Mushrooms

Thanks for joining us!
This episode was written by Jean and voiced by Kara and T.
Episode art was created by Jean.
It was originally released in February 2024.

— Try making a mushroom print —


— Some of our favorite books about mushrooms —


— Mushroom Episode Summary —

Check out these names! —

  • Toadstool, lions mane, hen of the woods, hedge hog, oyster, trumpet, puff balls, stinkhorn.

  • Believe it or not, these are all mushrooms!

Mushrooms are living things —

  • They are living things – they need water, air, food, a place to live.

  • They’re not actually plants or animals – they belong to the kingdom called fungi.

  • Mushrooms like environments where there are lots of trees and where it’s damp and dark. They can grow quickly.

  • Leave it up to experts to pick and figure out which ones are safe to eat! Take or draw a picture if you find a really cool one.

How do they grow? —

  • It starts as a spore, which is similar to a seed but tinier and not hard. It’s very fine and hides in a grown mushroom.

  • The spore falls and lands on the soil. Then a small bit called a pin pushes up. It grows a cap on top. It keeps growing with water and food from the soil.

  • There are many kinds of mushrooms but they all have certain features: a stalk that holds them up called a stipe, top part called a cap. Some have ridges underneath the cap called gills.

Mushrooms can also be grown indoors —

  • Mushrooms can be grown in indoor farms to be food – this is cultivation.

  • They’re grown in a special kind of dirt, called substrate. It has all of the nutrients that the mushrooms need to grow.

  • They don’t need a lot of light, so the farms don’t use a lot of electricity or water, which makes them a very sustainable thing to grow.

They are delicious! —

  • The ones that are safe can be eaten raw or cooked.

  • They have a flavor called umami – a kind of combination of salty, meaty, sweet.

  • Next time your family makes mushrooms, maybe the kids can help by using a kid-friendly chopper like this Crinkle-cut knife.

Use them to try vegetable printing —

  • Cut them in half down the middle, dip in paint, and press firmly on a piece of paper. Lift carefully to reveal the shape of the vegetable.

  • Try with other veggies like broccoli, pepper, or tomato.

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