Friends and urban farmers Micheal Shea and Howard Schmidt are major mycophiles, aka mushroom lovers. So, to share their passion for fungi, Shea and Schmidt created Petrichor Mushrooms to provide gourmet organic mushrooms to the Suncoast.
The idea for building a small crop community first took root while the pair was working on an organic farm in Hawaii. Wanting to bring their new understanding of sustainable farming back home, they were drawn to cultivating mushrooms. Beyond being super fun to watch grow, mushrooms are considered a superfood with ample culinary potential.
“Gourmet mushrooms take on a whole new flavor and texture while offering tons of health benefits,” Shea explains. After spending 2020 researching best practices and building an ideal habitat, Petrichor Mushrooms launched to the public in March of this year.
Inside its growing space—a converted room measuring only five by nine feet—the humidity, temperature and carbon dioxide levels are carefully controlled. A filtration system also monitors the intake and exhaust so that the delicate fungi get just the right amount of fresh air. Though compact, the urban farm can yield a whopping 500 to 600 lbs. of fresh produce each month.
Currently, Petrichor offers four types of gourmet mushrooms, though the company is looking to expand.
Read the complete article at www.sarasotamagazine.com.