Our earlier work traces the development of mycelium manufacturing, from a living binder for plant particles to materials that could be grown, handled, and used in the world.
Packaging grown to shape.
Mycelium grows through agricultural byproducts and binds them into protective packaging. We grow the material in a mold shaped for the product it needs to protect. In these composites, the plant particles and the fungal network work together. The feedstock and the way the material grows influence the properties of the finished part. A useful package also needs the right geometry for the object it protects. Read the original grown materials patent application.
Mushroom® Packaging was our first commercial product. We later licensed the technology to other producers.
Our first use for mycelium was insulation.
In 2007, Eben Bayer and Gavin McIntyre began growing insulation from agricultural byproducts bound with mycelium. Insulation made the original question tangible: could a living organism bind plant particles into a useful building material? Working on that problem connected the biology to practical questions of shape, drying, handling, and performance.
That work led to experiments with panels, blocks, and other building materials.
Grow your own mycelium materials
Grow.bio offers growing guides and a limited selection of mycelium materials. Check the shop for current availability.
Grow.bio supplied kits and instructions to people experimenting with mycelium, from students to product designers.
We wanted more people to be able to work with the material themselves. Putting mycelium into the hands of designers, students, and makers lets people test forms and applications that a single development team would never think to try.
Putting mycelium into more hands lets people test forms and applications that a single team would never think to try.
Growing with mycelium
Grow.bio supplied materials for design projects, research, and teaching.