Another of Helmut's hobbies, albeit one a little closer related to plant breeding, is growing Shi-Take mushrooms.

Helmut shows Darwin PlantSpotters reporter Chris the impregnated wood construction he built to grow

Shi-Takes.

This fascinating process involved him building a bizarre construction from old stems of Oak & Birch which he first inoculated with dowel spawn.

It takes about 3 years to get results, but after that you can reap the benefits for about 10 years.