Production

Producing mushrooms is not like raising your usual garden vegetables. But then, mushrooms aren't vegetables. Mushrooms are fungi and do not contain chlorophyll, so while that means they don't need sunlight, it also means that they depend on an especially nutritious growing medium.

The first step in producing superior mushrooms such as those grown by Modern Mushroom Farms is to create an ideal growing medium. White, crimini and portabella mushrooms all grow well on the same medium. Pasteurized compost made from sources such as corn cobs, straw, hay, water and nitrogen supplements fill the trays in which mushrooms grow. At the same time, under laboratory conditions, mushroom spores are inoculated into sterile grain seeds to produce spawn that is planted in the compost trays. Once the spawn have produced a white network of mycelium, the mushroom's equivalent of roots, the compost is covered with a thin layer of peat moss, or casing, and temperature (about 60 degrees F) and humidity in the mushroom house are controlled until tiny white rounds poke through the peat moss. This stage is called pinning and the farmer knows that in 17 to 25 days (3 to 7 days longer for portabellas), the mushrooms will be ready to harvest. The whole cycle takes from 9 to 12 weeks and since all the farming is done in dark, climate-controlled buildings, we can have fresh-from-the-farm mushrooms all year round.

Some of the specialty mushrooms prefer slightly different growing conditions. Oyster mushrooms need a little more humidity and fresh air than the white and crimini mushrooms. The mixture of compost and oyster-mushroom spawn is placed in long, tubular plastic bags punched with holes and hung up or set in racks so air will circulate around them. After about 14 days the mushrooms poke through the holes and can be harvested.

Shiitake mushrooms were traditionally grown on oak logs. These days they are produced by a process similar to that used for oyster mushrooms except oak sawdust is used in place of compost.

Enoki mushrooms are grown in plastic bottles on a substrate of corn cobs, wheat bran and soy bean meal. They are held at 45 degrees F and harvested after about 90 days.