By Tammy Thornton
Only ten shopping days until National Mushroom Month! That’s right. September is dedicated to the mushroom, and why not? Mushrooms have been celebrated as a superfood source with powerful nutrients. Low in calories, and cholesterol-and-fat-free, mushrooms are nutrient-dense and contain natural antioxidants. They provide many of the nutritional benefits of vegetables, while having attributes of meats, beans, and grains. Mushrooms are popular in vegan and vegetarian dishes because they add an umami flavor to dishes that gives them the savory flavor and texture similar to meat, making them a beneficial meat substitute.
Have a hankering for interesting mushrooms? Stick to the experts. Foraging for wild mushrooms is risky business. Many edible mushrooms have poisonous and deadly look-alikes. Just ask Daniel Day-Lewis in the film Phantom Thread if he trusts anyone but an absolute expert to pick wild mushrooms for his omelette. Fear not, you can rely on mushroom growers in our Shore Local area to provide you with a variety of beautiful, unique, and edible mushrooms.
Paul Faith, from Faith Flower and Mushroom Farm, in Estell Manor, has been honing his skills as a specialty mushroom grower. Lately, he has found his niche growing shiitake, yellow and blue oyster, king oyster, pioppino, and lion’s mane mushrooms. I was surprised to learn that some mushrooms can be grown on tree logs. Fortunately, Mr. Faith has plenty of logs available when he thins the woods on his 25-acre property. Once he cuts the wood and knows how many four-foot logs are available, he orders spawn to grow shiitake mushrooms. Each log is drilled with 50-60 holes which are then “inoculated” with mushroom spawn plugs of the fungus and sawdust and then sealed with cheese wax. They are then stacked like a real-life game of Lincoln Logs to allow for ventilation, where they will wait in the woods for one year to colonize. After the year’s wait, Mr. Faith follows an eight-week rotation of growing from May to November, the best time for quality mushrooms. The logs are soaked in water for a day, then set up vertically, and covered with tarps. After two days, mushrooms start to appear on the logs and can be picked between five to eight days later.
For the different varieties of oyster mushrooms, lion’s mane, and pioppino, Faith follows a different procedure and grows these mushrooms indoors in his basement. These do not take as long to grow since he starts with “mushroom blocks” that are already colonized. Once he is ready to grow them, he places them in the “fruiting room”, where they take approximately one to three weeks, depending on the variety of mushroom. Mr. Faith enjoys growing mushrooms because it is an ultra-niche crop. The New Jersey Agricultural Experimental Station of Rutgers University, sponsored by the United States Agriculture Department, encourages ultra-niche crops, which are exceptionally high-value crops that can be grown using minimal land area.
Fresh mushrooms from Faith Flower and Mushroom Farm can be found at Galloway Green Market at Historic Smithville Village Green, the Margate Community Market at Steve and Cookie’s by the Bay in Margate, and at B&B Farms in Galloway. In October of 2019, Steve and Cookie’s by the Bay featured the mushrooms in entrees on the Herb Dinner Menu. You can also enjoy their mushrooms in signature dishes from the Velo Cafe in Ventnor. Of course, you can always order directly from Faith Flower and Mushroom Farm, located at 93 South Jersey Avenue, Estell Manor, by calling (609) 476-4236. Check out their Facebook and Instagram pages for more information.
Tammy Thornton is a mom of four, a substitute teacher, and a Sunday school teacher. She is passionate about gardening and cooking, and loves the beach.
