Home gardeners share method to keep food costs down by growing common grocery product at home: 'Coolest thing I've seen all day'

A pair of TikTok influencers took to the platform to share their genius hack for growing tons of mushrooms. 

The scoop

TikTokers Jordan and Silvan (@homegrown_handgathered) broke down their trick to growing "all the mushrooms we eat in a year." 

@homegrown_handgathered How we grow mushrooms in our backyard garden! #growyourownfood #urbanhomestead #homegrownfood #offgridliving ♬ original sound - Jordan and Silvan

They explain that mushrooms are the best thing they started growing in their garden, in part because "they utilize the shady spaces under trees where we can't grow annual plants." 

First, they take logs they've collected from their yard and from the city and cut them into chunks roughly 2 feet long. Then, they drill holes all over the logs and fill them with a mixture of sawdust and mycelium spores. Lastly, they coat the holes with beeswax to help prevent them from drying out, and to give the mycelium a chance to digest the logs. 

They stack the logs in a shady, moist area, and in six months to a year, they start producing shiitake mushrooms. 

How it's helping

Growing your own food is a great way to help reduce food waste and protect the environment. Food waste is a massive problem in the United States and abroad, with one-third of the food produced in the U.S. — or 133 billion pounds — being thrown away each year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

If that wasn't bad enough, food waste produces 170 million metric tons (over 187 million tons) of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, or the same as 42 coal-burning power plants running 24/7, all year long. It also produces significant amounts of methane, which massively contributes to our warming planet.

By growing what you need, you're helping to keep food out of landfills and saving yourself significant amounts of money each year. 

What everyone's saying

Commenters on the TikTok video loved the idea. 

"Hey so this is actually genius," one said. 

What is the biggest reason you don't grow food at home? Not enough time Not enough space It seems too hard I have a garden already Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"That's amazing!" another added. 

"Coolest thing I've seen all day!" a third said.

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