Mushroom Kits - Farm Gate Friday

The Mushroom Order Book is OPEN Black Oyster & Lion’s Mane are back — in limited numbers. Despatching week beginning 14th September. This is exactly what we had in mind when we came up with Farmgate Friday. Something genuinely good becomes available. We buy/make/grow a batch. You buy it direct. Everyone gets a better deal. And when it’s gone, it’s gone. No pretending we have an endless supply. No stretching an offer for another week because marketing says we should. That’s farming. And this week it’s FUNGI. 🍄 Fungi are much cleverer than they look... We spend an awful lot of time at Wiggly Wigglers talking about worms, microbes, compost and soil. And the more we learn, the more we realise just how important fungi are in the whole system. The mushroom you eat is really only the fruit. The main event is the mycelium — the extraordinary network of fine fungal threads growing through the block. In nature, fungi are some of our great recyclers. They produce enzymes that help break down tough plant materials including cellulose and lignin — the woody stuff that is much harder to decompose. And in soil, fungal networks are part of the enormous underground biological system that cycles nutrients and helps build healthy soil structure. So growing one of these kits is actually a rather brilliant little window into what is happening on a much bigger scale outside. Except you get to fry the end result in butter. Which is a definite bonus. 🖤 BLACK OYSTER — the easy one Fast, dramatic and forgiving. They produce wonderful dark clusters and have a proper savoury, meaty flavour. Fry them in butter, chuck them into noodles, pasta or risotto, roast them or pile them onto toast. If you've never grown mushrooms before, start here. 🦁 LION’S MANE — the bonkers one There really isn't much else that looks like Lion’s Mane. It appears as a great shaggy white pom-pom and has a firm texture and delicate flavour often compared with seafood. Slice it, fry it in butter until golden and eat it straight from the pan. And yes — it really does grow like that. From block to mushroom in DAYS This is the bit that never gets boring. The hard work has already happened inside the block. The mycelium has colonised its growing medium and is waiting for the right conditions to fruit. You make the opening. Mist it. Keep it somewhere light but out of direct sunshine. Then watch. Usually within around 7–14 days, things start happening. And they can happen remarkably quickly. Yesterday: tiny mushroom. Today: WOWZERS!, LOOK AT THAT. Harvest it, cook it and then keep looking after the block because you can usually get 2–3 flushes. Fresh mushrooms grown a few feet from the frying pan. You can't get much more local than that. 🌱 AND WHEN IT'S FINISHED? Don't throw it in the bin. This is where the Wiggly bit really kicks in. The spent block still contains organic matter and fungal material. Break it up and add it to your: 🪱 Wormery ♻️ Compost heap 🌱 Garden beds 🌼 Mulch Now we've gone from: fungi → food → compost → soil Which is much more interesting than: buy → eat → bin.