The former Shoalhaven Anglican School student completed a science degree at the Australian National University, then spent a gap year working and travelling around the United Kingdom, before returning home to her parents’ Milton property and starting her own mushroom farm.

While working on organic farms in the UK, Marita discovered her passion for mushies, so decided to put her science skills to the test and began cultivating some funky fungi at home.

The annexe of her little caravan, that she calls her lab, is filled with agar plates where the mushrooms begin their lives before being moved to a black polytunnel where they grow in bags and buckets.

Marita completed a mushroom cultivation course in June last year and said she couldn’t wait to start growing her own organic crop.

She currently grows king oyster, phoenix oyster and white oyster varieties, but is keen to experiment with other edible species.

Marita’s dream is to establish her own specialty mushroom business, supplying local restaurants and farmers’ markets.

She said, while mushrooming was big in the UK and Europe, many Australian’s were skeptical about growing and eating unusual varieties.

“The oysters are really tasty and a bit different, I’m sure people will love them,” she said.

Marita has been supplying St Isidores restuarant in Milton and hopes to be able to grow enough mushrooms to supply other eateries in the region.

She recently found a rare variety of edible mushroom on her family’s 100 acre Woodstock Road property that she hopes to successfully cultivate in her lab.

“It’s an Australian native variety of cantharellus,” she said.

“It’s a popular variety in Europe and I was surprised to find a native variety growing on our farm.

“I can cultivate the mushrooms by taking a small piece from the centre and growing it in a petri dish - they are pretty easy to clone really.”

Having a degree in organic chemistry and cellular molecular biology has helped Marita set up her lab and replicate the ideal growing conditions for fungi.

She recently stumbled across a mushroom species that glows in the dark on her property and plans to clone it for decorative use.

“The omphalotus nidiformis has a bioluminescent component that makes it glow at night,’ she said.

“It’s poisonous, so you can’t eat it, but it would look amazing in a jar and could be kept on display for a couple of months.”

Surrounded by organic gardens filled with fruit and veges, Marita and her family, including five siblings, aim to live sustainably and she is passionate about using her science background to encourage others to grow their own food.

“I really want to get out to markets, sell my mushrooms and talk to people about permaculture and sustainable living,” she added.

Plans are in the pipeline for a weekly farmers market in Ulladulla, while Cupitt’s Winery also hosts a monthly farmers market where local producers can sell their seasonal produce.