Learn to grow gourmet mushrooms in your own space

Cultivation workshops are where theory meets practice. Rather than abstract talk about fungi, you’ll spend time with actual mycelium, grain spawn and composted straw. I design each session around what grows reliably in London homes—oyster mushrooms first, because they’re forgiving and productive; then shiitake, lion’s mane and wine caps if you want to go deeper. The work is tactile: you’ll inoculate substrate by hand, learn to read the signs of healthy colonisation, understand why temperature and humidity matter, and troubleshoot the real problems that come up when you’re growing in a bedroom, kitchen or garden shed. I’ve built Adi’s Urban Mushrooms as a non-profit social enterprise because I believe growing food—even small-batch, specialised food like gourmet mushrooms—should be accessible, affordable and transparent. Cultivation workshops are part of that commitment.

Each workshop is small-group. I keep numbers intentionally low so you get genuine hands-on time and I can address your specific growing space—whether that’s a north-facing windowsill, a basement, a balcony or an outbuilding. We walk through the full cycle: substrate preparation, inoculation technique, the incubation phase where mycelium colonises the growing medium, the environmental triggers that initiate fruiting, and the harvest window. You’ll see real mushrooms at different stages of development. You’ll handle spawn, smell healthy versus contaminated substrate, and learn the visual and tactile cues that tell you when your crop is ready. This is practical knowledge that textbooks and videos can’t fully convey.

I source all materials locally where I can. The grain spawn comes from verified suppliers I trust; the straw and composted materials are sourced with the same care I apply to every ingredient in the mushroom products I make here at the studio. That transparency carries into the workshop too. I’ll show you exactly what I grow for restaurants and markets, explain the differences between the varieties, and talk openly about failure—because contamination and poor yields happen, and knowing how to spot and prevent them is half the skill. I’ve worked with the Community Mycology Lab at Remakery Brixton and the South London Mushroom Club, and those collaborations have shaped how I teach. The workshops reflect a real community approach: you’re not just learning from me, you’re joining a network of South London growers who share problems, solutions and harvests.

The curriculum is built around your ambition. A beginner workshop focuses on the fundamentals: how mushrooms fruit, what conditions they need, how to set up a growing space at home and manage it over weeks. An intermediate session digs into variety selection—which species suit your climate, how long each takes from inoculation to harvest, what yields to expect, and how to scale from one kit to multiple projects. Advanced participants learn about substrate formulation, spawn production, and the economics of growing for local sale or direct supply to restaurants and chefs. I can also design a bespoke workshop for a group with specific interests: a community group wanting to grow food together, a school or workplace wanting to teach biology and ecology through live mushroom culture, or friends and neighbours keen to set up a growing network on one street.

What you take home matters. Every participant leaves with everything needed to start growing: spawn, prepared substrate (or materials to prepare it), clear written instructions tailored to their space, and my contact details so you can reach out when the first pins appear or if something looks wrong. I also provide you with a record of the exact conditions we used in the workshop—temperature, humidity, light hours—so you can replicate the success at home. The cost is transparent and includes all materials; there’s no hidden markup. I’ve kept Adi’s Urban Mushrooms as a non-profit precisely so that price isn’t a barrier to learning to grow real food.

Timing is part of the curriculum. We schedule workshops around the seasons. Spring and autumn are ideal for oyster mushrooms because ambient temperatures align with their fruiting range, which means you’ll see results quickly and with minimal climate control. Winter and summer need more environmental management, which is valuable knowledge but requires more careful setup at home. I’ll recommend the best season for your specific space and growing ambition. Most participants see their first flush of mushrooms 4–6 weeks after inoculation, which is a visceral, motivating experience. Growing food isn’t abstract; you watch mycelium colonise the substrate, you regulate humidity and temperature, and then mushrooms appear. That feedback loop builds real understanding.

The workshops also connect you to the wider food system I’m building here. Many participants become interested in the culinary side—how to cook and preserve the mushrooms they grow, what flavour profiles different species have, how to dry and powder them for year-round use. I make mushroom jerky, dried mushroom blends and seasoned powders here at the studio, and I supply fresh gourmet mushrooms to local restaurants and West Norwood Feast. Some workshop alumni have become part of that supply chain themselves, growing a small surplus and selling to chefs or at markets. The cultivation workshop can be your entry point to that whole ecosystem if you want it to be.

I also run foraging walks across South London where we harvest wild mushrooms—species you can’t grow indoors, often with deeper flavour because of terroir and maturity. Those walks complement the cultivation work. You’ll see how mushrooms fruit in the wild, understand the ecological role they play, and develop an eye for identifying edible species safely. Combined, cultivation and foraging give you two routes to gourmet mushrooms: one fully managed and scaled to your home, one rooted in the landscape around you. Many participants do both.

If you’re curious about growing food, learning mycology, or exploring how small-scale production can be both rewarding and sustainable, a cultivation workshop is the practical foundation. You’ll leave with knowledge, materials, confidence and a real crop on the way. Get in touch to check dates and discuss what would suit your space and interests best.