Fun with Fungi Workshop at the Harvest Festival

Fun with Fungi is a fantastic forum for fledgling fungi enthusiasts! You'll learn all about the process of growing mushrooms right from the tiniest microscopic spores all the way through to the delicious and colourful gourmet mushrooms we know and love. AND you'll get to take home your very own bucket of mushroom straw to grow your own at home.

Join us at our Harvest Festival at Common Ground Project, 3rd of November!

This is a free workshop and if spots are available, people can join on the day. However spots are limited, and pre-booking helps Tom & Cameron prepare. Suitable for 9 years old & older.

What's covered in the workshop:

• The Mushroom Life Cycle: A run down on the daily life of a mushroom
• Sterilisation and Pasteurisation Processes: How to keep things squeaky clean so the mushrooms will be happy and we don't grow fungi or moulds that we don't want
• Packing and Preparation: How to layer up the straw and mushroom spawn in a bucket for ideal fruiting
• Incubation and Fruiting: How to create the best environment for your mushrooms to grow through the straw and pop out of the bucket happy and healthy

This workshop is for you if you like learning about nature and how things grow, and you like to eat tasty mushrooms!

What's Included:

• A 1 hour workshop led by Tom & Cameron, the owners of the small mushroom growing business Bellarine Fungi
• All materials for demonstrations included

What to Wear & Bring:

• Come dressed for any weather – we will be outside on the farm.
• Please note: to protect yourself on the farm, you must wear closed-toed shoes. Flat boots or gumboots are suitable, especially when it rains.  
• Please bring a waterbottle and your own materials for note taking. 

Who is Bellarine Fungi?

Tom is originally from Melbourne and has been living in Geelong for four years. With a lifelong interest in developing his own businesses, he was overjoyed when a random stranger gifted him a mushroom farm! When he's not fussing over his baby shrooms, Tom likes to run, cycle and swim, and sometimes flop on the couch with a movie. He loves drumming, his sports car and talking about all things farming. 

Cameron

Cameron hails from Norlane and has a strong passion for mushroom growing. He loves the science of fungi and learning all about what makes mushrooms tick. He got involved in the Norlane Gourmet Shroomery in its early days and started Bellarine Fungi with Tom in May 2023. He has a background in IT and enjoys gaming in his spare time. He loves getting out planting veggies and trees with his partner and kids.

See details of the Harvest Festival here.