Mushrooms: Shiitakes, oysters, and lion's manes on logs

Fred Fry grows mushrooms in his wine cellar. They look like miniature umbrellas hooked onto a row of logs propped along the walls.

When they're harvested, Mr. Fry says, they'll fetch $8 a pound.

Fry owns the Mushroom Farm near Montgomery City, Mo., one of a half-dozen farms growing specialty mushrooms in the state. Most grow shiitakes, some cultivate lion's mane and oyster mushrooms, and one or two have tried morels with limited success.

The largest is probably Ozark Forest Mushrooms, which farms 18,000 shiitake logs in the Big Springs region.

For the past 10 years, the University of Missouri's Center for Agroforestry has been encouraging farmers around Missouri to grow specialty mushrooms as a way to conserve and use logs. This type of "forest farming" can provide income and improve the management of wooded areas.

Research associate professor Johann Bruhn has been developing step-by-step methods for propagating mushrooms, growing shiitakes on sugar maple and white oak logs.

"The whole idea of our program is to help the family farmer diversify their landscape and agricultural production," he says.

Specialty mushroom cultivation has been growing in interest across the country, fueled by the trend of eating local and organic food, a boom in farmers markets and an interest in sustainable growing practices.

According to Joe McFarland, author of "Edible Wild Mushrooms of Illinois and Surrounding States," mushroom farming goes through phases, and in the past 20 years it has become popular again.

"It's had its booms and busts throughout the last 100 years," he says. "Right now, it's sort of experiencing another renaissance."

Most people grow these specialty mushrooms as a hobby, Mr. McFarland says. Factors such as pests, climate, and uneven harvests make consistent profits unpredictable.

None of the large, commercial farms that produce the common white button mushrooms sold to grocery stores are located in Missouri. Laura Phelps, president of the American Mushroom Institute, said about 100 of these farms can be found around the country, mostly concentrated in Pennsylvania and California.

The industry began in Pennsylvania about 100 years ago, Ms. Phelps says, and now 63 percent of the standard supermarket mushrooms are grown there. That seems to be based on tradition rather than a favorable environment for the white button mushroom crop.

"They are grown indoors, so they can be grown anywhere," she says.

Fry, who also runs an excavation business, has been growing mushrooms for the past nine years, mostly shiitakes but also oysters and the occasional morel. He grows them both on logs and layered with straw on the ground, and he sells them to repeat customers.

Shiitake mushrooms are quite distinct visually, he notes. A normal cap is two to three inches in diameter with white spots at the edges that look like snowflakes.

He has about 3,000 white oak logs in his wine cellar and under a shady, wooded grove nearby. The ones indoors produce all year, he said, but the ones outside are seasonal.

Fry uses the "totem" method to grow oyster mushrooms, stacking sections of logs with layers of spawn. Depending on the weather, he can cover the logs with trash bags to hold moisture. He also uses a wet "fruiting blanket" to create a tent over the mushrooms to retain humidity.

Mushrooms require considerable time to mature. Fry says it can take seven to 15 months to harvest a crop. In a year, he estimates he nets 400 to 500 pounds.

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