We’ve started a mushroom garden!
Fungi are a vital part of our natural systems, though as a kingdom they have historically been overlooked. Here in the UK, we benefit from 15,000 different species of fungus living on our land, sea, and even in our own bodies!
Fungi are responsible for breaking down organic matter into biomass, natural compounds and organic acids. They help release vital nutrients from other organisms, which become bioavailable for plants and animals to thrive upon. Mushrooms and fungi help to maintain the nutritional profile of soils, ensuring the garden remains healthy and productive across the seasons.
Fungi also grow in all shapes, sizes and colours! You might be most familiar with a standard white button mushroom found in the supermarket, or perhaps the archetypal red toadstool (known as a Fly Agaric) that can be found in UK woodland every October, but here in the UK we produce mushrooms in just about every colour and configuration you can think of. From the humble Oyster Mushroom to the rich red Beefsteak (yes, it really looks like steak and bleeds when cut), the bright purple Amethyst Deceiver and beyond! We think this is something worth celebrating, so we have inoculated our log tipi with 4 different species of British mushrooms.
We are growing: Enoki, Turkey Tail, Reishi and Chicken of the Woods.
These will take approximately 2 years to start growing, while the spawn run takes hold inside the decaying wood. But once they are in their full flow, they should produce mushrooms for many years to come!
Hopefully we will be developing this little corner of the garden over the course of the year, so if you’re a fun-guy or fun-gal… watch this space!