Our Vision for the Community

Building More Than Hardware

The Void Grows is not just a product. It is a community of growers, builders, and mycology enthusiasts who believe that mushroom cultivation should be accessible to everyone. The hardware is the foundation, but the community is what makes it thrive.

The Kind of Community We Want

We are building a space that is:

Inclusive -- Whether you have never grown a mushroom or you have been cultivating for decades, you belong here. Questions are welcome. There are no "dumb" questions about mushroom growing. Everyone started somewhere.

Knowledge-sharing -- The best growing tips come from experience, and no single person has all the answers. We want a community where a first-time grower in an apartment shares their setup alongside an experienced mycologist running a small farm.

Supportive -- Growing mushrooms involves trial and error. Contamination happens. Flushes fail. When it does, the community is there to help troubleshoot, encourage, and share what they have learned from their own setbacks.

Open -- Just like our hardware, our community knowledge is open. Grow journals, species profiles, environmental data, and build modifications are all shared freely.

Where to Connect

We are building community across multiple channels, each serving a different purpose:

Discord -- For real-time chat, grow check-ins, build troubleshooting, and general conversation. This is the most active and immediate way to connect with other Void growers. Channels are organized by species, build questions, firmware development, and off-topic hangouts.

Reddit -- For long-form discussion, detailed grow journals, and reaching the broader mushroom cultivation community. Our subreddit is a place for in-depth posts that deserve more than a chat message.

GitHub -- For technical contributions to the firmware, hardware designs, and documentation. If you find a bug, want to add a feature, or have improved a design file, GitHub is where those contributions live.

Builder Gallery

One of the features we are most excited about is the builder gallery. When you build a Void -- whether from our kits or entirely from the open-source files -- we want to see it.

Share photos of your build, your setup, your first harvest. Tell us what you modified, what you learned, what you would do differently. The best submissions will be featured on the website and in our newsletter.

This is not about perfection. A first build with visible layer lines and hand-soldered wires is just as worth celebrating as a polished production unit. What matters is that you built it.

What is Coming

We have big plans for community features:

• Monthly grow-alongs -- Everyone starts the same species on the same date. Share progress photos, compare results, troubleshoot together throughout the growing cycle.
• Species challenges -- Push your skills with a community-selected advanced species each quarter. Bonus points for creative substrate experiments.
• Community-submitted designs -- Modified dome panels, custom sensor mounts, alternative base designs. The community designs it, we help validate it, and it becomes part of the open-source library.
• Local meetups -- As the community grows, we want to facilitate local gatherings. Swap substrate blocks, share harvests, and connect with growers in your area.

Get Involved Today

You do not need to own a Void to be part of this community. Here is how to get started:

• Join the conversation and connect with other growers on our community page
• Share your first grow -- even if it is a simple shotgun fruiting chamber, we want to hear about it
• Contribute to the firmware or hardware designs on GitHub
• Take the species quiz and share your result
• Spread the word -- tell a friend who might be curious about growing mushrooms

The mycelium network works because every node strengthens the whole. That is exactly how we think about this community. Every grower who joins, every build photo shared, every question asked and answered makes the network stronger for everyone.

Welcome to The Void Grows. We are glad you are here.

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Visit our community page to find all the ways to connect.