They have quirky and slightly exotic names such as lion's mane, chestnut, black pearl, and pink oyster. Since November, the Simpson family — Sinda, her husband Darryl, and their daughter Alexandria — have devoted themselves to the cultivation of high-quality culinary mushrooms on their 60-acre farm, White Pine Meadows, in Oro-Medonte.
They have owned the property since 2011, and in 2021, decided to sell their two businesses in Barrie to focus solely on agriculture, and what is now The Mushroomery at White Pine Meadows.
"Food security is always something we've been very concerned about, and this (growing mushrooms) allows us to get into (farming) without having to get combines and equipment for the fields," Sinda said. Mushrooms, she said, "seemed highly exciting… and it's a trend, it's evolving, and it's becoming much more mainstream."
The family sells fresh mushrooms at area farmers' markets — Orillia on Saturday mornings, Gravenhurst on Sunday mornings, and Wasaga Beach on Tuesday afternoons — and delivers to several specialty stores in the region such as the Muskoka North Good Food Co-op in Huntsville.
Read more at simcoe.com