Introductory Mushroom Cultivation Workshop

While out foraging (on private land, or in the supermarket!) we sometimes encounter fungi that are known to be edible or medicinal. Rather than disturb natural populations, many fungi can be collected, cultured, cultivated, and grown at home. The skills taught in this workshop can be used to grow cultures on agar, to make liquid culture, and create spawn to grow your own edible or medicinal mushrooms. These same techniques can be applied to citizen science mycology.

Join fungi educator Caine Barlow for a 2-hour introductory mushroom cultivation workshop covering techniques that can be used in the cultivation of a variety of mushrooms. The language and techniques used in mycology can be challenging, but Caine has a relaxed teaching style, mixing both backyard mycology teks and formal lab techniques. The workshop will have time for open Q&A.

This workshop covers basic techniques such as growing mycelium on cardboard, or growing oyster mushrooms in food grade buckets. Guided by the mushroom lifecycle, Caine frames mushroom cultivation in an easy-to-understand context, covering what is needed to be successful in a home kitchen environment. The intended audience are mostly new to mushroom growing, or perhaps have tried growing a few batches. Caine also runs intermediate and advanced workshops for more experienced growers.

About Caine:

Caine Barlow is a Fungi Educator and Mycologist based in Melbourne, Australia. He gives regular talks on mycology, fungi conservation, and teaches gourmet mushroom cultivation. Caine is a mentor for Milkwood Permaculture for their online Mushroom Cultivation course. He works closely with the Australian organisations Entheogenesis Australis, and is a co-founder of US-based organisation The Entheome Foundation.

Caine started foraging mushrooms in the early 1990's, started cultivating gourmet fungi in the mid 2000's, and has been teaching mushroom cultivation in person since 2017. He did his Bachelor of Science at the University of Tasmania, and a Master of Science at the University of Melbourne where his research project was based around Conservation Mycology.

He has written for Entheogenesis Australis, DoubleBlind, ThirdWave, MicroDose, and Healing Maps. Caine is currently working on a book project, expected to be released mid-2023! He is an admin and moderator on many Facebook fungi groups. In addition to fungi, he has had a long-term interest in ethnobotany, ethnobotanical literature, and growing medicinal plants. Caine posts regularly on his Instagram, @guerrillamycology. His website is www.guerrillamycology.com