I visited Flat 12 Mushroom Farm, on Chandler Street in Buffalo’s Black Rock neighborhood, last weekend for Gardens Buffalo Niagara’s Urban Farm Day. It was fascinating. Growing mushrooms is part science, part magic, and thinking like a forest floor.
We both (my wife and I) like mushrooms in things but we don’t eat them on a regular basis. I wouldn’t dream of foraging for mushrooms without an expert beside me. When it comes to buying mushrooms, we have a lot to learn. But I did learn plenty about growing mushrooms and I found it enlightening and enticing.
How it started
Flat 12 owner Robbie Gianadda started out growing mushrooms in a basement as a way to eat healthier by growing his own food for he and his wife. The hobby turned into growing outdoors and starting to sell the surplus to restaurants. Then purposeful production started as away to sell direct to restaurants. Then COVID hit and there were no restaurants to sell to. That started selling direct to consumers through their new shop / production center on Chandler Street and at farmers’ markets.
How it’s going
Now they produce about 800 pounds of mushrooms weekly, half of which is sold to restaurants.
To start, you need a growing medium.
Sawdust pellets, the same hardwood pellets you’d burn in a pellet-burning fireplace, gets water introduced to reconstitute them. It’s then mixed with wheat or oat bran, soy bean hulls, or even coffee grounds. These provide nutrients for the future mushrooms, they love their oat bran. The growing medium may depend on the type of mushroom – one type they’re experimenting with grows on cooked rice!
The growing mediums are often byproducts of conventional farming. Score one for recycling and reusing stuff that would otherwise be waste.
They growing medium is put in mushroom-growing clear plastic bags, about the length of a sandwich-bread bag but just about square. The bags have a built-in micro-filter so there is air transference, but too small for microbes, viruses and the like.
Next, Grain Spawn
Separately, a mixture is made of mushroom spores, or mycelium, and sterilized grain which produces what is called “grain spawn.” Much care is given to make sure there are no impurities (viruses and microbes again). The grain spawn is heated slowly to pasteurize it, though the temps used are actually higher than when dairy products are pasteurized, but less than sterilization.
The grain spawn is then added to the bag of growing medium. The bags of grain spawn and growing medium are grown in a controlled environment: some light (mushrooms don’t need darkness), right temperature and humidity, and higher carbon dioxide (think forest floor).
In the photo above, the newer grow bags are on the right where you can still see the brown of the growing medium. In the grow bags on the left, the white mycelium have taken over the growing medium and are ready to have the plastic slashed to allow mushrooms to bloom – in a different room.
Up to three weeks later, the mycelium (think roots) have “taken over” the interior of the growing medium in the bag. Slits are made in the bag and the mycelium “fruits” with mushrooms.
Harvested and spent growing medium ready for composting.
Once they’ve bloomed with mushrooms, they are harvested by hand. Growing medium gets composted offsite by Buffalo’s Farmer Pirates and other farmers. Score two for reuse and recycling.
What they sell
Flat 12 Mushrooms grows primarily Oyster, Lion’s Mane, Golden Oyster, and Shiitake mushrooms. They grow or experiment with other types throughout the year.
They sell mushroom-based products like Lion’s Mane coffee; paté; galette; mushroom broth for stock; mushroom cream cheese; and Börek, a phyllo-dough-based pastry. There are dried mushrooms, powders, medicinal tinctures, and more.
Flat 12 acts as a pick-up location for a couple CSA shares (Community Supported Agriculture) and sell a few items for local farms that do not have an urban setting to distribute their wares (duck and goose eggs anyone?).
Money-saving tip for locals
Flat 12 sells at a few weekend farmers markets in the area, notably the Elmwood Village Farmers Market where you’ll find a 1/2-pound of mushrooms for around $9.
You’ll find better prices at their physical location on Chandler Street where you’ll find $7 for a 1/2-pound of mushrooms.
You save even more if you take part in their biweekly (1 lb of assorted mushrooms EVERY OTHER WEEK for 26 weeks) CSA shares for $180. For their weekly share (1 lb of assorted mushrooms every week for 26 weeks) at $350, where you’ll find the price is $6.73 a 1/2-pound.
The health benefit of mushrooms
Asked for a paragraph on the health benefits of mushrooms, Chat GPT came up with the following, better than I could have written, and done in less than two seconds: “Mushrooms, often overlooked as a dietary component, offer a wide array of remarkable health benefits. Rich in essential nutrients like vitamins (such as B vitamins and vitamin D), minerals (including selenium and potassium), and fiber, mushrooms can bolster the immune system, support bone health, and aid in digestion. Moreover, mushrooms are a valuable source of antioxidants, which play a crucial role in neutralizing harmful free radicals and reducing oxidative stress. Certain mushroom varieties, such as shiitake and maitake, have been studied for their potential to enhance the immune response and even exhibit anti-inflammatory properties. These fungi are also known for their ability to support heart health by helping to regulate cholesterol levels and blood pressure. With their unique compounds, like beta-glucans and polysaccharides, mushrooms can contribute to a balanced and diverse diet, promoting overall well-being.“
An AI ode to mushrooms
I also asked Chat GPT to come up with a poem on mushrooms, so I’ll leave you with this (it also took seconds):
Amid the forest’s dappled shade,
Where secrets in the earth are laid,
Mushrooms rise with silent grace,
A marvel of nature’s embrace.
From dampened soil, they gently spring,
A fungal chorus starts to sing,
Their caps a palette, hues so rare,
A rainbow in the woodland’s lair.
Enigmatic shapes in clusters grow,
In hidden realms, they seem to glow,
A dance of life beneath the trees,
Mushrooms thrive with such ease.
Fairy rings upon the ground,
Magical circles that astound,
Whisper tales of mystic lore,
Of realms unseen, forevermore.
Some are edible, a culinary delight,
Savored flavors, day or night,
While others, poisonous and wild,
Teach us caution as they’re compiled.
Yet each one bears a silent role,
In the ecosystem’s grand console,
Decomposers, guardians of decay,
Recycling life in nature’s ballet.
Mushrooms, humble wonders, true,
In forests old and meadows new,
With quiet strength, they mark their place,
A testament to life’s endless grace.
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