USVI-On-Line

I did something kind of different yesterday, and thought I'd share! Our friends have a certified organic farm, and I love to go out there, and get my hands dirty, helping them out. Yesterday, we harvested some shitake mushrooms....
Here's the woods where the mushrooms are grown -

Here are some of the logs that have been drilled, innoculated with spore and then plugged with wax, and from which the shitakes have grown -

Some of the beautiful, tasty mushrooms -



And now I'm going to enjoy a big bowl of mushroom barley soup that I scored, for helping out!

Wish shiitake mushrooms I get at the stores were that beautiful.

Very Cool !!

That is so neat!

Our shitakes here just have a funny look to them, I almost never buy them.

Yours look yummy and so clean and fresh.

I can smell that soup right now!

oh Yum! celery root bisque with shitakes here i come!

All those photos are great; I loved seeing how they are grown in an organic setting. Enjoy your soup!

That's pretty cool! Do they sell them around here somewhere? Wegmans? A stand? Very interesting setup.

That's cool, wish they could figure out how to grow sponge mushrooms. I'd have to grow those as a hobby. Those sure look yummy.

Very cool!

I didn't bring any mushrooms home. Better yet, they have given me some of their shitake pate and the soup they make, a variation of the Moosewoods' mushroom barley.
They sell their produce, the pate and the soup at a farmer's market and at their home. I'll PM ya, Toni.
It's fun for me, to get out of the sterility of the clinic, and do some "earthy stuff!" Glad you enjoyed the pics.

I never knew mushrooms were grown like that! They're beautiful! Lucky you with the soup. Last week-end I picked grapes for a local winery and got a bottle of wine,a free lunch, and some great conversations with new friends! I love a good deal!

Thank you for the pictures. For some years ago when we were driving to our vacation home we saw logs like those on the picture and couldn't understand what it was. Next time we saw some people going there, so we stopped and asked. We got the explanation about mushrooms, but we never really saw any. Perhaps the project has failed. I have never tasted shitakes.
Are they common in USA?

Linne

Does the farm have a website ?

Linne, I don't know if they're more popular here. I prefer shiitake, portobello and oyster mushrooms, but it could be just me. Button mushrooms are very common but I don't think they have much flavor. Maybe the logs you saw just haven't fruited yet. It takes around a year, after innoculation, for the logs to fruit. Hint...make friends with those people

Dave, here's their website: http://www.greenherongrowers.com/
They're good people!