University of Georgia Hosts Urban Mushroom Symposium
April 10, 2025 Mushroom researchers, growers and enthusiasts gathered on the University of Georgia Griffin Campus on March 7 for the first annual Spore to Store: Urban Mushroom Symposium.
“We know there are small-scale mushroom producers in Georgia and we wanted to provide them with research-based information,” says Bethany Harris, Ph.D., director of the UGA Center for Urban Agriculture. “We also wanted to expose them to resources they may not know are available to them.”
John Pecchia, Ph.D., of the Penn State Mushroom Research Center, gave the keynote, sharing advice from the production side and some takeaways of how to cultivate specialty mushrooms. His advice focused on the importance of quality spawn, substrate pasteurization, and climate control (particularly humidity, temperature, and CO2 control) as essential elements of a successful operation.
Dr. Pecchia also shared his research on the commercial button mushroom, shiitake, oyster, and other specialty mushrooms, assessing synthetic production methods and their advantages versus natural log growing methods.
Other symposium sessions included presentations from Gabriel Harrison and Emma Reigel of Gowin Valley Farms in Rocky Face, Ga.; Allen Carroll of Fungi Farm in Dadeville, Ala.; and Sam Landes and Cornelia Cho of the Mushroom Club of Georgia.
Produce safety expert Laurel Dunn, Ph.D., an associate professor and the UGA Extension Coordinator in the UGA Department of Food Science and Technology, and James Gratzek, Ph.D., director of the UGA Food Product Innovation & Commercialization Center, shared information on food safety and mushroom added-value products.
Next year’s Urban Mushroom Symposium will take place March 5-6 on the UGA Griffin Campus. For more information about programs offered through the UGA Center for Urban Agriculture, follow the Center on Facebook and Instagram or see the Center’s website at www.ugaurbanag.com.