Fun with fungi: Edye Farms bringing wildwood mushrooms to Perth County agriculture

Arlene Oetomo and Joe Edye of Edye Farms are bringing woodland mushrooms like oyster and lion’s mane to St. Marys and area residents. The duo grows more than 200 pounds of mushrooms every two weeks.

By Emily Stewart

Edye Farms, run by Arlene Oetomo and Joe Edye, wants to encourage St. Marys and area residents to cook with mushrooms unique to what’s typically found at the grocery store.

“Edye Farms was born out of our shared passion for eating more plants, sustainability and growing our own food,” Oetomo told the Independent. “We were looking for more variety and higher quality mushrooms right here in Perth County and found a gap worth filling.”

With Edye’s upbringing on a family farm, Oetomo’s educational background leading to her PhD in public health focusing on climate change and both of their experiences working on farms and in organic produce operations, the pair grows more than 200 pounds of woodland mushrooms every two weeks. As these mushrooms usually thrive in the fallen logs and decaying trees of a humid forest environment, Edye Farms found a way to copy those conditions indoors.

“We mimic those conditions in our controlled indoor environment with no pesticides or fertilizers – just fresh Perth County air and water,” Edye said. “This is quite different from the mushrooms you typically find at large grocery chains, which are commonly grown on animal manure at industrial-scale farms.”

Edye Farms can grow and harvest mushrooms all year with their indoor facility so customers can enjoy wild mushrooms like the lion’s mane mushroom and oyster mushrooms and learn how to cook with them. Lion’s mane can be used as nuggets or steak, for example.

“Fungi are genuinely fascinating and we love being the ones to introduce people to what they’ve been missing,” Edye said.

Nothing goes to waste at Edye Farms because any unsold mushrooms are dehydrated and sold dried in powdered form to be used in soups, hot drinks and baked goods.

Edye Farms is part of Perth County’s strong agricultural community. With an aging population of farmers across Canada as more than 60 per cent are over 55 years old, Edye and Oetomo said they hope to inspire a new generation of farmers. Only about nine per cent of farmers across Canada are under 35 years old.

“As young farmers ourselves, we feel a responsibility to help change that trend and to show that sustainable, efficient farming methods can be a viable path for a new generation,” Oetomo said. “Growing food for climate-resilient communities isn’t just a goal for us; it’s the whole point.”

Edye Farms made their St. Marys debut on Jan. 26 at the St. Marys Farmers’ Market and received an overwhelmingly positive response.

“People were genuinely excited to find fresh, specialty mushrooms right here in St. Marys,” Edye said. “The response exceeded our expectations.”

Edye Farms will be part of the regular farmers’ market season starting in May. For now, the farm is running online ordering, local delivery and weekend pickup at The Flour Mill, and the response so far has been promising.

“Right now, our biggest challenge is raising awareness without a physical storefront and helping people feel confident cooking with mushrooms they may not have tried before. But that’s part of what makes this exciting for us,” Edye said.

For more information, including online orders, visit edyefarms.ca.