Mushrooms 101 – May 23, 2026

Mushrooms 101
📅 May 23, 2026
🕐 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
💲 50
👥 Min. 3 | Max. 8 Students

Discover the fascinating world of fungi in this beginner-friendly, hands-on class at Hagood Mill Historic Site. Mushrooms 101 is designed for those curious about identifying, growing, and understanding mushrooms in a safe and practical way.

In this engaging session, you’ll learn the basics of mushroom anatomy and classification, with a focus on beginner-friendly families. You’ll gain practical knowledge on how to distinguish mushrooms by genus or family, along with examples to help identify individual species. For safety, the class will also cover a few deadly poisonous mushrooms in detail—an essential foundation for anyone interested in foraging.

The class goes beyond the classroom with hands-on experience in mushroom cultivation. Students will learn how to grow mushrooms both on logs and in garden beds, including step-by-step instruction on inoculating logs using proven techniques. Each participant will inoculate their own log as part of the Hagood Mill mushroom garden—giving you the opportunity to return and watch your mushrooms grow over time.

We’ll also spend time exploring the property to look for wild mushrooms, reinforcing identification skills in a real-world setting.

What You’ll Learn:

• Basic mushroom anatomy and classification
• Beginner-friendly identification techniques
• How to recognize a few dangerous, poisonous species
• Methods for cultivating mushrooms on logs and in beds
• Hands-on log inoculation and mushroom garden care

What to Bring:

• Notebook or materials for taking notes
• Old shoes (hot wax is used during inoculation and may drip)

Walk away with a strong foundation in mushroom identification and cultivation—and the confidence to continue learning on your own.