Qwerkity Chestnut Mushroom Growing Kit review

I grow various things in my garden and this year everything that has come out of my greenhouse has been grown from seed. It's a very satisfying feeling to be able to pick and eat your own produce. Despite being particularly fond of mushrooms they are something I have never attempted to have a go at growing myself. Of course mushrooms are a type of fungus so it's not just a case of going out and buying a packet of seeds. With this in mind I was rather pleased to be able to give the Qwerkity Chestnut Mushroom Growing Kit a try.

Qwerkity is an online retailer of unusual gifts with a whole section devoted to food and drink present ideas. The kit arrives complete in a cardboard box which acts as the spawning box. Inside there is protective plastic covering, mushroom spawn and a couple of bags of compost. All the instructions are on the side of the box so you needn't worry about losing them. This is important as the growing process is several stages and takes a few weeks.

You start off by laying out the mushroom spawn in the bottom of the cardboard box. It says to spray the spawn with a mist sprayer in order not to over water it. I don't have a mist sprayer so instead I simply flicked water over it. You then cover it with the box lid and leave in a warm place for a couple of days. I put it on my window sill. After two days you add the compost, pop the lid back on and put it in a cool, dark place. This was the trickiest part for me but I did find a suitable and safe area. Every couple of days you need to spray (or in my case flick with water). After several days a white, fluffy mould starts to develop – remember mushrooms are a fungus. This is all part of the growing process and after that the little mushrooms start to appear. Once the mushrooms get to about 4cm wide you can start to pick them.

I have to admit I wasn't the most diligent when it came to checking the mushrooms but yet I've still managed to grow a batch. After all of these have grown there is more compost in order to grow another batch. Once you have finished growing the compost and spawn can be put in a compost bin while the cardboard box is recyclable. Only the plastic bag will need to be put in general waste.

The Chestnut Mushroom Growing Kit currently retails at £8.99. I think this would be an excellent gift for all ages. For children it would help teach where food come from plus the art of gardening patience! There is a genuine sense of wonderment when you first see the mushrooms growing. For people without the outdoors space to grow plants this is a very compact item with all the necessary items contained in it. Of course there's also people like me who just like to grow whatever they can.

I was sent the kit for review purposes. All photographs and opinions are my own.