click to enlarge Michael Crowe, owner of Southwest Mushrooms, produces between 1,200 and 1,500 pounds of mushrooms a week. Southwest Mushrooms Michael Crowe’s romance with mushrooms began at the age of 15. Today the Arizona native, also known as Mushroom Mike, is one of the valley’s most prolific urban mushroom growers. Its Southwest Mushrooms facility in Maryvale Village produces nearly 1,500 pounds of mushrooms a week. Crowe says he was initially intrigued by the mushroom’s ability to absorb waste and grow into a food source. He started reading books on mycology, then rehydrated, and then germinated his first spores from mushrooms from the supermarket. But it wasn’t until years later, in 2016, that he decided to turn pro. “I paid off my 401K and sold the stock I had in my business and started the farm,” says Crowe. Crowe began growing mushrooms at his home before moving to the larger warehouse in Maryvale Village, west of Phoenix. He currently grows 35 types of edible and medicinal mushrooms that can be used in a variety of ways: fresh, cooked, dried, powdered, as tinctures and brewed into tea. I Support Local Community Journalism Support the independent voice of Phoenix and help keep the future of the New Times clear. Southwest Mushrooms also supplies mushrooms to some of the best restaurants in the Valley, such as Tratto, the larder + the delta, and the Market by Jennifer’s. In its camp, the mushrooms go through several stages: germination, inoculation of the seedlings, incubation, colonization and fruit formation. The fruit are the mushrooms that you see in the store. His grow tents are filled with hundreds of fruit blocks arranged in tight rows on metal shelves. His selection of mushrooms includes reishi, maitake, lion’s mane, oysters, and chestnuts. The flavors range from pork to vanilla, the flavors from sweet and nutty to meaty. “Growing mushrooms is a balance between science and art,” says Crowe. How do mushrooms multiply? It all starts in a Petri dish in his laboratory. Two spores must mate, germinate and form a mycelium. Crowe then transfers the mycelium into a sterilized grain brood such as soft, red winter wheat, rye berries, oats, or a liquid broth such as light malt dextrose or honey. The culture takes over the grain spawn, which becomes a vehicle for the growth of the mycelium and is used to inoculate production blocks. The blocks are made of oak hardwood or sawdust, which Crowe steam sterilizes. (When growing mushrooms, it is important to maintain cleanliness to avoid cross-contamination.) In order to live and grow, the mushrooms must be placed on what is known as a substrate, such as straw or sawdust. The substrates with mycelium, a network of fungal threads, are brought into an incubation area where they settle. Crowe starts these rooms with high humidity (almost 90 percent to simulate a rainy day). As the mushrooms grow, it lowers the humidity. Depending on the type of mushroom, colonization of the entire bag can take between two and eight weeks. The bags are optically white. Then he creates an opening in the bag and moves the blocks into one of his three grow rooms. They are usually ready to harvest within seven to 10 days. (Maitake mushrooms take two weeks.) Each fruit formation is called a flush. According to Crowe, you can harvest up to five flushes from a block. He doesn’t always try five flushes as the amount harvested can vary with each flush. While the first flush can bring in three pounds, the fifth can only produce a quarter of a pound. click to enlarge pink oyster mushrooms. Southwest Mushrooms But that’s one of the reasons why he loves mushrooms. “You can grow a large volume in a small space and with minimal resources,” he says. Crowe doesn’t grow psychedelics. He also doesn’t cultivate secondary decomposers or mushrooms that grow on compost or manure, such as cremini, button, and portobello. Crowe says almost all of the mushrooms he grows have medicinal properties. Reishi has been shown to reduce tumor growth. Lion’s mane mushrooms contain neurogenerative mechanisms and can aid memory. Ganoderma lucidum sensu stricto is known as the “mushroom of immortality” due to its antibacterial, antiviral and anti-cancer properties. Lovastati, a substance found in oyster mushrooms, can help lower blood cholesterol. Oyster mushrooms can also lower blood sugar; however, the mechanism is unknown. Crowe has a YouTube channel where he shares his vast knowledge. You can find Southwest Mushrooms at the Downtown Farmers’ Market or order online. Crowe said he hopes to sell mushrooms straight from his warehouse in the near future. He also sells mushroom growing kits. For more information, follow Southwest Mushrooms on Facebook and Instagram.
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