The Sag Harbor Express 09.09.04
Though you may not be aware of it, an agricultural revolution is quietly taking place right here in Sag Harbor. The brainchild of David Falkowski, this new farming movement goes to the heart of sustainability and the efficient use of resources.
It's name? The mushroom.
Falkowski, who grew up in a Bridgehampton farming family that has, to date, focused on more traditional East End crops, has started Open Minded Organics and is currently cultivating some five varieties of mushrooms.
Falkowski will be just one of the growers on hand at the Sag Harbor Farmer’s Market taking place this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the corner of Bay and Rysam streets. Sponsored by the East End Convivium of Slow Food USA, the market is part of HarborFest and will feature organic and locally produced vegetables, honey, potato chips, shellfish and cheeses — and, of course, mushrooms.
Though only in his first year of production, Falkowski’s mushrooms have garnered a loyal following among local restaurants and organic farms. Falkowski produces 20 pounds of mushrooms per week, but says he could easily sell more.
"For the most part, the restaurants are really into the stuff. They say, 'We want whatever you have,'" says Falkowski, who tries to harvest and deliver his fresh mushrooms on the same day. His dried mushrooms have a longer shelf life. "Americans are mycophobes in general. I have to give them props for incorporating them into their menus. They're not being imported — they're organic and local."
Inside a wood framed grow house with fans that circulate the air, Falkowski meticulously tends to thick plastic bags of pasteurized straw hanging from the beams. Visible among the straw is mycelium, a white webby substance like the stuff found on the underside of decomposing leaves in the forest. Falkowski explains that this mycelium will ultimately fruit out — or flush — through holes in the bags in the form of oyster mushrooms — either blue, white or king varieties.
"You can get three to four flushes per bag," says Falkowski. "But we take it down after two. Just like human beings, once the mycelium is past its prime, it’s susceptible to disease."
In preparation for growing his crop, Falkowski spent the last two years researching mushroom cultivation. He studied under world renowned mycologist Paul Stamets and has completed the Professional Mushroom Cultivation training program in Washington State.
When asked how he arrived at the idea of mushroom cultivation in the first place (which is done nowhere else on Long Island), Falkowski says he was inspired by “The Humanure Handbook,” Joseph Jenkins controversial book which delves into the concept of composting human waste.
And while Falkowski isn’t about to go there — so to speak — the book did get him thinking about organic agriculture and the efficient way in which nature, when left to its own devices, takes care of itself.
"It sounded kooky, but one important point is the cycling and recycling of nutrients," says Falkowski. "All of the sudden, it became a clear concept. This is really how things work. Waste is just an unused resource."
And when it came to finding perhaps the most efficient organism in the recycling of organic material, Falkowski arrived at the mushroom, a life form ubiquitous on the East End, and the bane of many a homeowner's existence when they pop up on the lawn uninvited.
"Mushrooms are a keystone species," explains Falkowski. "During composting, funguses finish off the process in decomposition. Even in logs. Through research, I realized a keystone species could be a profitable endeavor."
And it's in logs that Falkowski is growing his shiitake crop. Under a tent of black mesh netting, oak logs taken from a land clearing operation are propped against a support. Visible in the side of the logs are little holes — plug spawn where Falkowski has inoculated the shiitake fungus.
Falkowski is also growing Chicken of the Woods, a mushroom he claims tastes just like chicken tenders when sautéed in butter, and Hen of the Woods, also know as maitakes, a mushroom that will not make its appearance for another year.
"They take two years to grow," he explains. "Once a log is inoculated with fungus, it has to fully colonize. Once it has a stronghold it can begin to break it down."
Falkowski explains that mushrooms can also be grown on wood chips and in beds. As long as the mycelium has something to feed on, it will continue to thrive until its host — be it a log or a wood chip — is completely decomposed. The end product is great compost.
"I have my own lab, and 10 different strains that I can inoculate," says Falkowski who is creating his own spawn cloned from mushrooms. Once established on a petri dish, he cuts a piece off a piece of spawn and places it in a jar of rye grain. Once the mycelium has infused the grain, it is transferred it to the bags or logs.
Diligently working alongside Falkowski is his fiancée, Kathy Meyer, who is currently finishing up her training at the Natural Gourmet Institute, a whole foods cooking school in Manhattan. Meyer cites anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties as among the health benefits of eating mushrooms, not to mention the fact they're fat free. They also have cholesterol fighting properties, act as immune boosters and are a good source of vitamins. A one time a paralegal in New York City, Meyer has found a whole new way of life in mushroom cultivation.
"It’s wholesome doing something good for the earth," she says. "Our end product is amazing soil. So we also can make premium compost."
Because mushrooms are fragile and difficult to transport, Falkowski feels they are an ideal crop for the local market. By next spring, he hopes to be up and running with a new, streamlined operation on family owned land on Bridgehampton’s Butter Lane. With 20 acres available, tentative plans include a 2,000 square foot facility for cultivation.
While Falkowski's operation is not yet certified organic, his mushroom are organically grown. He hopes to become certified once operations are established in Bridgehampton and sees crops like his as promising for the new generation of East End farmer.
"This is a new innovative industry for Long Island," he says. "Just like the vineyards were when they began. Things are disappearing fast, this is an option to hold onto agricultural land."