Speaker: Caine Barlow, Guerilla Mycology
About: This workshop will cover the basics of mushroom cultivation, from growing mushrooms on woodchips, the PF Tek, monotubs, through to growing mushrooms from food grade buckets. By growing your own mushrooms at home you can supplement your diet with delicious home grown food, or grow fungi that are known traditionally to support both physical and mental health.
The language and techniques used in mycology can be confronting for many, but Caine has a relaxed teaching style, mixing both relaxed backyard “teks” and formal lab techniques. Guided by the mushroom lifecycle, Caine frames mushroom cultivation in an easy-to-understand context, covering what is needed to be successful in a home kitchen environment. The workshop will have time for open Q&A.
Bio: Caine Barlow is a Fungi Educator and Mycologist based in Melbourne, Australia. He has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Tasmania, and a Master of Science from the University of Melbourne. Caine also has qualifications in horticulture and permaculture. He works closely with the Australian organisation Entheogenesis Australis, and is a co-founder of US-based organisation The Entheome Foundation. Caine started foraging mushrooms in the early 1990’s, and has been cultivating gourmet fungi since the mid 2000’s. He has taught mushroom cultivation through private workshops, through mycological societies, Entheogenesis Australis events, Fungi Academy, and numerous mushroom themed events. He has co-written and delivered workshops with Mycommunity Applied Mycology, and co-wrote and delivered content for DoubleBlind’s 102 Mushroom cultivation course. Caine is a mentor for Milkwood for their online Mushroom Cultivation course. He has written for Entheogenesis Australis, DoubleBlind, ThirdWave, MicroDose, and Healing Maps. Caine is the author of the Wakeful Mushroom Cultivation Journal, published in 2024 by Wakeful Travel. He is an admin and moderator on many Facebook groups. In addition to fungi, he has had a long-term interest in ethnobotany, ethnobotanical literature, and growing medicinal plants.
