Mushroom Cultivation in New England

The Oyster Creek Mushroom Company is a cultivater of shiitake mushrooms and a puveyer of all sorts of delicious gourmet wild and cultivated mushrooms. Their unique New England farm resides in the town of Damariscotta found on the rock-bound coast of Maine.

They cultivate mushrooms, of the Shiitake variety, by the traditional oak log method. Starting with an oak log about six inches in diameter, the farmer begins the growing process by drilling 1/4" holes about six inches apart, a little over an inch deep, on the entire exterior of the log, generally about four feet long. When all the logs are prepared, the next step is to begin inoculating them…the mushroom farmers’ way of planting the crop.

Mushroom plugs are sterilized, birch, repurposed furniture pins that are fully colonized by pure mushroom mycelium that is grown from spores -the Mushroom "seeds". Mycelium is actually the vegetative part of the plant that gathers nutrients and produces the fruit that is the mushroom. About an inch long, these plugs will be hammered into the holes, and then sealed with hot wax. About thirty are required for each log. Six months to a year later, this medicinal, gourmet food will spring forth. Even a backyard garden with a dozen logs can produce up to twenty five pounds of Shiitake mushrooms.

Once thought of as a food with no nutritional value, research is beginning to prove that not only are they an excellent source of protein and carbohydrates…they prevent the development of tumors, lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and stimulate the immune system. Good food, good medicine; and at over $6.00 per pound retail, the Shiitake mushroom has also proven itself to be a valuable crop.

Another factor that makes the oak log cultivation of Shiitake mushrooms a viable addition to the New England farm is that they don’t need the two things that are so essential to most other crops: Sun and soil. As a matter of fact, some acreage of evergreens, not even suitable for firewood, makes a perfect habitat for these inoculated logs. The goal is to protect them from direct sunlight and wind. These trees do a good job of that, and make good use of otherwise wasted land.

At Oyster Creek Mushroom Company, the owners, Candice & Dan Heydon bring the locals into their act. Residents in the surrounding area of their business, who are proficient at gathering wild mushrooms that grow naturally in the woods, are more than welcome to sell their finds at the wholesale prices Dan and Candice offer. The season that just passed brought in over 9,000 lbs. of Matsutake mushrooms, 3,000 lbs. of Hen of the woods, 600 lbs of chanterelles, but only a small amount of Chicken of the Woods.

The same mushroom can be known by several different names, not counting the scientific identifications. In Rhode Island, due to the large Italian population, the Hen of the Woods is known as "signorina." While wild mushroom gatherers all over the world are very secretive about their spots, they must give up those top secret locations eventually. If Nonno -your Italian Grandfather dies without telling you where his signorina tree is...you don't go to his funeral!

Along with the cultivated crop, most of these gathered mushrooms are dried, packaged, and delivered all over the world. The Heydons have definitely chisled out their own niche in the heath food and specialty food markets as they provide an interesting way for Mainers to make some extra money from the bounty of nature, while making a living for themselves on this unique New England farm.