Fungi Fascination with Hazel Dell Mushrooms
If you ask Jared Scherger what inspired him to go into the unique field of mushroom farming, his answer is surprisingly simple: he thought mushrooms were fascinating.
His journey began when he heard a radio program on NPR about mushrooms. It piqued his interest, and compelled him to start researching more about fungi. As his studies continued, he picked up the phone to call Jim Hammond, the founder of Hazel Dell Mushrooms, and ask for a job. He would work under Jimโs leadership for more than a decade.
Jim started growing oyster and shiitake mushrooms out of his home garage in California in 1980. The at-home project would quickly grow into three operations near Watsonville, CA, and Hazel Dell Mushrooms was brought to Colorado in the 90s when his family relocated to the Fort Collins area.
Jared started at Hazel Dell as a mushroom farmer and worked his way up to Farm Manager. He spent thirteen years at Hazel Dell, absorbing as much information as he could, getting hands-on experience, and most importantly, paying attention to the fungi and how they grow. โIโve learned so much,โ shared Jared. โA lot of people never talk about the fungus kingdom. We see things as either plants or animals, without room for whatโs in between.โ
Hazel Dell Mushrooms benefitted from Jimโs leadership and expertise for nearly four decades before he passed away from cancer in May of 2020. After losing his mentor and friend, Jared and his wife, Luci, decided to honor Jimโs legacy by taking over the farm themselves. Becoming new business owners in the middle of the pandemic is no small feat. Jared and Luci quickly took the reins, with Jared leading farm operations and management while Luci handles the administrative side of their business (her email signature sums it up as Accounts Receivable, etc, etc).
Every mushroom at Hazel Dellโs starts out as tissue culture in a petri dish. What does that mean? Instead of growing from spores – which can lead to inconsistent results – Hazel Dellโs mushrooms are cloned to produce consistent results. The journey from the petri dish to the market is a delicate one that relies on attention to detail, the perfect conditions, and a dash of natureโs magic. Their most popular mushrooms, shiitakes, take as long as three months to incubate.
While theyโve come a long way in just three years, Hazel Dell isnโt slowing down any time soon. They hope to expand their space to make room for more โshrooms, while finding ways to upgrade their facilities. โWe donโt have the most sophisticated heating and cooling system,โ Jared noted as he pointed to a space heater in one of Hazel Dellโs harvesting rooms. At the end of the day, all that Jared hopes to do through Hazel Dell Mushrooms is share his love of mushrooms with his community.
โMany people donโt understand how dependent life on this planet is on fungi,โ Jared said. โLife on Earth wouldnโt have existed without fungus and what it has done. It goes to show how interconnected all life truly is,โ he added.
Hazel Dell Mushrooms can be found at the Boulder and Longmont Farmers Markets, as well as our online store.