Artisans & Entrepreneurs: Out of the Woods

An alternative Virginia farmer brings a variety of specialty mushrooms to market while caring for the ecosystem.

By Walter Nicholls • Photographs by Molly McDonald Peterson

 

Just behind a sizable 145-year-old white clapboard farmhouse on a peaceful lane in Cismont, Virginia, there are paths through a maze-like garden of perennials, herbs, and hybrid willows that lead to a multifaceted world of mushroom cultivation, both indoors and out. What looks like a funky outbuilding turns out to be a sterile laboratory for producing vigorous spawn. Steps away along ivy-bordered paths in the open forest are 500 mostly chestnut and white oak logs on end, ready to “flush” with seven species of shiitake and oyster mushrooms when temperatures are right.

This is Sharondale Farm, Mark Jones’s expanding experiment in mushroom agriculture and the development of methods for introducing fungi into gardens alongside fruit trees, vegetables, flowers, and fiber plants. Pound by pound, those shiitakes and six other varieties, such as spiny lion’s mane, make their way to high-end restaurants 12 miles away in Charlottesville. But the interests of Jones, a self-proclaimed “science geek,” also include using fungi in farm waste management strategies and joining mushrooms with vegetable production for a profitable crop and for building healthy soil.

Relational Gardens

On a recent March morning in his garden, Jones talked about his farming goals, mushroom workshops, and love of the land while boiling chopped wheat straw in a 55-gallon kettle. After draining a batch in a battered feed trough, he inoculated the straw with blue oyster mushroom spawn mixed with rye grain and stuffed the works into tall, clear plastic bags. Holes poked in the sides will allow the mushrooms to later emerge.

“A garden is not just vegetables and perennials. It’s all kinds of energies working together. And when you add species such as mushrooms, you build a guild of functional relationships from one plant to another,” says the Virginia native who has had a lifelong fascination with this relatively fast-growing crop. “In addition to being delicious, fungi are integral to the ecosystem, and composting is the simplest way for you to use mushrooms on your property. They break down the waste carbon sources and create soil.” With one bag tossed over each shoulder, he heads for his new 1,440-square-foot, climate-controlled grow house. Over a three-week period, each bag will fruit with blue oysters for seven to ten days.

With degrees in both liberal arts and science, Jones says it was a college mycology class that sparked his enthusiasm for fungi. After finishing grad school at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, he moved to Oregon, where his trade was carpentry and his passion the development of useful landscapes. He moved back to his family’s Virginia homestead in the summer of 2004. Three years later, he sold his first commercial mushroom crop at the producer-only Charlottesville City Market.

Mushrooms 101

At Sharondale Farm, more than a dozen types of mushrooms are currently in cultivation—another 12 species are in the experimental stage—each growing on straw, compost, wood chips, or logs. The grains and cereal bran Jones uses in cultivation are organic, and the methods of cultivation are in accord with standards for organic production.

In spring and fall, the best time for cultivation, Jones conducts two- to three-hour mushroom workshops that cover plant biology, ecology in the garden, and hands-on cultivation skills. “For most students, the interest is growing shiitakes on logs. But I prefer to start people out on oyster mushrooms, also on logs. There’s less management involved,” he says. Jones also sells mushroom spawn and tools of the trade for log inoculation on his web site. Farm tours are available by appointment.

The Growing Season

When it comes to taste, Jones’s favorite is the almond portobello, which he calls “extraordinary for its nutty flavor.” His shiitake varieties have varying texture and flavor profiles. Those spiny lion’s manes, he says, “shred like crab meat and have a subtle flavor that’s easily enhanced with white wine and herbs.”

Restaurants, such as L’Etoile and The Local in Charlottesville, appreciate that Jones is right down the road. “He’s so passionate about mushrooms. And what’s really nice about his products is that they are so fresh, full of life, and moist,” says Dean Maupin, executive chef of the nearby award-winning Clifton Inn. “Mark turned me on to the lion’s mane,” Maupin adds.

For some lucky community supported agriculture (CSA) members in the area, beautiful mushrooms from Cismont are included in every share. “Mark’s mushrooms are not what you see every day in stores. People are excited about having diverse products in their share,” says Kathryn Bertoni, co-owner of Appalachia Star Farm in Roseland.

With his new grow house up and running, Jones hopes to increase production in the coming year “by an order of magnitude and then some. This means thousands of pounds of mushrooms, but I can’t give exact numbers,” he says.

Though a teacher, Jones is still a student of mycology, ever on the lookout for strains of edible wild mushrooms, always experimenting with new methods. And ready to sauté the results.

Mark Jones teaches classes at Richmond’s J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, and he also conducts mushroom-growing workshops in spring and fall—the best times for cultivation. Here are some upcoming workshops. Information can be found online.

Growing Mushrooms at Home
An introduction to cultivating gourmet and medicinal mushrooms
April 3 at Sharondale Farm, Cismont

Got Mushroom?
Growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms in urban and small spaces
April 17 at New Community Project, Harrisonburg

Sharondale Farm
Cismont, VA
(434) 296-3301
sharondalefarm.com

Walter Nicholls is a former staff reporter for the Washington Post. A native Washingtonian, he has written about farms, food markets, and restaurants for 21 years. He resides both in the Georgetown section of Washington and on an historic homestead in Rappahannock County, Virginia. Find him at walternicholls.com.