Manualshelf

Project Ideas

ManualsBrandsBack to the Roots ManualsEdible GardenOrganic Mushroom Mini Farm
12345678910
Garden Toolkit and curriculum provided by Back to the Roots® . Visit backtotheroots.com/curriculum to download all unit materials and view source listings.
3
Mushrooms are more like animals than plants, even though they might not look like it. When we look at what
they need, it becomes a little more clear. What do you see that all mushrooms and people need that
plants do not?
Mushrooms are like fungal
towers with cannons under their
caps that shoot spores (similar
to seeds) into the world. The
tower is made up of millions of
single celled units called hyphae
that grow to form tiny threads
(imagine them like the cars that
make up a train!).
The hyphae weave together
underground to form a thick
network called mycelium. Each
hypha has a nucleus, or cell brain,
that can travel freely through-
out the entire network. It com-
municates almost instantaneously with all the others (imagine the nuclei like passengers moving around in
a long train). Mycelium is always growing new hyphae and learning from each new cell brain as it interacts
with its environment and others in the network. When the mycelium gets enough water, it sends a signal
telling the hyphae to begin to form the tower in the shape of the mushroom you see in the diagram above.
What do you think the tower will help the mushroom do?
CALL OUT
MUSHROOM
FARM
organic
GARDEN
-
IN
-
A
-
CAN
grow organic basil
GARDEN
-
IN
-
A
-
CAN
ST ON EG ROU ND
FL AKE S
O
R
G
A
N
I
C
CE RE AL
C AL IF OR NI A
W HO LE W HE AT
MUSHROOM NEEDS
PEOPLE NEEDS
PLANT NEEDS
Oxygen
(O
2
)
Oxygen
(O
2
)
Sunlight
Sunlight
Water
Water
Food
Carbon
Dioxide
(CO
2
)
Sunlight
Water
Food
Food
MUSHROOM
FARM
organic
GARDEN
-
IN
-
A
-
CAN
grow organic basil
GARDEN
-
IN
-
A
-
CAN
ST ON EG ROU ND
FL AKE S
O
R
G
A
N
I
C
CE RE AL
C AL IF OR NI A
W HO LE W HE AT
MUSHROOM NEEDS
PEOPLE NEEDS PLANT NEEDS
Oxygen
(O
2
)
Oxygen
(O
2
)
Sunlight
Sunlight
Water
Water
Food
Carbon
Dioxide
(CO
2
)
Sunlight
Water
Food
Food
MUSHROOM
FARM
organic
GARDEN
-
IN
-
A
-
CAN
grow organic basil
GARDEN
-
IN
-
A
-
CAN
ST ON EG ROU ND
FL AKE S
O
R
G
A
N
I
C
CE RE AL
C AL IF OR NI A
W HO LE W HE AT
MUSHROOM NEEDS PEOPLE NEEDS
PLANT NEEDS
Oxygen
(O
2
)
Oxygen
(O
2
)
Sunlight Sunlight
Water
Water
Food
Carbon
Dioxide
(CO
2
)
Sunlight
Water
Food
Food
Chapter 1: What are mushrooms?
CALL OUT
Inside the Mushroom
MUSHROOM
FARM
organic
Cap
ANATOMY OF A MUSHROOM
Stalk
Substrate
(inside box)
Gills
Basidia
Gill
Spores
Hyphae
Basidium
Mycelium
Spores