Name: The Shroomshop: Mushroom Cultivation for Beginners
Start: 2026-05-20T18:15:00+01:00
End: 2026-05-20T21:30:00+01:00
Location: The Victoria, Birmingham

The Shroomshop: Mushroom Cultivation for Beginners
About this Event

Join this immersive, hands-on session and learn the fundamentals of cultivating gourmet and medicinal mushrooms. Whether you’re a complete beginner or looking to refine your skills, this workshop covers the essential techniques needed to start growing confidently at home.

For thousands of years, mushrooms have been revered in indigenous cultures for their healing and restorative properties. In recent decades, they have gained renewed attention in the West, supported by a growing body of scientific research highlighting their wide-ranging health benefits.

You’ll gain practical insight into the fascinating world of fungi and discover how to produce your own nutritious food and natural medicine. This workshop is designed to empower you with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to cultivate these remarkable organisms for personal well-being and self-sufficiency.

What you will learn:

What mushrooms are and how they function
How mushrooms grow in nature and in cultivation
How to grow mushrooms successfully at home
How to prepare your own grain spawn
How to build and manage a fruiting tub
Essential aftercare for healthy harvests
Where to source equipment and materials
Each participant will leave with a ready-to-grow gourmet mushroom kit

Expect a practical, engaging experience that demystifies mushroom cultivation and equips you to begin your own growing journey immediately.

Darren in action (above) leading the workshop.

About your facilitator:

Darren Le Baron is an educator specialising in mycology and psychedelic research, and is based between the UK and the Caribbean.

Known around the world for his Shroomshop Master classes and mushroom educational programs, he is a keen cultivator and teacher. He has been growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms for over thirteen years and has translated his home growing experiences into a social enterprise.

His achievements include launching the UK's first accredited Mycology and Mushroom Cultivation course for schools and young people in 2021, providing hands-on experience to empower school children and at-risk youth.

Darren is a knowledgeable and dynamic speaker who is passionate about sharing his research and findings on ethnomycology, ancient African plant medicines and their various applications.