From log to table: Central PA mushroom farm makes use of forest resources

Winding down Route 322 east on a drizzly May morning, I felt awash in the green canopy of trees that lined the highway. The Juniata River was high, and the atmosphere was saturated. It was a perfect day to visit a mushroom farm.

Deep Hollow Forest Farm is a ten-acre property nestled along Armstrong Creek near Halifax. It’s a cathedral of oak, spruce and rhododendron where the enterprising farmer, Brian Scott, a gentle bear of a man, is assisted by a woodland sprite, the affable Autumn Rutter in garnering the treasures of the woods that naturally present themselves, in addition to using forest resources to grow mushrooms.

The gravel driveway into the farm weaves through corridors of oak logs stacked on wooden racks to minimize insects and slugs getting to the fruiting bodies. Bright plastic plugs on the end of each log indicate that the logs are inoculated, and the various colors specify the variety. A large, bright winecap mushroom on the path elicits a chuckle from Scott as we walk along, with the remark that “they inoculated the property.”

Scott has had no formal farming training, no mycological background. He is a former ICU nurse who worked at the Harrisburg hospital and started growing mushrooms as a hobby in 2015. After dealing with COVID-19 patients for one year, he quit his job in 2021 and took the leap to grow mushrooms full-time.

A native of Indiana County who attended York College, Scott is 47 and married to Tonya, who teaches junior high math. The couple lives in a house on the farm that they purchased in 2010. His commute to work is now a 50-foot stroll to his grow room and the adjacent production room where he and Rutter dry and package the products.

There’s a large plastic hoop house for growing during shoulder season, a basin the size of a hot tub for soaking the logs, and a wood burner to dispose of the spent logs that have ceased producing to heat the hoop house in the winter.

Scott sources the logs that he uses for growing from logging jobs and land clearing. The loggers only want the trunk of the oak tree and leave the top branches on the ground. These branches are full of sap and perfect for growing mushrooms. He lets the logs rest for a year before colonizing with mushroom mycelium, and then they produce for three years.

The shiitakes that Scott grows outdoors on oak logs are diverse in color and flavor, varying from week to week. They are very different from the shiitakes found in supermarkets. Grocery store shiitakes are primarily shipped over on inoculated substrate from Asia, and stored for a few weeks so they can be labeled “Product of the USA.” They are lackluster compared to ones grown outdoors on wood.

The indoor grow room at the farm is filled with rolling metal racks lined with substrate blocks, which are comprised of a mixture of sawdust and soy hulls. Lion’s Mane, King Oyster and Blue Oyster clusters bloom from the edges of many of the blocks. There is no dirt involved in their cultivation. They are clean when harvested and ready to use. His farm is inspected by food safety inspectors from the Department of Agriculture and the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

Excess mushrooms are dried and packaged in a work room that adjoins the grow room. Scott also processes other products such as spruce tips made into a delightfully aromatic seasoning salt.

In addition to cultivated mushrooms, Scott sells foraged specimens, such as morels, when they are in season. He sells ramps, and spruce tips that he gathers from the woods and “likes doing more with what we have.” His plans for the future include selling mushroom compost and making and selling mushroom jerky. He has also considered adding wild-harvested nuts to his list of offerings, which currently includes pawpaws in season. He is a fan of the Keystone Tree Crop Cooperative, an organization dedicated to increasing awareness about the importance of sustainability and resilience in forest resources, which is currently working on processing hickory nuts into hickory oil.

Scott is well aware that he started his mushroom business just as mushrooms were taking off as a darling of the wellness industry, with mushroom coffees all the rage and chagaccinos featured at hipster coffee shops. However, he believes that many of these dried mushroom derivative products are sourced from overseas. He prefers to deal with the real, live, local mushrooms.

“You gotta love the products,” he says. “There’s so much work and nobody’s getting rich. I love handling the products — and I like eating them too.”

Deep Hollow Forest Farm sells at the Tuesday Boalsburg Farmers Market, the North Atherton Farmers Market on Saturdays, and the PA Open Air Market in Harrisburg on Fridays in addition to having his products at various outlets in the Harrisburg area. Pine Grove Hall and the Allen Street Grill are two restaurants that use his mushrooms in dishes on their menus.

A spring foraging workshop was held at the farm a few weeks ago, and, in the fall, Scott will host a log-inoculating workshop where participants will make a shiitake log and take it home.

Keep an eye out for Deep Hollow at the local markets to see what foraged foods are available. Last Saturday’s North Atherton farmers market had several bundles of milkweed shoots. Have a conversation with Scott or Rutter about local mushrooms. Learn to enjoy the woods, the green, and the rain.

Here is a recipe from the cookbook “Seasons of Central Pennsylvania.” Try it with one of Deep Hollow’s outdoor, log-grown shiitake varieties for a full-flavored treat.

Masaya Matsui’s Shiitake Mushrooms

This Japanese treatment of shiitake mushrooms is perfect for including in a rolled sushi presentation, or just for serving on top of rice.

• 12 shiitake mushrooms, cut into thin strips
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sake
• 1 ½ tablespoons sugar

Combine all ingredients and cook until the mushrooms are tender.