Scientists grew oyster mushrooms on different types of knitted fabrics to develop a new vertical farming method for growing food in small spaces. They found that coating the fabric with nutrient agar (a gel-like substance) was essential for mushroom growth, and surprisingly, the mushrooms grew equally well on both natural fabrics like cotton and synthetic fabrics like acrylic. The dried mushroom-fabric combinations became stiff and rigid, suggesting potential use in creating sustainable, bio-based materials for various applications.