Horowhenua StarNutritious food grown out of waste, that’s how Ōhau Gourmet Mushroom growers Jude Horril and Brent Williams describe their products.
Jude Horrill and Brent Williams, who have reinvented life and careers in Ōhau growing gourmet mushrooms.
Photo Janine Baalbergen
Firmly committed to permaculture, they recycle everything they use, even the plastic bags in which they grow their mushrooms.
Mushrooms are grown on rotting trees with the help of agricultural waste products, such as pine and soy hulls. This is mixed in a bag with water to which mushroom culture is added.
Two weeks later mushrooms start to grow out of the holes in the bag, and five days after that they’re ready for harvest.
“It’s amazing you can produce highly nutritious food from waste,” Brent says. “Mushrooms are a great replacement for meat.”
Once the mushrooms have finished growing, the contents of the bags are mixed with coffee grounds and turned into compost. Old polystyrene is used as insulation around the barn.
Fresh home from corporate careers overseas, Jude and Brent, who had known each other for a decade by then, embarked on a small business growing gourmet mushrooms in the dunes outside Ōhau.
“I had spent 31 years abroad and had had enough of corporate life and wondered what to do next,” Jude says. “I didn’t think Australia was right for me as a retirement place, so we came home and considered a small business concept.”
As business people they were tuned into what might work and what might be hard. They opted for something few others did then: grow gourmet mushrooms, specifically shiitake and oyster mushrooms.
At the time, in 2018, there were only three oyster mushroom growers in the country. Now there are 20, so there’s more competition.
“We have to keep reinventing ourselves and adding new products to our line,” Jude says.
They landed in Paraparaumu at first, in Lindale Village, but soon found their 3ha property on Muhunoa West Road in Ōhau. Everything was on hand – a house and barn, wetlands and an orchard. They bought from a 91-year-old couple who had developed the site over 15 years.
It was a big lifestyle shift for Jude and Brent, but they say they have the freedom to live differently, with a business that embraces human, social and environmental values using the permaculture approach to the business.
They sell mushroom growing kits online, attend weekend markets and go to special events around the lower North Island.
When they moved to Ōhau, they had already noticed a change towards a more plant-based
diet. Ever ready to diversify, they now also produce black garlic, pickled oyster mushrooms, fermented yacon and quince, and oyster mushroom risotto with black garlic.
While they primarily sell directly to customers, their products are available at Benniks in Ōhau.
For more about Ōhau Gourmet Mushrooms, see mycobio.co.nz
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