The $1000 Carrot Cache Innovation Prize Winner at the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario (EFAO) 2025 Conference was Michelle Della Corte from Fungi Fest Mtl.
Below is the original contest submission by Michelle:
As a small-scale mushroom producer in an urban setting, we’re always looking for ways to keep our operation sustainable and our waste stream minimal. After our oyster mushroom blocks finish producing for a couple of weeks, we’re left with a pile of spent mycelium substrate—still alive, still active, and far too valuable to throw away. So we asked: How can we give these blocks a second life outdoors?
That’s how Myco-Mulch was born! This simple experiment turned into a high-impact, low-maintenance solution for repurposing our spent substrate while enriching our garden.
Myco-Mulch has proven to be a powerful living mulch that:
- Suppresses weeds naturally
- Helps the soil retain moisture
- Continues to fruit delicious mushrooms right in the garden
- Slowly releases nutrients
- Attracts beneficial soil microbes
- Can even fruit mushrooms again after rain
Tip: Break the block into flakes and spread it around plants as a living mulch layer. Cover lightly with wood chips or straw to keep it moist and active.
We’re thrilled to discover that spent mycelium substrate blocks don’t mark the end of the mushroom cycle at all—they mark a new beginning. Used as living mulch, they improve soil health, support garden biodiversity, and keep producing mushrooms throughout the growing season, often right up until the end of October. Oyster mushrooms—especially blue and phoenix varieties—are perfect for this, thanks to their broad fruiting temperature range.
Myco-Mulch: turning “waste” into abundance, one block at a time.
Carrot Cache is proud to support the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario (EFAO) in recognizing innovative ecological farmers. Since 1979, EFAO has been empowering farmers through education, research, and community-building to create resilient farms and share knowledge. EFAO’s mission aligns with Carrot Cache’s vision for a sustainable and just regional food system.
Read more about the other contestants by checking EFAO’s blog post at https://efao.ca/the-2025-carrot-cache-innovation-prize/
