Cooking for Mycelium Masterclass: The Art and Science of Substrate Production

Want to know the secret to growing great mushrooms? Learn to cook first. Not for yourself, but for your mycelium.

That's how the team at Mycelia Academy describes substrate production: less like following a lab protocol, more like preparing a carefully planned and nutritious meal. Sure, there are formulas, temperatures, and recipes involved. But ask the instructors, and they'll tell you it's really about understanding what your mycelium needs to thrive, a diet that blends precision, patience, and a bit of biological empathy.

"Just like we do, mycelium likes an appetiser and a main dish" - Mycelia Instructor

We've been working with Mycelia Academy for a while now, and we're excited to share insights from their Substrate & Woodfungi Production Course, a 5-day, hands-on training that welcomes everyone from curious hobbyists to seasoned growers looking to level up their game.

It's a metaphor that sticks because it's true. Substrate producers quickly realize they're not just mixing ingredients, they're creating a living environment. And every detail matters. The texture of your sawdust, that last droplet of water, even the way particles settle together, all of it determines whether your mycelium will thrive or struggle to survive.

Take structure, for example. Good substrate isn't dense like clay or fluffy like straw. It's a careful balance of air, water, and solids that needs to breathe. Pack it too fine and oxygen can't reach the core. Go too coarse and the nutrients drift apart, leaving the mycelium hungry. Get it right, though, and the whole thing comes alive. Enzymes travel freely, water flows where it's needed, and mycelium colonizes evenly from all directions.

This is why the course emphasizes measuring over guessing. Most producers show up with their own tricks: tossing in "a bit more bran" here, "another bucket of water" there. But they quickly discover that when you want repeatable results, consistency beats improvisation every time.

A learning choreography

The course is designed as a complete journey through substrate production, from ingredients to incubation, from theory to hands-on work. Each day unfolds a new layer of understanding, following the same logic as the production process itself.

Participants start with the fundamentals: the composition of substrates, the role of each ingredient, and how to balance water, structure, and porosity. In Mycelia’s workshop, they prepare and test their own mixes, measure pH and density, and see how even the smallest detail changes the outcome.

Next comes heat treatment, the heart of reliable production. Through sessions on sterilisation and pasteurisation, participants learn what happens inside the bag when steam and pressure meet organic matter. They experiment with autoclaves, steam valves, and F-values, discovering that precision here defines the success of everything that follows.

Cleanroom practice, hygiene, and microbiological control follow naturally: air quality, laminar flow, and contamination mapping. Theoretical insights are continuously anchored in practical tests, from bag sealing and inoculation to understanding overpressure systems.

The later days turn to incubation and fructification, climate control, ripening phases, and post-harvest hygiene, before concluding with field visits that connect course content to real-life production settings. Along the way, participants design their own substrate formulations, discuss common failures, and share their insights during daily Q&A moments.

“Every hour counts once water touches sawdust. Microbial life starts immediately. You don’t fight it; you manage it.” - Mycelia Instructor

By the end of the week, the pieces come together. Participants not only understand how substrate is produced, they can read the process behind it, anticipate problems, and make informed choices in their own facilities.

Incubation: where patience meets precision

Once the bags are sealed, the real chemistry begins. Inside, the substrate warms up, sometimes 10 °C hotter than the room. A single degree too high can slow colonisation or even kill the culture. A few degrees too low, and growth lags behind, inviting competitors. The course’s incubation modules teach participants how to balance metabolic heat, humidity, and air exchange so that every bag in the room shares the same conditions.

“Every substrate in the room should live the same story,” participants hear. “Only then can you predict yield.” It’s a reminder that mushroom production is not trial and error, it’s controlled ecology. Control in this field, means understanding how biology reacts to engineering decisions.

From knowledge to craft

What sets the course apart isn’t just the technical depth; it’s the culture around it. Between lectures and autoclaves, there’s a rhythm of informal coffee-break conversations, where participants gather around biscuits and questions, comparing their own experiences with the Academy’s researchers and consultants.

Those moments often bring the greatest insights: how a small change in particle size saved someone’s yield, or how humidity sensors misled another producer for months. Learning becomes collective. The expertise, open and shared, crosses borders and production scales, from artisan producers to industrial plants.

In an industry where many copy what “seems to work,” Mycelia Academy takes a different stance: knowledge is infrastructure. The time and resources spent understanding substrate science pay back in reliability, efficiency, and peace of mind. A good substrate recipe can be replicated; understanding why it works allows it to evolve.

From Production to Pasteurization

This course is only the beginning of a ongoing learning journey. For those ready to deepen their skills, the story continues in Greece, during the Pasteurization Production Masterclass, where the focus shifts from structure to heat, and from sterilisation to the subtle art of controlled contamination. Because in mycology, as in cooking, knowing when to stop heating is just as important as knowing when to start.

“I didn’t just learn how to make substrate. I learned how to think like mycelium.” - Course participant

---

🍄 Register your interest to the 5 day Substrate & Woodfungi Production Course here.

Magda Verfaillie and Kasper Moreaux, the directors of Mycelia, designed this course alongside their team and specialists including Jürgen Kynast, blending diverse scientific expertise and hands-on experience as growers and a substrate producers of specialty mushrooms. It takes place in small groups at Mycelia's spawn facility in Belgium to ensure everyone gets the attention and hands-on time they need.