Self-supporting Composite Material Made With Mycelia Cells and Method of Making Same

A method of making a composition for making a self-supporting composite material comprising the steps of

• obtaining an inoculum including a preselected fungus in one of a sexual and asexual state,
• obtaining at least one bulking particle,
• obtaining at least one nutrient source, and
• combining the inoculum, bulking particle and nutrient source into a growth media.

A method of making a self-supporting composite material comprising the steps of

• obtaining an inoculum including a preselected fungus in one of a sexual and asexual state, a plurality of bulking particles and at least one nutrient source;
• combining the inoculum, bulking particles and at least one nutrient source into a growth media;
• applying the growth media to an enclosure;
• allowing the fungus to grow mycelia through the growth media to bond the bulking particles together to form a composite while and consuming the nutrient source;
• and
• removing the composite from the enclosure and rendering the composite biologically inert.

A method of making a panel comprising the steps of

• placing a combination of an inoculum including a preselected fungus and a mixture of a substrate of discrete particles and a nutrient material in a form of predetermined shape;
• allowing said fungus to digest said nutrient material in said mixture over a period sufficient to grow hyphae and to allow said hyphae to form a network of interconnected mycelia cells through and around said discrete particles thereby bonding said discrete particles together to form a self-supporting core of composite material;
• and
• bonding a board of veneer material to at least one side of said self-supporting core of composite material to form a panel.