The Farm at Miller’s Crossing in Hudson, NY, is owned and operated by Katie Smith and Chris Cashen . (www.farmatmillerscrossing.com)

Blue Moon Shrooms at Indigo Farm in Housatonic, MA, is owned by Leslie Taft.

INTERVIEW: Leslie Taft

Shiitake Logs

My shiitake grow from blocks (logs) made of hardwood sawdust; in eastern North America we use oak logs. The sawdust is sterilized, put into a huge autoclave and steamed to kill any extraneous fungi or bacteria or anything that might interfere with the growth of the shiitake mycelium. When the sawdust has been sterilized, it's mixed with grains, which are also sterilized, then put into plastic bags and inoculated with the spawn, which is the mycelium of the shiitake. Then, they are put into an environment where the temperature and humidity are regulated, and that mycelium grows throughout the medium (sawdust) and in doing so it compacts and forms a shape of the bag and is left to cure. The log is then ready to grow shiitake.

Oyster Mushroom Bags

My oyster mushrooms are grown in food-grade black plastic bags. Inside the bags is straw that has been chopped up and sterilized by steam, then inoculated with the oyster spawn and put in the right environment. The spawn, the mycelium, runs all through the growth medium, and when they are ready, you put them in the right environment and there are little holes in the bags and these clumps of mushrooms just poke through these holes.

Growing Environment

Everyone assumes you grow mushrooms in the dark, but that is not the case with these. These mushrooms need a certain amount of light; equivalent to light in the forest. The temperature is also regulated; the shiitake like it a little cooler, and the oyster, especially the tropical (yellow) one, can tolerate it a little warmer. I keep the temperature of the growing room around 65 degrees. Humidity 85-90%. One more thing to pay attention to is entrainment; keeping the air flowing gently and smoothly throughout the grow rooms.

Largest Living Organism

I believe the largest living organism on the planet is a mushroom. And, most of us do not realize that the mushroom that we see and eat is actually the fruiting body of the organism. The organism itself is this mass of mycelium. It is a thread-like structure, one cell thick, and it is located either underground or in a tree.

Mycologist Paul Stamets

Mushrooms are a fascinating subject, and someone who really knows about them is Paul Stamets, of Olympia, WA, who spends significant time in the Olympic rainforest. The more we learn about it, the more we find that nature has remedies for our ailments and the ailments of the planet. Stamets, for instance, is doing work in myco-remediation – using mushrooms to help the environment.

Clients, Vendors and Markets

I sell my mushrooms at the Lenox Farmers Market (Fridays) and two Great Barrington Farmers Markets (Wednesdays and Saturdays.) I also sell directly to restaurants throughout Berkshire County and beyond. Some of my customers include: the Red Lion Inn, John Andrews, Castle Street Cafe and many others. I also sell to resorts such as Canyon Ranch and the Kripalu Center, and to caterers. Local food markets – Guidos and the Great Barrington Coop also carry my products.

Mushrooms as Medicine

In order for mushroom mycelium – only one cell thick – to survive in a hostile environment full of pathogens, they have developed properties that are strongly anti-microbial. Early forest dwellers and Asian cultures have long been aware of these properties – and now modern researchers are beginning to catch on. In the 1940s, the discovery of penicillin, derived from a fungus, began the age of antibiotics and changed the course of history. Japanese researchers about thirty years ago began studying mushroom extracts in the prevention and treatment of cancer. Certain mushrooms are considered to have strong anti-viral properties as well, and studies are indicating possible effectiveness in treating HIV, shingles, herpes, and pox-related diseases – even the common cold. The two species of mushrooms that I cultivate (out of over 140,000 species) are considered by many to boost the immune system, serve as a tonic for the liver, inhibit tumor growth, and lower cholesterol. And, they are delicious. The well-known health advocate, Dr. Andrew Weil says: if you want to live a long and health life – eat shiitake everyday. Good advice!

Interview with John Slotter, Operations Manager, Old Chatham Sheepherding Company (www.blacksheepcheese.com)

The Markristo Farm in Hillsdale, NY, is owned by Martin and Christa Stosiek . (www.markristofarm.com)

INTERVIEW

Martin: Farming is our way of life. What I value most is working with my wife and having our children around me. They know what I do for a living; they're part of my everyday life. They are learning by doing and watching and seeing, by watching us.

Christa: We've been a member of Berkshire Grown since its inception 10-15 years ago, and they've done an enormous job of linking farmers to buyers, educating the public and making it an in-vogue thing to be supporting (local food) … along with Michael Pollan and all the other wonderful advocates for it. But, I think Berkshire Grown has been the number one advocate for it where we are in the Berkshires.

Martin: The chefs have been very receptive. Originally, they were interested in the quality we could deliver … the freshness. And then, over time, it became more important that they know where the food comes from. It's now important that they have a connection to the grower, to the farmer – there's a story behind the food and it's important that it's organic now. So it's all changed. And 20 years ago they were buying it for quality and freshness alone – now they're buying it for many more reasons; being local, being fresh, knowing the grower, supporting local agriculture.

Martin: We sell through our local farmers' markets as well as the more regional markets, Great Barrington up to Pittsfield and all the way down to Rhinebeck.

Christa: Most of our accounts between GB and Pittsfield are on the smaller side, but there are many of them one after the other so it makes it a worthwhile route. The one-hour drive down to Rhinebeck offers us only a few stops, but they are large, dedicated accounts which also makes this viable.

Martin: And then we have a 3^rd (wholesale) market which is even farther away, and goes through our distributor all the way to New York City .

Christa: But, mostly we work with Angello's because they're not your average wholesale distributor. They uphold a set of values similar to our own, selling regional organic produce from small sustainable farms and helping to educate their customers about the importance of local food.

Martin: The newest development of a market over the last few years has been processors. There's Winter Sun Farms in Poughkeepsie that's freezing our green beans, and there's Hawthorne Valley Farm (Ghent , NY ) that's making sauerkraut and kim chee. So, that's the new avenue for some of these crops – through processors, which is a great market because, of course, they are able to sell their products all year round.