Exploring the World of Mushrooms

Growing mushrooms is a fun and rewarding hobby that’s easy and low maintenance. They come in different shapes and eye-catching colors, and you don’t need any gardening experience to grow them. To truly understand the magic of growing mushrooms, it’s important to know what makes them special. While they’re used in many dishes, mushrooms aren’t actually vegetables and don’t need sunlight to grow. They belong to a unique biological group called fungi, which also includes yeast and mold. Unlike plants, fungi produce spores, which are tiny particles that spread like smoke into the air. Wind helps the millions of fungal spores travel. When they land in nutrient-rich spots, they grow into mushrooms. This is their unique life cycle.

Scientists have identified over 14,000 mushroom species to date. Only a few types of mushrooms are safe to eat, while others can make you very sick or even be deadly. So, never eat wild mushrooms or ones you don’t know, even if they pop up in your garden and look like the ones we can eat. Always ask an expert for help!

According to researchers, adding a small amount of mushrooms to our meals can lift our mood, boost our concentration, strengthen our bones and muscles, and shield our bodies against germs and viruses so we don’t get sick. They’re also widely used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to stimulate brain cell growth, which helps protect us against dementia and Alzheimer’s disease as we age. And here’s a little-known fact: mushrooms are one of the few vegan foods that contain vitamin D. Simply keeping them under a light shade can naturally increase their vitamin D levels. It’s no wonder they’re considered a superfood.

Before we roll up our sleeves and start growing mushrooms, let’s make sure our little fungus friends have everything they need to survive. If you follow these basic steps, you can expect to see tiny mushroom babies forming in a matter of days! Like magic, they’ll mature into full-grown mushrooms before your very eyes.