Te Mata Mushrooms: Havelock North site back in action after smell complaints caused closure

Te Mata Mushrooms has returned, growing new types of mushrooms. Photo / Warren Buckland

By Gianina Schwanecke of RNZ

A Hawke’s Bay mushroom business has returned, having made the switch to new types of fungi.

Complaints from nearby residents about the smell from compost used for growing white button and portobello mushrooms saw Te Mata Mushrooms close its Havelock North facility in 2022.

General manager Kallam McNabb worked at the company for 10 years before it closed, but he is bringing it back - albeit with different types of mushrooms.

“Basically we had a lot of issues with smell with our compost so we had to stop that,” he said.

“We’re now doing wood-loving species.”

This includes pink and grey oyster mushrooms, and pekepeke-kiore - a native cousin of the lion’s mane mushroom, which are grown in existing grow rooms at the Havelock North site.

They are also trialling growing enoki and shitake mushrooms.

The different growing requirements have meant a change in operations, McNabb said.

“It’s a big shift. No more big wooden trays we’re growing on.

“I do a supplement of sawdust blend in a big ribbon blender, then we bag them up and sterilise them and then we add our spore and innoculate.

“When that’s ready they go into the grow room from there.”

He said they were still working to “dial in our growing rooms” to suit the New Zealand native mushroom but everything else was growing well.

Earlier this month, he opened the on-site store for the first time, though with a still “limited supply” and just on Thursdays and Fridays between 3pm and 5.30pm.

McNabb hoped to be able to supply farmers’ markets and supermarkets in the near future.

- RNZ