Fungarium – A mushroom aquarium

Chris Holtslag from Helsieni with Tatu Polvinen will be building a Fungarium and present it at the Espoo Mini Maker Faire. Technically called a micro mushroom fructification unit it is basically an aquarium for mushrooms.

Chris points out that it can be a good hobby growing your own mushrooms akin to keeping fish or growing orchids. Helsieni is specialized in growing Oyster mushrooms in two shipping containers in Hernesaari, Helsinki and they provide workshops and make and sell DIY mushroom growing kits to grow your own mushrooms on coffee waste.

Niina Kuusaniemi from Myco Hacklab Finland (find them on Facebook) will be giving hands on workshops on mushroom growing using toilet paper rolls as feedstock.

“Mushrooma are healthy and we should eat more of them. If you want to save the planet, eat less meat and more mushrooms – that’s the deal” says Chris.

At the Espoo Mini Maker Faire they will demonstrate how to build a fungarium which is a transparent version of their Growfridge – a temperature, moisture and oxygen controlled up-cycled refrigerator that is used to grow or fruit mushrooms. Their dream project is to build a system that doesn’t need any electricity.

Helsieni is an urban mushroom farm that grows oyster mushrooms on the waste of the city: coffee grounds. They also provide Grow-It-Yourself kits with which you can grow mushrooms on your own coffee. Read more about Helsieni.