HAWLEY, PA — Hunter Varga, owner of Mountain View Mushrooms, gave a presentation on mushroom cultivation to The Country Gardeners (TCG) at the monthly meeting on May 1. His interest in the fascinating fungi was sparked when his mother bought him a mushroom grow kit. He became captivated by the process of cultivating mushrooms, began selling them and started his own business in his senior year of high school.

Although it is primarily a seasonal business, Varga now grows mushrooms year round. With the help of his family, he mostly sells to restaurants and farmers markets in Honesdale and Scranton. He grows many distinct types of mushrooms including shiitake, the king pearl, pearl oyster, lion’s mane, enoki, pink oyster and blue oyster mushrooms. 

According to Varga, mushroom cultivation is an art and science. Mushrooms have striking shapes and come in a variety of colors and sizes. They absorb oxygen, unlike plants, which take in carbon dioxide. Mushrooms grow on dead, decayed matter and need moisture. 

The process of growing mushrooms starts with putting hardwood oak pellets, soy hulls and water in a plastic bag. The bag goes into a pasteurizer for cooking, to kill any potential mold and bacteria. 

Next, the bag is brought into a lab to be inoculated, and then rye grain is put in the bag. This grain has been pre-colonized with mycelium—living organisms—and will colonize the substrate, or base layer, in the bag. Then, Varga puts it on a shelf to incubate for a week and a half. 

After that, it goes into a grow room, and he cuts into the bottom of the bag to introduce air to the mycelium. Mushrooms need air and will grow toward it. 

After one or two weeks, he will begin to harvest the mushrooms and send them out to be sold.

Mushrooms have different culinary uses. For example, the shiitake and blue oyster mushrooms can be sauteed or grilled, and the pearl oyster can be used in stir fries and soups. Varga advises people to wash and cook mushrooms to kill bacteria. Mushrooms can be substituted for meat in cooking, and they contain protein. In addition, they can have significant health benefits such as boosting brain health and immunity. 

To continue learning about these fascinating fungi, you can go to Varga’s website, www.mountainvmushrooms.com, or to Instagram at mountain_mushrooms.  You can also download a mushroom identification app.

At the next TCG meeting, to be held on Thursday, June 5, there will be a presentation on dahlia cultivation at 1 p.m. at the Wallenpaupack Environmental Learning Center, 126 Lamberton Lane in Hawley. The speaker will be Eva Schwartz, executive director of Outdoor Nurture, Inc. and operator of Hickory Hearth Meadow Organic Farm.

Contributed by The Country Gardeners.