A Mushroom Cultivation Lab In Chicago

By Melissa McEwen in Food on Mar 23, 2014 4:00PM

Oyster mushrooms grown on Half Acre spent grain from a culture provided by Kevin Hovey (Melissa McEwen/Chicagoist)

Mushroom farmer Kevin Hovey wants to start an edible mushroom cultivation lab in Chicago that will offer mushroom gardening workshops and supplies.

A lab environment would allow consistent production of mushroom cultures, including the the unique “Chainsaw” wild oyster variety he collected from a chainsaw-damaged Chicago tree. As DNAinfo reports, mushrooms can be grown on everything from cardboard to corn husks.

The Kickstarter campaign to start the lab has already reached its’s goal, but the campaign continues until Monday. Rewards for backers include a mushroom cultivation class and a shiitake mushroom growing log.