Mycelium, the main constituent of mushroom organisms, spreads throughout a substrate (the food source) to colonise it before mushrooms can form. Traditional mushroom growers sterilise this substrate using steam sterilization before adding their mushroom spawn, but this method can be costly and energy intensive. An attractive aspect of using coffee grounds as substrate for our mushroom garden is that its brewing process pasteurises it for us; though this doesn’t last forever and eventually will begin degrading and attract other organisms such as mold.

Because of this, we need to replenish our coffee grounds regularly with freshly brewed coffee to maintain their condition and spraying them daily with water to maintain proper humidity – this keeps fungus at bay and prevents fruiting delays.

Mycelium in our coffee jar will begin colonising old coffee grounds over several days, as you can see by their gradually whitened state. When this has happened and mycelium has started breaking them down further, add additional spawn to the jar and lightly shake to ensure it makes full contact with all the old grounds and speed up colonisation process.

Once the spawn has been added to your jar, place its lid and store it at room temperature away from sunlight until most of the coffee grounds have been colonized by mycelium (usually 7-14 days).

Once your mycelium has colonised the coffee grounds, transfer your jar to an indirect sunlight location and mist with water daily to keep them moist. In two to three weeks’ time, mycelium should begin producing little mushroom “pinheads” atop of the coffee; this indicates it is time to harvest your mushrooms.

Mushroom mycelium has long been used in creating various products ranging from building materials to consumer objects and food products. Biodegradable, strong, fireproof and insulation properties all combine with mushroom mycelium’s biodegradability and insulation properties for maximum benefit. In addition, its lightweight properties and sustainable nature makes mycelium plastic alternatives lightweight, affordable and sustainable solutions.

Mycelium can help upcycle natural crop fibers no longer useful to local farmers into durable thread-like filaments that can be shaped into various product packaging forms within an environmentally controlled vertical grow system within a week, creating durable product packaging solutions. Mycelial networks can then be expanded into envelopes or bags which can then be sealed off and filled with products – creating sustainable packaging while simultaneously recycling agricultural waste for reuse and protecting the environment and economy simultaneously. Mycelium can withstand temperatures of 60oC while remaining weather-resistant – providing lasting solution solutions while helping local farmers recycle agricultural waste into durable yet sustainable packaging solutions while simultaneously.