Farming with Fungi is a research, demonstration, and production project that seeks to develop and test a horticultural approach centred on the deliberate cultivation of beneficial soil–fungal relationships. The project focuses in particular on Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF), a group of soil fungi that form mutualistic symbioses with the vast majority of crop plants and play a critical role in nutrient cycling, soil structure, and plant resilience.
The central aim of the project is to model, research, and refine a form of horticulture that prioritises the proliferation and long-term co‑adaptation of AMF with specific crop plants. By designing growing systems that minimise soil disturbance, maintain continuous living roots, and reduce reliance on external inputs, the project explores whether enhanced fungal–plant partnerships can deliver agronomic, ecological, and economic benefits at a market‑garden scale.
AMF, members of the phylum Glomeromycota, penetrate the root cells of host plants and exchange nutrients for plant‑derived carbohydrates. Plants may allocate up to 30% of their photosynthetically fixed carbon to these fungal partners. In return, AMF extend the effective absorptive surface area of the plant far beyond that of root hairs alone, enabling improved access to soil‑bound nutrients such as phosphorus, nitrogen, zinc, and copper, as well as increased access to water. This relationship can substantially influence plant growth, nutrient density, drought tolerance, and overall crop performance.
Emerging research also indicates that different AMF species can influence plant behaviour in distinct ways, affecting traits such as flavour, yield, morphology, and interactions with pollinators. These findings suggest that horticultural systems which allow stable associations between crops and fungal communities to develop over time may express characteristics not typically captured in conventional, highly disturbed production systems.
In response to this, Farming with Fungi draws on and critically adapts practices from across the organic and agroecological spectrum, including no‑dig or no‑till horticulture, regenerative and natural farming approaches, and seed‑centred systems of crop management. Particular attention is given to methods that reduce soil disturbance, avoid routine application of animal manures, and emphasise permanent or semi‑permanent cropping arrangements.
One influence explored within the project is the Shumei Natural Agriculture approach, which suggestd that excessive tillage, frequent crop rotation, and the regular application of manures can disrupt soil metabolic processes over time. Shumei‑inspired systems instead favour permanent succession schemes, polycultures of complementary plants, minimal soil disturbance, manure‑free fertility strategies, and conscientious seed saving. Farming with Fungi does not replicate any single model wholesale, but uses these approaches as comparative frameworks within a structured experimental design.
The project is based at the National Botanic Garden of Wales, where a market garden has been established to test these ideas under real production conditions. The site combines replicated trial blocks, a rotational control area, protected cropping, and integrated mushroom cultivation. A proportion of the growing area is managed under permanent succession schemes, while a separate block follows a conventional multi‑year crop rotation, allowing direct comparison of soil condition, crop performance, and biological indicators over time.
Alongside vegetable production, the project integrates multiple mushroom cropping systems designed to complement horticultural enterprises. Indoor grow rooms are used to demonstrate intensive mushroom production using reusable containers, while outdoor and in‑bed mushroom cultures are trialled as living mulches and biomass recyclers within cropping systems. These fungal integrations are intended both as productive enterprises in their own right and as functional components of soil and nutrient management.
Environmental monitoring forms a core part of the project’s activity. Regular soil testing tracks changes in soil carbon, microbial activity, nutrient availability, and water retention. Additional measurements, including carbon dioxide levels in protected cropping environments, are used to assess how fungal production systems and soil‑focused management influence plant growth conditions.
The project is designed to be economically grounded as well as experimentally rigorous. The aim is for the market garden to sell directly to the National Botanic Garden of Wales café, with future plans to explore additional direct‑to‑consumer routes such as small CSA schemes and local direct‑sale markets. THis has included trialling a “REKO-Ring” scheme and NBGW and LLandovery. These outlets ensure that crop choices reflect both research relevance and practical market demand.
Farming with Fungi also operates in parallel with horticultural activity at Coed Talylan, where similar soil‑centred practices are applied across multiple, spatially separated growing areas. This arrangement supports extensive seed saving and allows further observation of crop and soil behaviour under comparable management across different sites.
Together, these activities aim to demonstrate whether a horticultural system explicitly designed to support fungal–plant co‑adaptation can reduce external inputs, increase system resilience, enhance soil carbon storage, and maintain economic viability. Subsequent sections of this project documentation provide detailed descriptions of the site layout, cropping plans, soil management strategies, and monitoring framework used to pursue these objectives.
*For AMF and crop interatcions see: Orell (2019) strawberries; plant pollinator interactions Davis et al (2019); basil Copetta et al(2006); Tomoates Copetta et al (2011), Rouphael et al (2015); mint Gupta et al (2002); lettuce Baslam et al (2011) Artichokes Ceccarelli et al (2010); St John’s wort and echinacea Rouphael et al (2015); bread Torri et al (2013)