The 2nd Annual Texas Mushroom Conference Was a Spore-tacular Success

As the heat dome descended upon Austin and mushroom blocks outdoors thrived, we humans took the refuge of inside the University of Texas at Austin’s Etter-Harbin Alumni Center to spend an afternoon immersed in mushrooms. The event, put on by Myceliumatters who sponsored the first Texas Mushroom Conference in El Paso last year, also included sponsorships from Central Texas Mycological Society, Everyday Dose, North Spore, Oklahoma Fungi, Shroomeats, and more.

Participants moved between panels and hands-on workshops, culminating in a mycelium build project led by Jacob Devecchio of Oklahoma Fungi and sponsored by Grow.bio. The day’s panels started with a presentation from Angel Schatz, the leader of the Education, Membership, and Communication Circle with Central Texas Mycology on local mushrooms and ended with Dr. Greg Fonzo presenting Psilocybin Research & Clinical Trials at Dell Medical School’s Center for Psychedelic Research & Therapy.

Here are my favorite takeaways from this year’s conference.

On ethical foraging, from Angel Schatz’s discussion on Foraging Mushrooms in Texas

“The forest isn’t a grocery store… we need to get out of the consumer mindset and practice reciprocity.”

On Mushrooms as a Sustainable Food Source with Dissaya Theerakaosal of Shroomeats and Marlon Rison of Community Vegan

“One-quarter pound of [shiitake] patties creates 100 times less waste than the land and water used to raise cattle.” - Dissaya Theerakaosal

On the Trials and Tribulations of Large Scale Mycoremediation Projects with Josh Googins of Fallen Oak Mycology

“You can be told up and down, scaling is difficult. But the reason it’s difficult, really, [are] the logistical issues you don’t think about. Where will you pick up that much grain, how many hours will it take to process this… it’s hard to quote somebody on that. The limitations… were pretty much the biggest deal. So, sustainability issues are the crux of it. It starts to become a catch-22.”

On the Psilocybin Research & Clinical Trials at UT Austin with Dr. Greg Fonzo

“Integration is the area of research that needs the most work, in my opinion… it’s also very individual based on experience… I don’t know if we can apply the scientific method to it.”

Each panel member or presenter circled back on one core belief, no matter what the topic was: mushrooms matter. And by showing up to events like this, we’re furthering the fungal mission even more, because that’s what fungi needs right now: each and every one of us.

Our vendor picks

The mushroom world is like a big hometown. Once you go to one local festival or farmer’s market, chances are you’ll run into old friends. While there were so many incredible booths and folks pouring their hearts and souls into mushrooms, we were excited to meet these three vendors this year. Here are my picks for folks to check out.

Oklahoma Fungi

Jacob Devecchio is a staple in the mushroom scene and for good reason, he’s best known for identifying the Oklahoma Wild strain of psilocybin mushroom. Their All-In-One Grow Kit is the perfect starter kit, and they offer 11 types of cultures online, too. They’re also throwing the 2nd annual Oklahoma Mushroom Festival in Oklahoma City on October 12-13, 2024.

Shroomeats

I love mycoprotein around here, but what Shroomeats is doing is on another level. Their shelf-stable “meat” is made from six simple ingredients: upcycled shiitake mushrooms, pea protein, sunflower oil, salt, pepper, and potato flour. Gone are the days of going meatless and full preservatives, I’m stocking up on the Mushroom Balls and the Mushroom Shred-It for anytime meals.

Texas Mushroom Monks

Texas Mushroom Monks had some of the most interesting products I’ve seen so far, to include living pint jars of mushrooms, dried Agarikon, and liquid Cordyceps mycelium “shots.” We had the pleasure of meeting Tom Holstlaw of Texas Mushroom Monks and heard about Barbi’s story, the founding mushroom farmer, but still need to head on down to San Antonio where they’re based to meet her.

2024 schedule

If you’re reading this in preparation for next year, here was 2024’s programming to give you an idea of what to expect. Both the Fungal Microscopy and Field to Lab workshops covered mushroom cultivation from a hands-on perspective you can only get in real life.

• Panels

  • 1:00 - 1:30 // Angel Schatz - Foraging Mushrooms in Texas
  • 1:40 - 2:20 // Dissaya Theerakaosal & Marlon Rison - Mushrooms as a Sustainable Food Source
  • 2:30 - 3:20 // Jose Aguirre - Mushroom Farming & grant opportunities
  • 3:30 - 4:10 // Josh Googins - Trials and Tribulations of Large Scale Myco remediation Projects
  • 4:20 - 5:00 // Robert Johnson - Past, Present & Future of Psychedelics
  • 5:10 - 5:50 // Logan Davidson, Dr. Lynnette Averill, & Tim Jenson - Psilocybin legality & current efforts
  • 6:00 - 7:00 // Dr. Greg Fonzo, Center for Psychedelic Research & Therapy - Psilocybin Research & Clinical Trials at UT Austin

• Workshop Room

  • 1:10 - 1:50 // Matt Powers - Fungal Microscopy
  • 2:00 - 2:30 // Jacob Devecchio - Field to Lab
  • 2:40 - 3:40 // Daniel Reyes & Leif Olson - Mycoremediation and Fungal Biology
  • 3:50 - 4:50 // Jacob Devecchio - Hands on Myco material Workshop w Ecovative
  • 5:00 - 5:30 // Carlos Wong - Mycoremediation Research
  • 5:40 - 6:20 // Angel Schatz - Fungi Art & the War on Drugs

If there’s a local mushroom festival happening near you, I highly encourage you to get involved and get to know your fungi community. Once you go, you’ll have an entire new group of mycelium-loving friends who just “get you” if you know what I mean.

Do you host mushroom events around the U.S.? Contact me at shannon@shroomer.com to feature your event in our upcoming national directory.