Backyard Farm School

Growing mushrooms is easy to do at-home.

Barring any late-season frosts, we’re headed full-force into growing season. Urban gardeners around the city are plotting out spaces for tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, herbs, asparagus (if you have the patience), beans, and… mushrooms?

If you’re like me, mushrooms aren’t something you’ve ever considered adding to your small, household garden production. Most likely, you didn’t even know that mushrooms could be grown at home, let alone that farming fungi is, according to Silvan Goddin of Grow Pittsburgh, “easy, inexpensive, and fun.”

Goddin, who led Grow Pittsburgh’s Backyard Farm School on mushrooms, is right. All that’s needed to cultivate ‘shrooms at home is a bed of wood chips or straw or, for certain varieties, a log. Inoculate the mushroom spawn in the log or mix them into the bed of chips and you’re set for a full year of harvesting.

Workshops like Backyard Farm School are a great way to expand your knowledge of the ecosystem and hone your gardening abilities. Spend this growing season learning, thanks to Grow Pittsburgh and a few other local organizations.

Grow Pittsburgh

growpittsburgh.org

Mushroom cultivation is just one of the many topics covered by Grow Pittsburgh and Churchview Farm as part of their Backyard Farm School, an expanded monthly workshop series. The series, throughout the season, will explore topics like urban chicken farming, herb growing, and more.

Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Garden

phipps.conservatory.org

Online classes at Phipps cover everything from drawing to cooking. Learn how to prep a picnic and meal like a pro or hone your knife skills with chef Rachel Homan. Celebrate in-season ingredients with their Taste of the Season Zoom class, or craft a wreath while learning about succulents.

Send your kids to their virtual summer camp, tackling topics like ecology, conservation, healthy living, and art. In May, their open-air market brings plants – notably, a variety of seedlings – garden accessories, lawn decor, and more to the conservatory.

Pittsburgh Botanic Garden

pittsburghbotanicgarden.org

Learn the ins and outs of urban chicken keeping using the Botanic Garden’s three-part, virtual education series. Start with coop design and finish with the tips and tricks of chicken care. For the young and curious, find multiple, educational videos on seedlings and soil.

If movement is more your style, try one of the Garden’s walk-and-talk, Forest Bathing classes, where guides will lead trips through the woods, allowing students to connect and observe the ecosystem around them.