795-5909

Email: [email protected]

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

209 1/2 1st Ave S, 209 1/2 1st Avenue South, Seattle, United States