In the first Producer Spotlight of 2025 we are showcasing Marches Mushrooms!
Amie and Taylor started Marches Mushrooms during the pandemic, when their jobs were threatened by COVID restrictions. Amy was brought up foraging and cooking with her father who ran the restaurant “The Penny Bun” (the mushroom also known as the cep!) in Hay on Wye. He was the inspiration to start their new venture. After a mushroom cultivation course they set up their business in a disused dairy and grow mushrooms strains which require a low tech, consistent summer/autumn light, temperature and humidity.
The mushrooms grow on two mediums, a fine hardwood pulp, and hemp pulp sourced as a waste product from the 100% natural mattress company, Harrison and Spinks. The mediums are sterilized, inoculated with a liquid culture, and then incubated for between 7 days and 2 months, oyster mushrooms fruiting the quickest, shitake taking the longest. As we are discovering all the time, mushrooms are a fantastic source of vitamin D, minerals, protein and antioxidants. Amie is excited about the potential of the spent mushroom compost being a extremely potent inoculant for depleted soil, and is working with soil scientists to develop this as another product to sell along side her beautiful mushrooms. Find her at food markets in the Marches, and check out her mail order service Marches Mushrooms
Photos: Andy Hughes / @andyhphoto