Ian Campbell inspecting some of the superb results from Amycel Delta.

"We pride ourselves in growing a good quality mushroom and I thought we were until we began using Amycel Delta!" Those were the words spoken by Ian Campbell, mushroom grower of Kilkeel Co Down. Ian and his father Willie John have been growing mushrooms for 13 years. Everything about the Campbells displays the pride that they show in their work. Their mushroom unit is impeccably tidy! Campbell’s mushrooms are noted for being among the best delivered to Mourne Mushrooms.

Ian and Willie John talk with enthusiasm about how good their last crop of mushrooms was and they display a great desire to do the job right. Quite simply it is in their nature to be perfectionists, a characteristic that is well suited to mushroom growing. Oliver McCann (Tandragee) who supplies all of the Campbell’s compost puts it like this: ‘The Campbells are meticulous growers who pay attention to detail. They also pay a lot of attention to outside ambient temperatures’.

The following is a short fact file about how the Campbell’s grow their mushrooms.

Fact file on Ian and Willie John's mushroom growing.

Spawn: Amycel Delta.

Compost: Tandragee phase 2.

Casing: Roy Irwin.

Spawn-run: 17-21 days. Never allow compost temperatures higher than 26 C.

Case run: Uses a very heavy casing with sugar beet lime. Breaks after 7-8 days. Adds approx 200 gallons depending on casing wetness. Starts watering on day 3.

Breaking: Brings compost down to 20-21 C over 4 days. Keeps RH at 95% initially and then drops to 90% for pinning.

Cropping Yields 3000 lbs + on first flush. Waters on heat surge (adding approx 200 gallons). Gets similar yield off 2nd flush and adds 200 gallons when flush is cleared. Generally yields 1500 to 2000lbs from the 3rd flush. One hundred gallons is applied when mushrooms are pea size.

Yield and Quality: The Campbell’s yield 550 to 600lbs per tonne while picking all pre-packs. Their quality is virtually all premiums.