How Mushrooms are Cultivated on a Farm

Sunday was Mycological Society's Far West Fungi Farm field trip. We arrived at the Farm just minutes past noon, and joined the first tour led by one of John and Toby Garrone's (owners and long time members of MSSF) sons.

Unlike a regular vegetable farm, the mushrooms are grown inside of dark and humid warehouses on blocks inside of special plastic bags. These plastic bags cost 20 cents each, which allow oxygen to enter but not bacteria. Young Mr. Garrone explained to us how the sawdust is mixed, sterilized, and compressed. They are inoculated with mushroom spawns in "clean room", which the employees have to take a shower before entering and stay inside all day during the process in order to eliminate contamination. The clean room is the only facility that's not open for tour.

The bagged blocks are then stored in the dark windowless warehouses. We got to walk through the warehouses of various mushrooms in various stages. Far West currently grow 9 kinds mushrooms - white, blue, brown, pink, gold, and trumpet oysters, shiitake, lion’s mane, maitake, and reishi along with acreage of traditional crop plants that their employees grow for their own use. They grow everything certified organic on recycled materials.

After the tour, we had our potluck BBQ. We also raided the recycle pile of used mushroom blocks. The blocks are still full of mycilia and can be fruited again although it is not cost effective for the farm to reuse them. We took as many of the used blocks home as our cars could fit to grow mushrooms in our garages, closets, or under the trees.

You can find Far West Fungi mushrooms in many farmers markets around the Bay Area and Whole Foods stores. They also have a retail shop in the Ferry Building off Embarcadero BART Station. In addition to the farm cultivated mushrooms, they also have many wild mushrooms.