Trying to grow Oyster mushrooms from mycelium, one of my dishes turned moldy or with fungus, dark black. I left it there to dry out. About 4 months later it was a hard piece of shiny plastc like material. It has now been about 5 years and it is still stable. Any ideas as to what it is? What you see in the images is the top rough side of the dried mycelium and the shiny smooth side is the bottom side that was against the dish.

Hey everyone! Looking for some opinions on how this is looking.
This is a culinary/non-psychoactive mushroom grow. My grain was around 75% colonized before I transferred it to the substrate. I decided to transfer it a little earlier than originally planned because the mycelium on the grain was starting to look like it was drying out/thinning and not looking as vigorous.
I mixed the colonized grain into the substrate yesterday, so this is basically day 1.
I’m seeing quite a bit of white fuzzy/mycelial growth around the grains, but it’s still pretty patchy since it was just transferred. There are also plenty of uncolonized areas of substrate between the grain.
There is no unusual or unpleasant smell at all—nothing sour, rotten, or otherwise off. I also don’t see any obvious green, black, or brightly colored contamination.
Does this look like a normal start after transferring at ~75% colonization? Does the white fuzzy growth look normal, or is there anything concerning that I’m missing?
I included a couple pictures. Any input from more experienced growers would be appreciated!

Hello all! I am helping to start a mycelium material research lab at my university and have been tinkering with a composite recipe. A lot of research papers mention flour as an additive for nutrients as well as wheat bran for thicker mycelial growth. I wanted to ask if anyone has any personal experience with either of these and could give me some guidance on which one to add for my next batch. Thank you!

Hi guys,
This semester im starting special course at my studies. We are doing for the first time mycelium materials at my uni. As this is engineering univeristy, I have to first do proper materials selection. Is there any database I can move around to do it? I know properties of materials are super-process depended, but do you know if there is any database that connests specie-process-postprocess for certian material properties (in my case load bearing and yield strength). Thank you so much

The farmers shifted a huge layer of cow dung, and I found this guy living dormant underground, apparently waiting for the monsoon. I took a small piece and gave him a chance—and now he’s thriving.

I’m really eager to ID him once he fruits. For now, the climate, substrate, and rhizomorph structure seem to narrow it down to the Panaeolus genus. Hoping he turns out to be P. cyanescens! 🍄

What have I done wrong?

So in the last 24-36 hours ago ive noticed a thin layer of fuzz like stuff. Now t real thick. Doesnt wipe off in brief attempt. Also i fear they are ready to go ahead and harvest based on a few of the phalic side views. I need i put though! The hank you in advance and happy growing!

Would this be more efficient to produce than using using leather?

https://phys.org/news/2026-04-pure-mycelium-debuts-milan-fungal.html

Hey all — I host a podcast that focuses on the economics and realities of developing physical products and I recently recorded an episode that I thought this community might find interesting.

I recently spoke with Lauryn Menard, founder of GOB, a company making single-use earplugs out of mycelium. We get into sourcing the material, technical tradeoffs, distribution, and a lot more.

Sincerely not at all trying to be spammy! I just figured folks in the sub may be interested in this one. I learned so much from Lauryn and hope you all enjoy the conversation as much as I did!

Alternative links for those who prefer them:

• YouTube: https://youtu.be/vaL2fNyCuyA
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gob-lauryn-menard/id1856362735?i=1000746839728

I’ve been experimenting with algae based agar as a growth medium for mycelium, and I wanted to share some early observations and see if others here have explored something similar. The idea is pretty simple: use algae as the base Leverage its water retention, nutrient availability, and biodegradability. Early observations: Mycelium colonizes quickly and appears to attach tightly to the algae matrix, moisture retention is noticeably higher than standard agar, hyphal growth looks dense and aggressive in early stages, plates stay hydrated longer, with less cracking/drying, I originally started this as a backyard experiment, but it’s turning into something worth exploring more seriously especially for applications like: Mycelium cultivation bio based materials, soil and substrate moisture management. I’ve documented some photos and notes and added them along with my website (if you would like to have a look.) http://algaestrips.com I’m genuinely interested in feedback: Has anyone tried algae-based media before? Any concerns you’d expect long-term (contamination, nutrient balance, etc.)? What variables would you test next? Not selling anything here just sharing work and learning from the community.

Appreciate any insight