Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

While struggling to sleep last night due to the noise of rain on the tin roof I wondered if it would be possible to set up a wicking bed in a bathtub with mushroom compost (or woodchips etc depending on mushroom species being grown) and grow mushrooms in it? Finally a use for the shady side of the house!!!

I've used the bunnings kits before with reasonable success - but thought it would be cool to have a whole bathtub full of shrooms and just have to create the substrate and buy the spores (and maybe even harvest them?)

Anyone out there into their DIY fungi?

ps just talking plain edible types - no magic needed these days!

Hummm... indeed... worth a try I reckon....

I looked at it a few years ago and is on my list of things to do.

In Melbourne we have Ceres Environmental Park run by the council.

They have a mushroom section where they run classes and sell spores, kits and info so that

you can set yourself up and not have to go to Bunnings again.





have a look at these links


http://www.ceres.org.au/Training/Worksh ... efarm.html


http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s2594661.htm


cheers Lou

Just googled there site i see they are running an aqua workshop have you ever seen there setup a dismal failure
how people can run a workshop when they have no idea of a subject has got me st';;ed

Those that can, do... those that can't...

Lou - Thanks for the info - sounds a cool thing to have in the community.

I just checked it out also FF... I couldn't find their aquaponics system on their website, I did find this interesting quote though:

They still have an "aquaponic" page on the website... http://www.ceres.org.au/greentech/Proje ... onics.html]

But it probably doesn't reflect the current situation....

Wilson Lennard took over the running of the Ceres system in late 2011... but I think he let it lapse for a while... through late 2012...

Think he might be currently... quietly... utilising/reconfiguring it as part of his private ongoing research....

Talk about timely, I had a question about growing mushrooms all typed out for you Matt:...then the shop phone rang and during the conversation the guy mentioned he was a mushroom farmer... so I've just had a free lesson on growing mushrooms...

Hi FF

I think you may have gone to the wrong setup.

The system they have at the Ceres centre hasn't operated for years.

Dr Wilson Leonard setup the new system off site (about 3 city blocks away) and apparently

that is still operating, but getting an invite to it seems near impossible.


Ceres is still a great place to visit, I often go there to see what I should be planting and

later on to compare growth that they get compared to mine.

Have you seen their mushroom setup? It's housed in the 40 ft container at the end of the

carpark. (until they find another place).


cheers Lou

In case the mushroom farmer on the phone didn't mention it, Mr Damage, mushrooms don't need light at all since they aren't plants but fungi, but you probably know this. What is less well known is that mushrooms also grow happily in lighted conditions, but they need fairly constant temperatures and humidity levels, and don't like draughts. That is why they are often grown in not so well ventilated places such as cellars, basements and other underground (ie temperature stable) structures. The misconception is that they must have low light conditions, when in fact it is just that the places where they generally grow best are typically not well lit.

I bought a kit from bunnings in winter and it didnt grow
Exchanged it same thing
Returned it and got my money back
The guy said its too hot to grow them except in the middle of winter in a cool part of the house.

A few weeks back middle of the wet season hot and humid all the mushroom compost Ive thrown around the place erupted into mushrooms in full sun and heat all through my garden.

He reckons full dark during the vegetative, or mycelium stage... then a certain spectrum of lights and a change in temp and humidity during the fruiting stage (I think he called it fruiting)

Yes Lou i am fully aware of the good doctor and his work Is wilson running the workshops ! if not who is

I intend to grow mushrroms in the space between my tanks
I havent done it since I was a kid, so would be a new interesting experiment.
somehow things done as a kid just seem to work better than when you know a bit more lol

all I did was place some shredded paper and then a compost with straw in it in a plastic contatainer wet it down untill fairly damp but not actually wet.
kept the lid on to keep it moist, it used to sort of "rain" in there in the arfternoons from the moisture of the evaperation condensing on the lid.

to get seeds, I just grabbed a mushroom we had picked from a paddock
placed it on a piece of thin card and put a plastic cup over it waited a few days and then scrapped the spores into the bed and they would start to grow about 4 weeks later.
I think you could do this with a muShroom bought from the shop.
just try to find one that is about to change from buttom mushroom to a flat one.

From my understanding Wilson Leonard no longer has any involvement at Ceres.

The course is run by Stephen Mushin .

Stephen helped Wilson set-up the system and helped run it with Wilson for at least 2 years.

So he learnt from the best.

cheers Lou