Adding Indoor Mushroom Production to Your Farm

As one of the few mushroom farmers in New England, Farmer Elizabeth partners with agricultural and community organizations to offer educational programs that are designed for foodies, gardeners, homesteaders, and curious families who wish to learn more about this fascinating food and the important role it plays in our diet, our environment and the economy.

This indoor mushroom cultivation workshop is perfect for those looking to take their farming skills to the next level.

Participants will learn:

• The basics of mushroom cultivation including: species selection, climate control harvesting techniques, and considerations for on site spawn production and inoculation
• Microbial diversity of different types of compost
• Best practices for using spent substrates as soil amendments

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Schedule/Agenda:

10:00am - Farm Tour

11 am -   Composting Spent Mushroom Substrate

12 pm - Applications for Composted Substrate

12:30pm - Questions & Answers

1:00pm - Wrap Up & Thank You

About the Farm:

Fat Moon Farm is a certified organic mushroom cultivation farm dedicated to providing the freshest, highest-quality mushrooms to chefs, restaurants, and home cooks alike. In addition to striving for the most nutritious food Fat Moon Farm also provides education from indoor cultivation to curated walks in the woods for mushroom identification. Fat Moon Farm understands the importance of remaining sustainable and environmentally responsible as such Farmer Elizabeth is constantly looking for innovative ways to use spent mushroom substrate that is produced from the cultivation of mushrooms. 

About the Instructors:

Elizabeth Almeida (she/her) has been devoted to food, farming, family, and community throughout her life. She grew up on a cattle farm in Ohio, where her family grew, canned, and froze their own veggies and meat. As a kid, Elizabeth was active in 4-H and FFA, winning many awards in livestock and cooking, including Grand Champion Chickens!

Her first job--from 14 to 22--was working for a caterer, where she learned to prepare and serve delicious, beautiful food. During college, she worked in a food science research lab, where she learned the exacting scientific practices that she employs today when optimizing her mushroom growing techniques.

After college, Elizabeth spent a year living and volunteering in the Appalachian region of eastern Kentucky, where her eyes were opened to justice issues, including:

• Food justice, as it relates to affordable access to healthy food
• Environmental justice, in witnessing how the land was ravaged by corporations mining natural resources
• Economic justice, in witnessing the societal effects of a lack of employment opportunities.

She left Appalachia with a commitment to continue to work for justice. She lives out her values at Fat Moon, where she produces the healthiest of foods, recycles farm waste into a soil-enriching compost for local farms, and gardens, and provides jobs for her community.

Rubén Parrilla is the Soil Technical Program Director for NOFA/Mass and trained in microscopic soil microbial identification through the Soil Food Web School. He is a Certified Lab Tech and studied Environmental Design at the University of Puerto Rico. Rubén has 15 years’ experience working at different capacities in the environmental laboratory industry. He has been performing soil carbon proxy testing, soil health assessments, soil chemical analysis, and soil microbiological evaluations for NOFA/Mass for over the past year and has extensive experience farming and working with farmers, including beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers. Rubén performs soil health related outreach and education events for NOFA/Mass by leading monthly farmer learning calls, providing hands-on workshops and instruction at soil health education events, and networking with farmers and individuals in the agricultural industry. He is a fluent and native Spanish speaker and fully English/Spanish bilingual.

Registration Fee:

Equitable Sliding Scale: $15-$45

Market Value: $35

Lower Income/Wealth Bracket: $15

Middle Income/Wealth Bracket: $30

Upper Income/Wealth Bracket: $45

Solidarity Scholarships Available: full value Apply here

Consider Paying More On The Scale If You:

• Own your home(s), have investments, retirement accounts, inherited money.
• Travel recreationally, work part-time by choice, have access to family money and resources in times of need.
• Have a relatively high degree of earning power due to level of education, gender and/or racial privilege, class background, etc. Even if you are not currently exercising your earning power, we ask you to recognize this as a choice.

Consider Paying Less On The Scale If You:

• Are supporting children or have other dependents.
• Have significant debt, have medical expenses not covered by insurance, have tuition/educational expenses.
• Receive public assistance.
• Have immigration-related expenses.

About the Project:

A recent Grant was awarded to NOFA/Mass from the Sustainable Agricultural Resources Education (SARE) and Fat Moon Farm is the main collaborator in this project. This event and associated materials are based upon work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, through the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program under subaward number ONE22-422. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Accessibility:

Portions of our farm tour will cover uneven terrain and climbing stairs.  Bring an easily portable seat if desired, public transportation available via Lowell Transit bus. We want to make sure your accessibility needs are met during the event. Please share with us your needs regarding (but not limited to): physical accessibility, allergies, noise, scent, gender, intellectual accessibility, and any instructions or tips to help you fully participate.

More Information:

The address for this event is private and will be shared directly with registered attendees.

Refund/Inclement Weather Policy:

For information on our refund and inclement weather policy, click here.

Capacity:

Capacity for this event is limited to 20 people. Please remember to abide by current MA state guidelines for group gatherings and travel to minimize the transmission of COVID-19.  Masks are required for anyone who is not vaccinated for COVID-19 and for everyone when inside any building. Register ahead of time to secure your space!

Questions?

Contact Doug@nofamass.org  for questions regarding this event

Sponsors

USDA SARE