a crash course on growing fungi

The mushroom is a reproductive organ of a larger fungal mass called mycelium. It breathes oxygen and exhales carbon dioxide.

Mushrooms drop spores. Spores germinate and turn into mycelium. Mycelium make mushrooms.

You often only see the fruiting body (mushroom), but there is a larger network of mycelium made of hyphae in the soil or in the tree. Mushrooms aren’t plant or animal, they belong in a kingdom all their own called Fungi.