Instructor Zach Mermel will teach the basics of wood based mushroom cultivation in “Food from Wood: Growing Edible & Medicinal Mushrooms on Logs, Stumps, and Wood Chips” on Saturday, December 13, 2025, from 9am – 2pm at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village.
Wondering what to do with those undesirable exotic trees on the Back Forty? By collaborating with certain fungi, you can turn that pesky plant problem into a solution that yields food across multiple years. Mushrooms are an excellent source of vegetarian protein and nutrition with the added bonus of being fairly easy to grow. Their health benefits are well known, and their ecological advantages are just now being fully realized. Now you can learn basic fungal biology and how fungal mycelium colonizes different materials, particularly wooden logs, stumps, and wood chips. You’ll also discover the specific health benefits of different edible and medicinal fungi in Hawai‘i.
Course fees are $65/$60 VAC members plus a $15 fee, inclusive of supplies. Each participant will depart with a shiitake mushroom log kit, as well as a King Stropharia mushroom kit. Participants will meet at VAC’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village for an interactive slideshow, followed by a hands-on segment. Lunch break will occur from 12pm – 1pm. For more information and to register for the workshop, please call 808-967-8222
If you’re an eager epicurean, avid horticulturalist or just interested in mushrooms, Zach encourages all farmers, gardeners, and homeowners seeking to incorporate the growing of gourmet and medicinal mushrooms into their lives and livelihoods to attend.