Petrichor Mushrooms
Locally Grown Fungi Strengthen the Community’s Food Security
Micheal Shea and Howard Schmidt hope that, after you take home a box of their homegrown gourmet fungi, you’ll never look at a grocery shelf of slimy, plastic-wrapped white button mushrooms the same way again. Heck, maybe you’ll never look at that shelf again, period.
“I think the most exciting thing about mushrooms’ potential for nutrition and medicinal value is what they bring to the table that even plants, fruits, and vegetables don’t bring anymore,” Schmidt says.
Once upon a time, before industrial agriculture came to rely on synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides to feed growing populations, food crops had a natural partner in mushrooms to help them flourish. Fungal networks break down the toughest stuff found in the soil, even rocks, making nutrients and minerals available for plants to absorb through their roots. So if much of the fruits and vegetables we buy aren’t as good for us as they used to be, what’s the solution?
For Schmidt and Shea, co-founders of Petrichor Mushrooms, the answer is a no-brainer: Eat more mushrooms!
“When you consume mushrooms of any kind, they all have these incredible antioxidants, trace minerals, nutrients, all the things that are no longer as prominent in even a plant-based diet nowadays,” Schmidt says.
Schmidt and Shea recognize that not everyone has the financial resources, time, or space to add more nutrition into their lives by eating all organic, buying only from local farms, or growing their own food.
“We’re coming at this to create some food security. We’re able to produce 600 pounds of food in 45 square feet, so we’re extremely productive even in terms of microgreens or hydroponic systems,” Shea says. “It’s definitely all about providing a sustainable, healthy food source and enriching our community with stuff that’s interesting, new, and fun.”
“Just adding mushrooms into your diet even once a week provides you with this sort of missing puzzle piece of the Western diet,” Schmidt adds. Even with a vendor booth that resembles a modern art installation, the Petrichor boys encounter plenty of the mushroom-averse. Plenty of those end up falling in “mush love.”
“One big aspect of converting people is directing them on how to cook these mushrooms in particular. Because if you cook them right, they’re outstanding,” Shea says. “Our mushrooms grow on wood, so they’re really happy being cooked over it. My take on the subject at this point is that smoking them is the best way to go.”
Under strict atmospheric control between 60 and 65°F, Petrichor mushrooms grow on a substrate of hardwood New Hampshire red oak sawdust and organic soybean hulls. The growing operation started in December 2020, and Petrichor’s debut harvest came to market the following March. In their first six months, Shea and Schmidt have already trialed more than 12 mushroom varieties with an eye for supremely delicious and nutritious varieties you can’t find anywhere else. These have included several types of oyster mushroom, prized by gourmet chefs for their creamy texture and umami flavor; as well as chestnut mushrooms (nutty and crunchy); lion’s mane (a brain-boosting superfood); and the astounding black pearl mushroom, its thick, meaty stalks the result of a hybrid cross between oyster and king trumpet mushrooms.
With a surge in demand from a new wave of local vegan restaurants and culinary artisans (including Ka Papa Cuisine, Deck’s Plate, and Potted Flour Food Co.), Shea and Schmidt can’t seem to reap each succulent harvest fast enough. Their ultimate dream is to buy a tract of land for a full-scale farm and ecovillage. Until they find the perfect patch of paradise, Shea and Schmidt are looking to expand Petrichor’s operations and focus the business on education and tasting. This summer, they’ve begun experimenting with a $20 subscription box, which delivers a one-pound medley of mushrooms directly to your door each week. The variety boxes can also be found on Grove Ladder Farm’s webstore.
In the most recent market season, Petrichor Mushrooms have enthralled shoppers at the Bradenton Farmers’ Market, the Farmers’ Market at Lakewood Ranch, and the brand-new, once-monthly Rosemary Night Market. Like a dry Florida field after a soaking summer rain shower, expect to see Petrichor Mushrooms popping up at future markets and on even more menus throughout this year.
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