John Campbell Folk School: Get Your Hands Dirty and Learn to Grow Mushrooms!
Image Source: Pixabay
While the vegetable harvest season may be coming to a close within the next few months, but John C. Campbell Folk School gives you a reason to keep getting your hands dirty! Discover a weekend-long class in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. It’ll teach you how to grow, forage, preserve, and medicinally use three world-favorite (and delicious) strains of mushrooms.
Mushrooms of the Appalachia
Because mushrooms play a considerable role in Appalachian culture, mushrooms are grown and hunted for fresh food and used for medicinal purposes, and mushroom farming is harnessed as an additional source of income. These delicious delicacies take skill to produce and knowledge to find in the wild. Often, a secret location of where edible mushrooms grow, as the beloved morels, are passed down from families throughout generations.
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Learning to Grow Mushrooms
However, growing mushrooms at home takes skill, but once you have the knowledge—you can have delectable shiitake, oyster, and reishi mushrooms with every meal. But, the John C. Campbell Folk School offers hands-on classes that will teach you everything you need to know to grow your very own food and medicine.
Instructor Ken Zinkand has over 20 years of experience studying, growing, and foraging mushrooms in the Appalachian Mountains. Ken has studied alongside the reputable mycologist Paul Stamets, known for his extensive contribution to mycology, permaculture, and ecosystem preservation. Ken Zinkard is a member and speaker of the Georgia Mushroom Club in Atlanta and produces gourmet mushrooms for some of the most famous restaurants in Atlanta. Be sure to check out our interview with Ken Zinkard coming very soon!
Discover a fun mushroom cultivation class!
This exciting Grow Your Own Mushrooms class takes place on September 14thto September 16thfor a weekend full of hands-on learning, one-on-one instructing, and plenty of time to enjoy the beautiful atmosphere within the Appalachian Mountains.
Take it home with you!
Not only will you go home empowered with the skill to grow mushrooms, but you will also take three inoculated mushrooms logs of oyster, shiitake, and reishi, home with you.
A class for beginners to advanced!
Creating a sterile environment, inoculating logs, and growing oyster mushrooms from spores—it may sound like a lot at first, but this is a class for any experience level! Whether you are interested in learning new techniques or are just learning about this for the first time, this class offers something for everyone.
Over the weekend you will become a pro, discovering the best ways grow, maintain, pick, dry, store, and cook mushrooms in a guided step-by-step process. You’ll also learn about edible wild mushrooms and foraging for local Appalachian mushrooms.
Image Source: Pixabay
More about John C. Campbell Folk School
John C. Campbell Folk School is a not-for-profit organization located in Brasstown, North Carolina; a scenic drive that’s under two hours from Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Folk School offers a large variety of classes that celebrate mountain life. They provide community events, dancing, blacksmithing, hiking, concerts, woodworking, nature knowledge, and much more. Learn more about the Folk School and their rich history on their website.
Mushroom Growing Community
Have you been to an amazing mushroom growing class lately? Tell us about it in the comments or submit an event to our calendar!
Stay up to date with other Appalachian region events and craft shows by following Got Mountain Life on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Be sure to visit our events calendar often!
