How Our Mushrooms Grow

Our white, cafe and portabella mushrooms are grown on a pasteurized substrate made up of several raw ingredients like hay, straw, poultry litter, soybean meal, feather meal and gypsum. This composted material is processed in our state-of-the-art Compost Facility Plant, which features some of the newest and most efficient equipment in Canada, and shipped directly to the farm.

Before the beds are filled with substrate, mushroom spawn is added; unlike other plants, mushrooms grow from spores rather than seeds. The substrate is then ready to fill our aluminum beds. A layer of peat moss (casing) is added which helps the substrate retain moisture. Water, temperature and humidity are all electronically controlled to ensure each growing room offers the best conditions for growth.

In 14 days mushrooms will begin to grow up through the casing in a process called “pinning.” Since mushrooms double in size every 24 hours, mushrooms are harvested 5-7 days after pinning starts. Each bed then begins a harvesting cycle that lasts roughly 2 weeks. A lot of time and attention goes into harvesting our mushrooms. They are all hand-picked ensuring only the best mushrooms make it to your plate. Once all mushrooms have been harvested, the substrate is removed from the beds and recycled. This growing cycle then repeats 24/7/365, ensuring Canadian have year-round access to fresh mushrooms.