BF 149: Identifying and Partnering with Mushrooms in Farms, Gardens and Forests

Learn basics in mushroom identification, life cycle, and potential applications of mushrooms to solve community level challenges.

Mushrooms are a fascinating set of organisms that are part of the larger set of fungi which includes yeasts, molds, and a host of other species. They are quickly gaining popularity for a wide range of applications from food to medicine to cleaning up toxic pollutants.

This course offers an overview of foundational knowledge needed to understand how mushrooms might play a role in your farm and/or greater community.

Students will learn the basic biology and life cycle, how to properly harvest and identify a specimen, and receive basic information and examples of ways humans are using mushrooms successfully depending on their goals and context.

While not required, this course is an excellent starting point for anyone curious about mushrooms as a prerequisite to our cultivation deep-dive courses including BF 151: Outdoor Mushroom Growing, BF 153: Indoor Mushroom Growing, and BF 154: Community Mushroom Educator Training.

Target Audience

All levels - This course is for new farmers, experienced farmers, and community members seeking to incorporate fungi into their practice. It's also relevant to woodlot owners, backyard and urban gardeners, as well as anyone who has access to forested or green space. Mushroom growing is an easy topic for beginners with some experience in gardening, farming, and managing crop systems. This class encourages diverse, accessible, and community-centered discourse and approaches.

Course Objectives

At the completion of this course, you will:

• Be able to describe basic biology and life cycle of fungi and mushrooms
• 
Know the proper process for safe harvest and identification 

• Learn methods for propagating and cultivating mushrooms

• Discover medicinal mushrooms and their uses

• Consider applications of mushrooms for materials and remediation of toxins in the environment

• Better understand mushroom production and use from a cultural perspective

Webinars

The bulk of the course happens on your own time, with discussions, readings, and assignments in Teachable, our virtual classroom. To add to the experience, webinars will be woven into the online interface of the course to allow you to meet on a weekly basis to learn from outside presenters and ask questions to address your farm issues in real time. If you miss one, they are always recorded and posted for later viewing.

Webinar Schedule

In 2024, this course will be offered live for 6-weeks on Tuesdays from 6:30 – 8:00 PM (Eastern) from September 24 – October 29. While we encourage live attendance, so you have the opportunity to engage with presenters and ask questions, all webinars are recorded and posted in the online classroom to watch anytime. Once enrolled in this course, you will retain access to all materials indefinitely, and can return to participate in the live webinars in future offerings of the course if you wish. Join us!