Mycelium Experiment #1

After a considerable amount of researching and reading about mycelium and the possibility of growing materials with it, I finally decided to experiment with mycelium and grow my own material.

And so I started mind-mapping and scribbling down ideas of what type of substrates I would like to experiment with and where will I source these materials / waste which will serve as a feeding source for the mycelium.

Coffee grounds are a very good substrate apparently (according to various websites and videos). To link it to circularity, I instantly thought of outsourcing these from local coffee shops, cafés, or even the university cafeterias (once possible) as this will reduce the waste and provide a great, easy and a very low cost source of a highly nutritious substrate in large quantities. Nevertheless, the university premises undeniably allow for more than just this type of substrate. What about shredded papers, cardboard, sawdust from the workshops, mown grass, dead leaves, etc.? These would also be worth experimenting with as they do possess nutrients the mycelium could gain energy from, and at the same time, reduce the waste university generates and promote the benefits of circular economy.

I expanded a little bit on the material possibilities and the options I would like to try from the start, trying to be more specific. A small table obtained from an article by Jones et al. (2019) indicates that the structural properties of the mycelium material depend on the substrate used. Considering that my aim is to create an object using a mycelium-grown material, it is important for me to understand which substrate is suitable for the aspiring object. For instance, if I was to produce some kind of a seating, then the properties of the material are expected to be of such qualities which allow to perform the required task repeatedly. And so it is necessary for me to research and experiment with the substrates to find out their structural properties and their possible applications.

However, for this experiment, I ordered oyster mycelium spawn and brown mushroom spawn from www.annforfungi.co.uk, which I have previously used for personal experiments to grow actual oyster mushrooms (which turned out okay-ish by the way). The main reason for using this business is because they are based in Insch, Aberdeenshire, meaning it is sourced locally, and also, they do have over 20 years of experience in growing and supplying mushroom spawn for individuals and large companies alike.

But let's move on.

THE MYCELIUM EXPERIMENT

I did write down the process from one video I found on youtube (find link and the bottom of the page), but it served more as a rough direction rather than a set recipe mainly because I did not feed my mycelium with flour.

For the substrate, I decided to collect the coffee ground waste from personal use alongside thrown away eggshells and used oyster spawn only. I sterilised the coffee grounds and eggshells for about 10 minutes in boiling water, let it cool down and afterwards worked in a highly sterilised environment. In the video I mentioned, they proposed to use rubbing alcohol, but I used simple antibacterial spray. I also wore PPE (gloves and a face-mask) and kept my kitchen extractor on in order to create an airflow, drawing air away from the work site. This is based on another experiment I read about, which suggested to work next to an open flame as it creates an upward airflow, thus decreasing the chance of contamination.

I crushed the eggshells to increase the substrate's surface area, but also to make it more compact and easier for the mycelium to bond it all together. In this particular experiment I used about 135g of substrate and added 25g of oyster spawn, which resembles 25% of the substrate weight. Afterwards, I placed the mixture into a container and left it to grow in a warm environment and out of direct sunlight. Currently it is growing for 14 days already but it is still not fully covered with white mycelium.

Watch video below to see the entire process.

Below is a photo after the first 7 days of growth.

References:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04kN81MHt0o - this is the link to the video where I obtained most of the growing information and processes; it is a three-part experiment

Jones, M. et al. (2019). Engineered mycelium composite construction materials from fungal biorefineries: A critical review.