Jen Rinaldi

Our Mountain holds many secrets to those who listen. Native Americans who called this land their home were aware of the various food sources and could survive instep with nature. We have manzanita bushes and their berries, which hold medicinal properties; we have pinion trees, which shed their nuts, which are nuts that can help prevent heart disease. And, of course, our forest is a perfect home to mushrooms. 

For the past three years, Meadowlark Farms has grown mushrooms, microgreens, and other products. When I asked Nicole Peters one of the owners about mushrooms and why her family decided to grow them, her answer was simple. Nutrition and sustainability.

Market gardening is where we started, Nicole says. "The market gardening principles helped us recognize how valuable food production on a small scale can be. Three years ago, when my husband retired, we launched ourselves into the world of sustainability. We learned about cultivating gourmet mushrooms on a small scale, 50 -100 a week. We decided to make gourmet mushrooms our main product from our small operation, and It's been an enormous success."

"From liquid culture to grain spawn, we inoculate sterilized wood substrate. 4-6 weeks later, we harvest a high-quality protein low in calories and high in all the minerals we need to be healthy. All in a small 2000 square feet space. Once composted, our wood ‘waste’ becomes soil for our gardens. It's a full-circle operation we're proud to call ours." 

The mushrooms grow on a wood substrate that they make themselves. Sterilwood lab work involved. They buy the cultures from Petrie dishes to the liquid culture. They would work with other farms, keeping with the industry's best practices.

Keeping it alive! is the mantra of mushroom growers. Nicole adds, "Mushrooms are a really unique thing. They are forgiving and have power and energy. They always grow. We grow them in a tent on oak and pine substrate. Their four kids help with folding the substrate bags during sterilization and filling the fogger." Nicole is learning from Dan, her husband. They are in love with the process of growing. Oyster mushrooms 4-5 weeks. Lions mane 6-8 weeks temperature driven. 65 degrees, some hotter, some cooler. "Our mountains are perfect for them and very sustainable. Mushrooms take longer to grow in a colder climate pattern but grow better when it is cooler. Trycaderma is a fertilizer for wood that has been contaminated and can be used in their garden with very little waste. Meadowlark farms have found species originating from the wild that work here in our climate. Oyster mushrooms grow in nature. Nicole sees a more sustainable way of life in the future. "I want my own forest, a food forest," Nicole says. A food forest focuses on places that grow food in a way that mimics a forest ecosystem.

Types of mushrooms grown are:

Oyster

Lionsmane

Sithaake

Bears head

Chestnut

We still produce vegetables in season.

Now, we run a year-round farmers market in the Buffalo Bill's Tavern and Museum.

It's held Every Saturday from 8 AM to 12 PM. 

Get in touch for the date of our annual one-day gardening class.

Every March in the Show low area. The date and location TBD. 

Meadowlark Farms 

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