Intro to Mushroom Growing - Four Week Beginner Workshop Series

Ground Breaking Mushrooms and Peeps DIY are hosting a 4 week beginner workshop series to open up the world of fungi and demystify the mushroom growing process. We teach simple, step-by-step techniques that are easy to follow and master. No fancy equipment needed, just curiosity and a love for fungi!

This series is for the absolute beginner with no prior knowledge of mushroom growing. The course will empower you to develop a perpetual growing system at home, equipping you with the knowledge and skills to have home-grown mushrooms all year round, without needing to continuously purchase more supplies.

Workshop Dates

Workshop One - 29 July 7:00 - 9:00pm
Workshop Two - 5 Aug 7:00 - 9:00pm
Workshop Three - 12 Aug 7:00 - 9:00pm
Workshop Four - 19 Aug 7:00 - 9:00pm

Course Breakdown

Workshop 1: Make Your Own Mushroom Log

• Overview of the course: What we’ll cover in 4 weeks.

• What are mushrooms? Mycelium vs. mushroom fruiting body

• Substrates & containers overview: Coffee grounds, straw, sacks, buckets

• Demo & hands-on activity: Make a coffee sack mushroom log

• Care instructions: where to keep your log, when to expect mushrooms

• Group discussion: What just happened? How does this even work?

• Takeaway: Inoculated coffee sack mushroom log

Workshop 2: Understanding Mycelium & Substrates

• What Is mycelium? Role in nature, decomposition, and symbiosis

• What is actually going on in your log?

• What makes a good substrate? Straw, coffee grounds, paper, cardboard

• How to prepare substrates: pasteurisation with hydrated lime demo

• Contamination awareness: basic hygiene, mould recognition (show examples)

• Group discussion: Share questions and early log observations

• Takeaway: Substrate mini jar of growing mycelium on hessian (coffee sack material)

Workshop 3: Introducing Spawn - The Secret to Mushroom Growing

• What Is spawn? Grain spawn, cardboard spawn, hessian spawn, sawdust spawn

• How spawn is made by cloning (in simple terms) - without going full lab tech

• Why we use spawn instead of spores

• Low-tech tools & techniques: kitchen sterilisation, layering techniques

• Keeping your area clean, how to choose the best place to do your work

• Group discussion: What was confusing? Recap of the log process now that you understand more

• Takeaway: Sterilised and inoculated grain that will become spawn

Workshop 4: Closing the Loop - Your First DIY Spawn

• Review of what you've learned: “Let’s explain how your log was made, step by step”

• Revising the basic cloning technique on cardboard and hessian

• How to keep growing: building up your spawn library, sharing spawn, buying vs DIY

• Managing your spawn, when to use, how to preserve, watching for contaminants

• Creative growing ideas: Buckets, bricks, garden beds

• Mushroom log life cycle, using your log to supercharge your vegetable garden

• Final activity: Group mushroom meal and log health check-up

Optional Mushroom Log Library

Peeps DIY also offer a mushroom log incubation service if you would rather let us look after your log. You can leave your log in our caring hands and we will nurture it as if were our own! You can check on your log each week and at the end of the course take it home and eat the mushrooms!