The Fungi Feastival's first workshop on mushroom growing was fully booked with people coming from as far as Canberra to attend.
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There was standing room only in the backyard of Annette Kennewell's property in Central Tilba on Saturday, June 17, to get tips and tricks on cultivating a variety of mushrooms.
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General principles
Mushrooms generally need moisture, oxygen, the right temperature and nutrition which they extract from substrata or growing mediums such as mulch or wood pellets.
"That's because they are more like animals than plants," Ms Kennewell said.
As a rule grow different types of mushrooms separately so they aren't competing with each other.
Most of the specialist materials including the grain spawn can be purchased online from Aussie Mushroom Supplies.
Milkwood Permaculture is another great resource.
It has published several good books including one on real skills for down to earth living and offers a range of online courses, including some free ones.
Oyster mushrooms easiest to grow
For fast and reliable results Ms Kennewell recommended oyster mushrooms.
Pasteurisation is required which means wearing gloves and glasses to keep everything clean and spraying gloves, work benches and any equipment used with a mix of 7 parts methylated spirits to 3 parts water.
Pasteurise sugar cane mulch from Cobargo Coop by adding builder's lime to raise the pH to 7 to kill bacteria then mix four buckets of pasteurised mulch with two kilograms of grain spawn from Collective Cultures in Dalmeny.
Transfer the mixture into clean large food-grade white buckets with lids that cafes often throw away or into new black plastic bags.
Drill or cut small holes into the buckets and bags for air flow and for the mushrooms to appear from when they fruit.
Ms Kennewell always uses one clear plastic bag as a control so she can monitor progress and detect any contamination.
Secure the bags with cable ties, label with the contents and date and store in the laundry.
After two to three weeks the white mycelium will develop and it is time to transfer the bags to the fruiting room.
Ms Kennewell's fruiting room is a shed in her backyard where she hangs the bags to promote air flow.
That will yield five to ten kilograms of oyster mushrooms over the course of three flushes.
Ms Kennewell shares them with friends and family as well as selling them at the Tilba market during the autumn and winter growing season.
There will be other fungi growing workshops at Narooma Library, at Merimbula's Farm on the Green and Moruya's SAGE Community Garden.
More information and tickets at the Fungi Feastival's website.
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