About us

Basil’s Fungi Farm is a sustainably run mushroom farm based in the centre of Hastings.

Basil’s was originally going to be called Spare Room Mushrooms… Robbie, at 19, started growing mushrooms in the spare room of the family home. This wouldn’t have been too bad, but spare room was on the third floor, with the grow tent blocking the door, so he had to wrestle the surprisingly heavy fruiting blocks (which were sterilised in the garden…) over the top of it. He decided, much to his sister’s dismay, to mix the wet sawdust in the brand new bath. He loved it though, all the more for how absurd it was. Unsurprisingly, he quickly outgrew the spare room, and, through his connections in the cheffing world, found a space in The Yard. Although he virtually lives there, when not found in the grow room or the lab he’s either tinkering with Derrick, his beloved old Volkswagen van, cycling with friends, or hanging out with his cat, (Basil’s Fungi Farm is actually named after a beloved pet).

Robbie is helped out by Howie, who he met through a serendipitous encounter in a pub, Howie saw Robbie reading ‘Growing Gourmet and Medical Mushrooms’ and a shared interest was realised. A year later they met again and Howie came to work on the farm. It’s a symbiotic relationship.

Howie’s passion for mushrooms has helped him overcome his struggles with mental health, he’s a keen advocate of the medicinal properties of mushrooms and the importance of nature in wellness. His keen eye and precise approach is perfectly suited to lab work and tending the mushrooms. When not obsessing over mushrooms (he’s a self confessed mycophile) he enjoys researching folklore, foraging, drawing, making costumes and other creative endeavours. Howie’s multi disciplinary artwork has been exhibited locally. Always one for a chat, especially about mushrooms, be sure to stop and say hi if you see him.

We mainly grow Lion's Mane and Oyster mushrooms, changing the variety to match the season; growing White, Pink, Blue, Golden, Brown and King oysters throughout the year. We also grow a selection of other unique species, such as Pioppino, Coral tooth and Speckled Chestnuts, to name a few.

A new addition to the farm is bigger lab space. This means we can work in collaboration with local foragers to cultivate native species, sampled from the wild. This preserves local biodiversity and prevents native mushrooms being lost, it also means we get to work with exciting new mushrooms that have never been grown before. We've had great success with our East Sussex blue oyster, getting it out to many restaurants and shops.

All of our mushrooms are grown indoors using sustainable techniques. Our mushrooms are grown on hardwood sawdust from local sawmills and joineries, the sawdust is sterilised before being mixed with different mycelium cultures and left to incubate for a couple of weeks. If all goes to plan, the fruiting blocks are taken to the grow room, where the mushrooms are given the perfect conditions to grow. Two weeks later they’re ready to harvest. We have new batches of mushrooms ready every day, meaning you only get them fresh. 

Any spare or slightly imperfect (not that we’re fussy or anything…) mushrooms are given to food banks. Once the mushrooms have been harvested, their growing medium makes for a wonderful mycelium packed compost, which we give to local charities and community projects, as well as keen local gardeners. We do this to make our growing process as circular as we can, with nothing being wasted or thrown away, and it's nice to be involved with such great organisations.

We don’t only sell mushrooms, we sell Grow kits too, so you can Grow your own mushrooms at home. Grow kits make the perfect present, either for yourself or another. With little effort, you can experience the wonder of growing mushrooms in your own home. You can learn more about our Grow kits HERE. 

You can buy our mushrooms direct from us or in selected shops across East Sussex and Kent (you can see which shops stock us HERE). We don’t only supply individuals, but chefs, restaurants and specialist food distributors too. We’re always happy to work with new, similarly minded, people and have collaborated to supply exclusive cultivars in the past. Drop us a message HERE to speak to us about wholesale supply.