Fungi: mycelia, mushrooms & more

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I grow mushrooms at home, and so I have lots of spent grow bags with decayed substrate (wood, millet and soy hulls) in them.

They are great for composting, and make very good soil, but nobody wants them and I used as much as I could for my plants.

Right now, I throw them into the industrial compost bin because of that.

But I think they could be used for something way more useful than just compost.

For example, I thought about chopping them up and dehydrating them, so I can use them as cat litter. Mushrooms are mostly water and the hyphae have lots of surface area, so they could act as a sponge.

Or, maybe they burn fine and make good coals for barbecues or heating?

Do you have any other ideas?

16 Sep 2024

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP in Potsdam, Germany, are creating packaging materials by mixing mycelium with agricultural residues such as wood chips, hemp and reeds. Experts at the institute are working with mycelium from edible mushrooms and bracket fungi, such as oyster mushrooms and tinder fungi.

U.S. Bioenergy Technologies Office

There is evidence suggesting that ancient Egyptians used moldy bread, specifically containing a type of mold called Penicillium, as an early form of antibiotic.