UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.,– Spring is coming! For everyone eager to work with living, growing things, the Student Farm has two upcoming workshops that offer attendees an opportunity to get their hands in the dirt: Build-Your-Own Worm Compost System and Shiitake Mushroom Logs.

Learn how to raise worms and reduce your personal food waste at the Vermicompost Workshop on Saturday, April 7 from 1- 3p.m. on the Student Farm. This hands-on workshop will teach participants how to build a simple worm bin and feed your worms. The hungry worms that live inside this system can eat their body weight each day in food scraps and other compostable waste! The system is designed to be used indoors at home or your apartment. Bonus: the compost produced by the worms is excellent fertilizer for houseplants! Also great for people who would like to grow their own fishing bait.

Are you interested in learning about shiitake mushrooms and mushroom growing? Blooms and Shrooms Club will host a Shiitake Log Workshop on Wednesday, April 11 from 6-8 p.m. at the Mushroom Research Center on Penn State’s campus. This workshop will cover the basics of shiitake mushroom log inoculation and the process of achieving successful mushroom fruiting. All proceeds from this event will benefit the Blooms and Shrooms Club.

Registration for both workshops is limited- register today! When you register, you can choose to attend for free and help build worm compost systems or shiitake logs for the Student Farm, or for only $15 you can build your own worm compost system or shiitake mushroom log to take home. Payment instructions will be sent by email upon registration.

For more information about these workshops, contact Student Farm intern Olivia Hort at oxh5018@psu.edu.