I had this idealistic picture of a mushroom farmer in my mind: someone leisurely strolling through the woods, wicker basket in hand, twilight streaming through the trees. They pause momentarily, crouch down and pluck a mushroom off a moist log on the forest floor. After chatting with the mushroom guy at the Austin Farmers’ Market on 4th St., I realized this was not an accurate assessment.
I decided to take a closer look and drove out to Gonzales, TX to visit Kitchen Pride Mushrooms. Turns out, there are no wicker baskets involved (or dew covered logs). The process starts with compost. Lots of compost. Click on the link below for more…
The compost then moves indoors, into long, tall, narrow, dark rooms. Imagine enormous bunk beds and the mushrooms are having a sleepover. The party includes Shiitake, Italian Brown, and Portabella.
Next comes the waiting. The growth cycle takes seven weeks. Kitchen Pride is in a constant circle of picking and planting. Pictured above is Greg McLain, inspecting the growth rate. Greg’s family has been growing mushrooms in Texas for over 20 years.
The oyster mushrooms don’t get the bunk bed treatment, they get the hanging bag treatment. Crazy, huh?! September is mushroom month, but you already know that.
Now we got some action. Mushrooms everywhere. Greg says that they usually get three pickings before they need to change a bed out. Then, the compost is sterilized and packaged for consumer garden use.
Research is coming in about mushrooms’ cancer-fighting properties. Extracts from white mushrooms have been shown to slow breast cancer growth. So, Kitchen Pride is showing their support through donations to the City of Hope’s breast and prostate cancer research center. Look for the pink containers in Central Market, Whole Foods and others around town.
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