We were checking out the offerings at our local farmers market when my friend from Colorado pointed to a stall. "What are those?" she asked wide-eyed.
They were mushrooms, several varieties luxuriantly arranged in plain wooden quart containers. Most of the markets in this area have them, and I usually pass by without stopping. "Can we go look?" she asked, and so we stepped beneath the awning and admired them.
"I know nothing about mushrooms like this," my friend told the vendor earnestly. "Do you mind telling me about them?"
The young woman's face lit up and she smiled excitedly. "Not at all!" she answered.
And that is how we heard the story of how the daughter of farmers started growing mushrooms as a COVID project, expanding into her neighbor's shed when they no longer needed it, adding humidity controls and air conditioning for year-round growing. She told us that she acquired her her mycelium through the mail, and that it arrived suspended in a nutrient-rich liquid which she injected into organic grain, usually spelt or millet, to colonize it, before transferring the spawn to a sawdust substrate, which she got at local lumber mills and sterilized.
She showed us the varieties she had, and explained their flavor, texture, and any medicinal qualities. She gave pointers about how to prepare both the stems and the caps, and she also told us that she had recently acquired some shared commercial kitchen space which she was looking forward to using to create and package mushroom products to sell alongside her fresh mushrooms.
Her passion and enthusiasm were so positive and engaging that we walked away, after buying a quart each of lion's mane and king oyster, feeling lighter than we had when we stopped. "I never would have talked to her," I told my friend, "but I sure am glad you did!"
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