It has been a sharp learning curve for Julie Western

[Hellenabc]

It has been a sharp learning curve for Julie Western- Normanton in cultivating oyster mushrooms in a shed in her backyard.

In the back corner shed of Julie Western- Normanton's property strange things are a-growing.

Alien edibles are blooming in this spotless space, which smells like deep bush and is warm, damp and light.

On this rainy day, a sunbeam from a north-facing window illuminates the delicate Shiitake Mushrooms, sprouting from bags of straw.

"They are very beautiful," Julie says.

In the light, the ready-to-pick fungi release a fine mist of spores into the air. "They are very fast and invasive. Some people don't grow them in bags, but I like to know where they are," she says.

"The biggest thing about this is you have to have a clean shed, otherwise you could end up with other fungi growing that's not edible. I don't want mould getting into these bags. I don't want a problem with pests because I don't want to have to spray."

With help from husband Michael and some good foundation learning, Julie's fungi shed is chemical-free and she's determined to keep it that way.

"They are quite temperamental," she says of the mushrooms. "It's quite lucky I have a handy husband because he has put in a ventilation system through a filter system so no bugs get in." Last year, the mother of three studied for her Certificates in Organic Horticulture, levels 3 and 4, at Witt, with permaculture guru Dee Turner.

Although they didn't touch on mushrooms, they learnt about growing things organically and how it can be easy and cheaper than using chemicals. "We covered pest control and that does come into play with what I'm doing now. I can look for the cycle of pests so I don't have to spray."

The idea of growing oyster mushrooms came from finding a gap in the market and filling it. She asked the people who run the Taranaki Farmers' Market in New Plymouth each Sunday what they needed. "I think the last thing we need here in New Plymouth is a seasonal glut of fruit or vegetables."

They gave her a list of suggestions, she looked at what she could realistically achieve on her family's Fitzroy property and and the mushroom idea began to germinate. She researched fungi on the internet, and decided upon Pleurotus ostreatus, which don't need dirt to thrive.

And so, her small business, mmm.mushrooms, was born in December last year.

Growing mushrooms suits Julie's nurturing personality. "I'm quite a patient and tolerant person. They are not a fast turn- around thing."

There have been challenges on the way and these have been to do with extremes in temperature. At the end of January, when the temperatures skyrocketed, Julie learnt how fast mushrooms can grow.

"I lost quite a significant amount. They went from a 20-cent piece to over-size in three hours," she says. "It got up to 42 degrees Celsius in that shed."

The mushrooms were a sorry sight. They had grown, bloomed, then curled gone wrinkly and slimy.

A few weeks back, when the weather cooled down the fungi stopped growing.

"That's why I wasn't at the Farmer's Market for a few weeks," she says.

The handy husband and a heater on a timer have fixed that problem.

At the moment she's picking twice a day, helped by wet weather because it needs to be humid in the shed, which is why the concrete floor is always kept wet. That helps insulate the building, to prevent the temperature dropping too low.

There are facts and figures surrounding this process, but Julie doesn't want to give too much away. After all, this is her livelihood.