Making With Mycelium
Mycelium is a sustainable, renewable, and biodegradable material with a wide range of potential applications - from building materials to fashion and design. It is also strong, lightweight, and mouldable, making it a viable alternative to traditional materials. In this kit you will be creating a mycelium composite material which you can use to create a wide variety of objects.
Step 1: Finding or making your mould
Deciding what to make with your mycelium composite is perhaps the most difficult part of the making process! Here are some ideas to get you started:
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Lampshade
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Coasters
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Bowl
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Plant pot
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Flight case or other packaging
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Decorative sculpture
Mycelium lamp shades by Ninela Ivanova
Mycelium plant pot by Mediamatic.
Mycelium sculpture by PLP labs.
The biggest requirements are the following:
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The size of your item or items should be achievable with the amount of mycelium composite your have.
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Your mould should be made from glass or plastic or should be covered with cellophane wrap to keep out any contamination.
See our videos below for examples of how to make a flight case and plant pot:
Step 2: Breaking up your mycelium composite
By now your mycelium & sawdust composite should have formed a solid block. You'll need to break it up so that you can fir it into a mould. Start by breaking up the composite throughly in the bag WITHOUT opening it. Make sure your twist tie is at the very top of your bag to give yourself more room to break up the composite inside the bag, or tape along the top of the bag with duct/gaffer tape before you begin breaking up the composite
Step 3: Sanitising and cleaning
The most important part of making a successful mycelium object is making sure that you work in the cleanest way possible. You'll want to first spray down your work area with antibacterial cleaner and then wash your hands and arms up to your elbows. Then spray your gloved hands, the outside of the bag and your mould with isopropyl alcohol or antibacterial cleaner or hand sanitiser. Be sure to continue spraying down anything you come into concontact with as you work. For extra protection agains airborne contaminants consider wearing a face mask and working in an area with very little airflow.
Step 4: Filling mould
The best way to fill your mould is to pour your mycelium composite directly from the bag. If you find this too messy, however, you can spoon it out with a metal spoon or ladle. Just be sure your spoon has been throughly washed and sanatised.
Work in layers, pushing down the composite and breaking up any chunks you might find as you work.
Step 5: Incubation
When your mould is completely filled, store it in a warm dark place (25 degrees is best) for 1-3 weeks or until the composite material has turned white, or white with red patches. This is a sign the mycelium has bound together all of the sawdust and it is ready for dehydration.
Step 6: Dehydration
Once your composite material is colonised with mycelium, it's time to dehydrate. Remove it from its mould carefully and pop it in the over at 100 degrees for 30 minutes. If you have access to a food dehydrator, 10 hours on the lowest setting will yield optimum results.
We hope you've enjoyed your mycomaterials kit!!
We're passionate about sharing the diversity of the fungi kingdom & making more of its edible & medicinal delights easy to grow. Want to try another strain or learn how to cultivate mushrooms? See our full range of mushroom growing kits and cultivation workshops!