Sheena Patterson of Oxford Garden Design gets prepared to grow some gourmet fare

As we have larger premises, we have more space to try some exciting things, and the next thing on our agenda is to grow some gourmet mushrooms. As fungi, mushrooms are in a kingdom all their own and very different to plants and animals. They don’t even need sunlight and live on dead organic matter. OK, they are parasites – but they are OK parasites. Many operate on a microscopic chemical bargain with plants in a ‘you scratch my back’ arrangement. This entails the mushroom feeding from a tree, but in turn the tree receiving nutrients – such as nitrogen and phosphorous – from the mushroom.

The mushroom, is simply the fruiting body of the much larger network of threads under the ground – known as mycelium. Some mycelial threads (including that of the innocent Oyster mushroom) deliberately ensnare worms to devour. Even more sinister, others manage somehow to reprogram (yes!) the brains of animals so that they will help them spread their spores. Less enchanting is the mycelium spread of fairy-rings – one of the scourges of the lawn-proud British. The largest known fairy-ring in France, is 600m in diameter and thought to be more than 700 years old.

Anyway, how to grow crop after crop of delicious gourmet mushrooms? The Shiitake, for example, is a great one to grow at home because of its excellent taste and high medicinal value.

Outdoors, they are most successful in soils rich in organic matter and can be grown in neglected lawns and around compost heaps. Lift 25cm square pieces of turf to a depth of 4cm, set about 60cm apart. Loosen the soil underneath adding well-rotted manure or garden compost (no chemical fertilisers). Spread the mushroom spawn thinly over the soil surface and lightly mix to 1cm deep. Replace the turf squares firmly and keep moist though not waterlogged.

Or you can grow mushrooms on logs. This takes a longer but you will be rewarded with years of mushroom production. First buy some spore plugs – easily found online. Then get a fresh log of wood roughly 50cm in length and 15-20cm in diameter and drill it all over with holes until thoroughly spotty. Fill the holes with the plugs and seal with melted beeswax. Keep the log in a damp place in your garden away from sunlight, watering occasionally. After six months of warm weather the mycelium should be running throughout the log. Now ‘plant’ the log in a shady, damp spot with a third of it buried to allow the mycelium to draw water from the ground.

Indoors mushrooms will grow in beds and boxes kept in cellars, sheds, or garden frames. Tightly pack with prepared compost and scatter the spawn across the surface, mixing it to 5-7cm deep before covering with damp newspaper.

After three weeks, the mycelium will look like white threads. Remove the newspaper and cover the compost with a 2.5cm layer mixed from 50 per cent garden soil, 50 per cent peat and a few handfuls of lime. Keep this moist but not wet for another 3-5 weeks.

Abracadabra! Your own crop of mushrooms. Delicious, virtually fat and calorie free.