© 2024 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY · WNPR
WPKT · WRLI-FM · WEDW-FM · Public Files Contact
ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Connecticut's Growing Role in Mushroom Cultivation

Patrick Skahill
/
WNPR
Logs drilled, plugged with mushroom spawn, and coated with wax.
Credit Patrick Skahill / WNPR
Mushroom farmer Rick Baxley, left, with Christian Lamontagne at 7 Falls Mushroom Farm in Higganum.

Last month, Governor Dannel Malloy announced more than $880,327 in state grants for dozens of Connecticut farms. Among the recipients is a farmer in Higganum looking to fill 1,000 logs with many more mushrooms.

Mushroom growers drill about 50 holes in a log, and implant something called "spawn," or mycelium.

Rick Baxley grows his mushrooms outdoors and in logs, which is a slow, labor-intensive process that starts in the coldest months of winter. "I was out in the middle of my woods in February," he said, "wishing I had snowshoes, trying to cut down 100 trees. I knew [that] out of 100 trees, I could get 1,000 logs." 

Those 1,000 logs are tied to a $7,963 grant from the state Department of Agriculture that Baxley received in March. Under the agreement, Baxley will throw in an additional $7,963 to grow shittake mushrooms for sale at local markets. "I'm at a borderline of retirement," he said. "At the time I wrote this grant, I was between jobs. I was considering this as a retirement opportunity, and the state just endorsed that fact."

Baxley said demand for mushrooms is much higher than it was ten years ago. On his land at 7 Falls Mushroom Farm, there are stacks of logs everywhere: oak, maple, and birch; hardwoods Baxley said are especially good for shittake-growing.

In a nearby barn was Christian Lamontagne, 15, wearing a Metallica t-shirt and safety goggles. He was standing on a floor covered in sawdust as he prepared Baxley's logs for something that sounded very clinical: "inoculation." Mushroom growers drill about 50 holes in a log, and implant something called "spawn," or mycelium. 

Credit Patrick Skahill / WNPR
Mycelium, above, is mixed with sawdust and implanted into the logs. A plugger, pictured in the upper right corner, is used to fill the drilled holes.

That spawn then gets covered with a fine coat of wax. "That's just a paraffin, like you'd put on a jelly or a jam, and it seals in the moisture and the sawdust and keeps all the other competing fungi out of the hole," Baxley said. The logs are then brought outside to sit in a moist area. He said, "In six to nine months, the plant will grow throughout the log."

Credit Patrick Skahill / WNPR
Baxley stores his innoculated logs above a stream that runs through his property. He said the water provides temperature variation that's beneficial for the mushrooms.

Baxley's mushroom farm plans to shop its mushrooms around to local restaurants and farmers markets.

Baxley said he isn't sure what the future will hold for his farm, but as he experiments with different woods and strains of mushrooms, he is sure about one thing: "This first year is a lot of learning," he said. "This is either going to be a lot of fun, a part time business, or maybe it'll get bigger than that. We just have to wait and see."

Connecticut is no stranger to big mushroom farms. The massive Franklin Mushroom Farm was New England's largest mushroom grower, producing millions of pounds of mushrooms annually until it closed several years ago.

Patrick Skahill is a reporter and digital editor at Connecticut Public. Prior to becoming a reporter, he was the founding producer of Connecticut Public Radio's The Colin McEnroe Show, which began in 2009. Patrick's reporting has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition, Here & Now, and All Things Considered. He has also reported for the Marketplace Morning Report. He can be reached at pskahill@ctpublic.org.

Stand up for civility

This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Public’s Members — listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. As a community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years.

Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.

Related Content