salt spring 17

“
TOGETHER WE ARE
WORKING ON CREATING
A LITTLE URBAN FARM
THAT PRODUCES
WONDERFUL, SPRAY-
FREE, BOUTIQUE
PRODUCE WITH A
FOCUS ON REDUCING
LANDFILL FROM
COFFEE WASTE.
”
across a shout-out on Gumtree, after a quick Google search on
mycology, he knew he had to give growing mushrooms a go.
“I have always enjoyed growing things and being outdoors or in
the garden. I came across Michael’s ad for a mushroom farmer
one day and was intrigued.” He applied for the job and got it.
Simon admits that growing the business has been a steep learning
curve. Without experience in mushrooms or mycology there
were plenty of mistakes made. “Equipment failure, cool room
breakdowns, pests, mould infestation on crops and air-con
malfunctions were just some of the challenges,” he says. “The
important thing is we have learnt from mistakes and hopefully it
will improve how the farm operates.”
Noosa Earth continues to grow, with each team member bringing
knowledge and a unique skill set to the business. “Stephen has a
long history in horticulture, Kayt has a keen interest in mycology
and Steph has enjoyed growing mushrooms and produce at home
previous to working at the farm,” says Simon. “Together we are
working on creating a little urban farm that produces wonderful,
spray-free, boutique produce with a focus on reducing landfill
from coffee waste.”
Another aspect to the no-waste philosophy is a partnership with
OzHarvest, the perishable food resource organisation feeding
vulnerable people across Australia with fresh surplus food
otherwise destined for landfill.
The growing method involves sowing grain spawn into
alternating layers of barley straw and coffee grounds sourced
from local cafes, including Clandestino Roasters, just around the
corner. Before being packed into bags, the barley straw is soaked
overnight in a lime and water ‘bath’ to pasteurise it before it is
dried and then mixed with used coffee grounds and sometimes
coffee husks from the roasting process. The bags are then hung
in the incubation room, a repurposed shipping container, in
which there is no light or ventilation. Air-conditioning maintains
the temperature at 19 to 20 degrees and the CO2 levels can get
quite high.
“Depending on the strain we are growing, the bags stay in this
room undisturbed, other than a daily observation, for anywhere
between nine and 20 days. In that time the mushrooms start their
growing process. Mycelium starts to ‘run’ through the substrate
in the bag and eventually the bags start to ‘pin’ – tiny little
mushrooms start to poke out through the holes in the bags.”
44 salt