Where is your farm?
Our Farm is situated midway between the two villages of Packington and Normanton Le Heath in North West Leicestershire.
How long have you been growing exotic mushrooms?
We are now in our 24th year.
Which varieties of Pauleys’ mushrooms are grown on your farm?
Here at Lowerfields Farm we grow: Grey and Yellow Oyster Mushrooms, Enoki and Shi-take.
How many generations of your family have been involved in Mushroom growing or farming?
My brother and I are 2nd generation mushroom growers. My Father started growing button mushrooms on a farm about 5 miles from here back in 1960.
What has changed over the years?
Back then Button Mushrooms were very much a delicacy with only a handful of mushroom farms in the country. Sadly today there are probably only a similar number of growers left in the industry as huge numbers have been forced out of business by cheaper, often subsidised, imports. The remaining farms are large operations mainly owned by foreign companies. They are highly efficient farms producing a product with a consistency of quality that could only be dreamed about 50 years ago!
Exotic Mushrooms are becoming more widely accepted now, but there is still an inbuilt fear in the UK consumer about eating them in case they are poisonous!
How much land approximately is used for growing your exotic mushrooms?
Our farm is based on an 18 acre site. We have over 60 temperature controlled growing rooms especially designed for the range of mushrooms that we produce.
How many exotic mushrooms do you produce each year?
We produce about 2 tonnes per day
The Growing Process
How are they grown? When are they harvested? How long do they take to grow?
The growing process for each species of mushroom is completely different and so too is the time taken to produce them. This can range from 20 days to 6 months. In short though all of the mushrooms we grow are wood destroying funghi which sets them apart from the button mushroom that grows naturally on the ground in fields.
We re-create miniature tree stumps or logs and inoculate them using the spores of the species we want to grow. We then allow the spore to germinate in favourable conditions and encourage the mycelium to colonise the logs.
When the time is right we modify the environmental conditions in the growing room and force the mycelium to fruit, producing a mushroom. One thing that is common to all of the mushrooms that we grow is that we do not use any chemicals, pesticides or fertilisers anywhere in the growing process on any of our mushrooms.
Is the growing process for exotic mushrooms different from the growing process for standard mushrooms?
Completely different. The only similarity between the two is the word “Mushroom”. After that they go in their own direction, not only with their growing conditions, but also their appearance, texture and above all, their flavours.
What affects the growing process?
Our growing logs are sterilised to enable the mycelium to thrive without competition from other moulds and bacteria. Hygiene on the farm is paramount as we are dealing with an invisible competitor’s, spores.
What are the ideal conditions for growing healthy exotic mushrooms?
Each mushroom has different requirements. Some require a temperature of less than 4 degrees others as high as 20 degrees.
What needs to be done to the mushrooms during the growing process? How are they maintained?
Every step of the process requires close attention to hygiene, temperature, humidity, light and ventilation. 24-hour monitoring and surveillance ensures a chance of success.
How are they picked?
All of our mushrooms are picked daily throughout the year by hand. They are then taken to our packhouse where we grade them and finally pack them to Pauleys’ requirements.
How do you know when they are ready to be picked?
This is simply down to experience. When we employ a new picker we need to spend time training them how to recognise the signs of a mature fruitbody for each species. It often takes several weeks before they can be left to work by themselves.
What do you look for in a good exotic mushroom? What are the signs of a healthy exotic mushrooms?
Colour, texture, shape and size typical of the species are all physical attributes that we look for when we are grading our mushrooms. We ensure that the product has a good shelf life that can be passed onto our customers.
What wildlife is present on the land?
In addition to the mushrooms we also run a herd of Pedigree Hereford Cattle and a flock of North Country Mule sheep. All of our spent logs are composted down and spread back onto the fields to ensure chemical and fertiliser free grazing for our livestock. Our farming policy is encouraging wildlife to return to our fields with an increase in the number of ground nesting birds.
Are you taking any steps to preserve / enhance the wildlife?
Our Farm is accredited to the LEAF marque which encourages biodiversity on the farm. For example, we have owl boxes scattered around the farm.
What happens to the mushrooms once they are picked?
Once the mushrooms are picked we chill them down immediately to remove the “Field Heat” to ensure they remain fresh. They are packed and despatched within 24 hours. We are picking and packing mushrooms everyday throughout the year.
What are the farms / farm called?
The main Mushroom farm is called Lowerfields Farm, the cattle and sheep are reared at Yew Tree Farm and Manor Farm, both within a mile from Lowerfields.
What is your favourite way of eating exotic mushrooms?
People always ask if I eat mushrooms and the truth is that I eat them every day, but nobody believes me! Because we have such a range of mushrooms to choose from I can never get bored with them. In the summer time I eat a lot of Enoki Mushrooms which are simply fantastic sprinkled onto a salad or in sandwiches. In the winter we’ll have them in casseroles, soups or simply as an extra veg. They are so easy to cook that it is almost impossible to ruin a good mushroom through overcooking. My favourite mushroom is the Maitake which has a really meaty flavour, fried in a little olive oil with a pinch of salt and sprinkled on either a slice of toast or a Pedigree Normanton Hereford Sirloin Steak - simply heaven on a plate.
Do you have any interesting / unusual facts about exotic mushrooms?
Mushrooms have been used in Chinese medicines for hundred of years. Much research has been, and still is being, carried out on the medicinal properties of several different mushroom species.
