Join Jaime Rowntree, experienced mushroom farmer, for a workshop focused on all things mushrooms. In this program, we’ll cover how to grow edible mushrooms at home. How to use them for nutrient cycling in your garden to benefit any perennials, fruits and vegetables without having to use store bought amendments. We’ll discuss what supplies and environmental conditions are needed for growing mushrooms at home. This program will also provide a demonstration of spore printing, a style of art using the mushroom’s anatomy to create unique prints. There should be something in store for any mushroom enthusiast out there.
The program offered by KELT is free and open to the public. This is a light rain or shine event.
Where: KELT’s LOCAL Garden, 63 Lemont St, Bath, 04530
When: Monday, June 29th, 5-6pm
Why Garden with Mushrooms?
As plants and other organisms reach the end of their life cycle the question of how they are reincorporated back into the environment remains. This is the nutrient cycle, a process where essential elements in our environment move from living things to non-living things and back again. Fungi are one of the major players in decomposition and the link between living and non-living things. The unique digestion process of fungi helps to break down organic matter that other organisms cannot access, such as lignin, and returns those nutrients to the soil.
In addition to the benefits that fungi serve in nutrient cycling they also form unique associations with the plants in your garden. Mycorrhizal associations formed between fungi and plants extend their root systems so your plants can reach further throughout the soil accessing more nutrients already present in their environment. Mycorrhizal fungi in your garden beds will help to increase the bioavailability of phosphorus to your plants as they serve as the link between phosphorus in the soil and the root uptake system. The more cyclic your garden is, the less (or none at all) fertilizer you have to buy!