Best mushroom growing kits to shop in the UK, tried and tested

Fast-growing and fairytale-like, mushrooms don’t needfully entreaty to everyone. Many subordinate fungi with skull-and-crossbones-adorned greenish solid bottles owed to the fabled stories of ‘ole, avoiding the magical organisms earlier ever giving them a chance.

Yet, the satellite of mushrooms is undergoing a veritable renaissance, with taxon of each shapes, textures, colours and sizes re-emerging arsenic fashionable nutritional and wellness-boosting foods.

From creating tonics with dried fungi and gulping down litres of Chaga beverage to popping supplements which committedness to harness the ‘adaptogenic’ powerfulness of mushrooms, wellness communities crossed the globe person hopped onto the mushroom bandwagon – extolling the committedness that mushrooms person inherently medicinal and healing properties.

It’s existent that fungi person been utilized successful accepted Chinese medicine implicit the centuries, and that products derived from Turkey Tail mushrooms person been developed for adjunct cancer treatment successful Japan. However, it’s dangerously erroneous to marketplace mushroom products which haven’t undergone rigorous objective trials arsenic having near-mystical healing powers, oregon the quality to boost your mood, trim accent and wide your mind.

Mushrooms are, however, incredibly delicious and wonderfully nutritious. They are filled to the brim with macromolecule and are precise debased successful sodium. Plus, the benefits of having a well-rounded fare person been clinically proven clip and clip again. Rather than forking retired a tiny luck for people foraged shrooms and high-end supplement subscriptions, the champion mode to devour mushrooms is by increasing them yourself.

We spoke to Tracey Rucklidge from West Sussex-based Merryhill Mushrooms for immoderate penetration connected home-grown mushrooms utilizing substrate kits.

At-home mushroom turn kits are “a elemental mode of increasing delicious caller mushrooms indoors, which are perfect for beginners, according to Rucklidge. Requiring small space, “kits travel with an inoculated substrate (usually wood shavings oregon straw) that is acceptable to effect with a small TLC, providing the freshest mushrooms you person ever tasted”.

For the wholly uninitiated the immense bulk of mushrooms we devour are wood-decaying fungi which turn with the assistance of what is usually a wood-based substrate. In the wild, this mightiness beryllium a log oregon a histrion – but for home-growing kits, it’s often a container of wood shavings. The inoculation of a substrate worldly simply consists of placing actively increasing mushroom civilization – besides known arsenic spores – onto the substrate.

“Keep your kit retired of nonstop sunlight,” says Rucklidge, “contrary to content mushrooms bash not request to beryllium kept successful the acheronian – daylight is ideal.” The Merryhill Mushrooms co-founder adds, “Do not implicit oregon nether water, support the kits astatine a controlled somesthesia betwixt 15 and 20 degrees, and bash not support the kit successful a greenhouse oregon airing cupboard. Any mushrooms that you prime should past beryllium stored successful the fridge successful a insubstantial bag.”

“The easiest mushrooms to turn astatine location are oyster mushrooms,” says the expert, further explaining however oyster mushrooms “come successful a assortment of colours, including a vibrant pinkish and beauteous yellow.”

According to Rucklidge, “Kits volition support cropping for 2 to 3 batches depending connected the variety, with gentle watering and the close conditions.” Most home-growing kits, including those from Merryhill Mushrooms, thin to travel with elaborate instructions connected however to guarantee consequent crops aft your archetypal growth".

Tips see twisting and mildly pulling distant mushrooms from the substrate erstwhile harvesting, truthful arsenic to not harm the mycelium – which is the vegetative assemblage of the mushroom.

“Each kit is unique,” says Rucklidge, “but the regularisation of thumb is that kits volition harvest until each the nutrients from the substrate person been utilized up.” This mightiness beryllium a longer oregon shorter play of time, depending connected however rapidly your archetypal fewer batches turn – which differs from taxon to species.

“Growing mushrooms astatine location volition springiness you superior flavour, clasp much nutrients, and supply the freshest mushrooms you person ever tasted which are wholly escaped from chemicals It is overmuch safer than foraging and is amusive and acquisition too. Children emotion them arsenic they turn truthful quickly, and they’ll delight successful watching them treble successful size overnight. They besides marque cleanable gifts for foodies and gardeners alike,” Rucklidge explains.

We’ve rounded up a enactment of the champion at-home mushroom turn kits connected the market. Keep scrolling to get growing.