Sterilize the grain
We prepare grain and sterilize it so the mushroom culture has a clean place to grow.
Our grow process
How we grow mushrooms in the high desert.
We grow our mushrooms indoors at our farm in Cortez, Colorado. The rooms and equipment give them the humidity, fresh air, and temperature they need in our dry climate.
- Cortez
- Grown in Southwest Colorado
- Basin Coop
- Local source for bran, hulls, and aspen
- Harvest timing
- Decided by each mushroom
From culture to harvest
Our current growing process.
Add liquid culture
We inoculate the sterilized grain with liquid culture in our lab.
Make more grain spawn
That first master grain is used to inoculate more grain for the production run.
Prepare the substrate
We hydrate and mix aspen with either wheat bran or soy hulls. We source those materials from Basin Coop in Cortez.
Inoculate the substrate
We mix the colonized grain into prepared substrate inside filtered, oxo-biodegradable Unicorn Bags. The grain spreads the mushroom culture through each block.
Let the bags colonize
The bags sit on shelves until the mycelium has grown through the substrate.
Fruit the mushrooms
Colonized bags move into our fruiting tent, where we manage humidity, fresh air, temperature, and light.
Harvest at the right time
We watch each variety and harvest it when it is ready. Fresh orders are delivered on harvest day.
Inside the farm
The spaces we use to grow mushrooms.
The lab
We use the flow hood for clean culture work and grain inoculation.
The shelves
The bags rest on shelves while the mycelium grows through the substrate.
The fruiting tent
This is where the mushrooms get the humidity and fresh air they need to fruit.
Growing in Southwest Colorado
What we have learned in the high desert.
Southwest Colorado is dry and the temperature can change quickly. Our fruiting tent lets us hold the humidity, temperature, light, and fresh air where the mushrooms need them.
Different mushrooms do not all want the same conditions or finish on the same schedule. We have learned to watch the mushrooms and adjust the room instead of forcing every batch into one timetable.
More from the farm
Read what we have learned along the way.
Our blog has more about the farm, our equipment, and growing mushrooms in Colorado.