Fungus among us

    Unlike most growers who look forward to sunny days and warm soils to sprout their seeds and grow their pastures, production at Mushrooms, Herbs, Preserves, Inc. in Mapleton takes place mostly in the cold, the wet, and the dark. The shitake and oyster mushrooms, sold both fresh and dried, start out as pure cultures in test tubes shipped from a supplier in Washington State. They are incubated and extended on rye grain spawn, then put into dormancy in the refrigerator until needed, rather like gardeners put their seed packets purchased in February in the meat drawer to wait for the end of frost. After that, the spores “live like mushrooms,” misted with water in a cool, dark basement.
    Linda Mansfield, co-owner of Mushrooms, Herbs, Preserves, Inc., enjoys a year-round growing season beginning when the spawn is introduced to its sterile substrate, either locally grown organic straw for oyster mushrooms or hardwood chips from a nearby sawmill for shitake mushrooms, plus a “special secret sauce” she cooks up on site.
    Mycelium (fungus are not plants and have no roots) grow densely throughout the substrate in sealed bags, producing a solid, football-sized loaf with a dark, cracked crust; each substrate resembles a semi-failed, steamed figgy pudding of Christmas carol fame. Nearing the end of three months of dark refrigeration, the substrate will “popcorn,” a signal that the fungus is ready to fruit and a signal to remove it from its bag, place it on a metal rack, and mist it at regular daily intervals in the near darkness of a dimly lit cellar. Fruiting bodies, what laymen would call a mushroom, begin to appear from three days to two weeks later, “and just keep going!” Linda’s busy hands daily cut mature fruit, lay them out to dry, and pack them in plastic bags ready for sale.
    Mushrooms, Herbs, Preserves, Inc. is one of a number of local farmers and growers found at the Presque Isle Farmers Market at the Aroostook Centre Mall every Saturday morning. Linda, a.k.a. “The Mushroom Lady,” is happy to tell her customers all about her products and production (except for the secret sauce!). Stop by and say, “Hello.”    More on The Mushroom Lady next time.
    Editor’s note: This weekly column is written by members of the Presque Isle Farmers’ Market. For more information or to join, contact their secretary/treasurer Steve Miller of Westmanland at 896-5860 or via e-mail at beetree@xpressamerica.net