NEW RICHMOND, Ohio – The thing that Emalee and Pete Richman love the most in this world is one another. But mushrooms are a close second.
This couple uprooted their lives in March 2020 to pursue these two great passions. They quit their jobs, moved from North Carolina to New Richmond, Ohio, and started a gourmet mushroom farm together: Rich Life Farm and Fungi.
They had been mushroom hobbyists for years, but this endeavor was only partially thanks to their fascination with fungi. It was grounded in their desire to spend time together.
Before, Emalee worked night shifts at a nonprofit while Pete worked in horticulture during the day. They felt like they were always missing each other.
“We’ve been having this dream for a while, of wanting to work with each other,” Emalee said. “We were sick of giving the best of ourselves to other companies and other people. We want to give it to ourselves and each other.”
Emalee and Pete knew they wanted to make a change.
It meant spending months transforming a pole barn into a growing lab. It meant growing batch after batch without selling to pass inspections. It meant sacrificing their previous lives and careers.
In March 2021, Rich Life was approved to sell its exotic mushrooms by the Ohio Department of Agriculture. Pete and Emalee now spend their days together raising mushrooms, selling them at seven markets and supplying eight restaurants.
The growing growing operation
They began growing oyster mushrooms in a little greenhouse tent they kept in their laundry room years before their business. Over time, their setup advanced to labs in their spare bedroom and makeshift greenhouses in backyard sheds.
The scientific Pete was always intrigued by the experimental research in fungi, such as its uses as a leather alternative or even medicine. Emalee loved to use them in the kitchen.
These days, Rich Life Farm and Fungi specializes in the culinary side of fungi. They have grown a dozen varieties of mushrooms to be cooked and devoured.
On the side, Emalee and Pete partnered with the folks at Garden State Mushrooms in New Jersey to cultivate varieties that have only existed in the wild before. Rich Life is one of only a handful of small mushroom farming operations to take on the beefsteak polypore. It's a thick, reddish mushroom that fans out from the trunks of trees. It's still in the early stages of growth in their lab as they experiment to see the best way to produce these wild mushrooms.
They had to do a lot of learning before they could start producing mushrooms on a large scale. Emalee and Pete read. A lot. They observed other mushroom farmers. But what proved to be most beneficial was good, old-fashioned trial and error.
How they do it
It begins with the growing medium. Emalee and Pete use a wooden pellet mix that they seal in a biodegradable bag. They purify the growing medium with heat. By doing this, they kill off any unwanted bacteria.
Then, they toss in some mushroom culture to the sterilized medium. Think of this as planting the seed in a vegetable garden. They let the culture stew and spread in the air-tight bag for a few weeks. What comes is a white cloudy texture that spreads across the medium. This is mycelium.
Next is the fruiting stage. Here, the cloud of mycelium will bloom into the iconic shapes that most people recognize. Emalee and Pete transfer the bags to a new room where they slice the bag open and wait.
Slowly, the fungi will fruit and grow through the slices in the bag into bunches of colorful mushrooms. Each variety moves at its own rate. They keep an eye out for the tell-tale signs of ripeness. For a variety like the pink oyster, the cap will flatten out. For the lion’s mane, the texture will get a little bumpier.
Time to harvest. Emalee and Pete slide on respiration masks to avoid the dreaded “mushroom worker’s lung” – a disease farmers can develop from repeatedly inhaling spores released during harvest. With protection, they pluck the bunches of mushrooms and stick them in the walk-in cooler.
After about two months from start to finish, Emalee and Pete are ready to take their mushrooms to market.
At the end of the workday, the couple mosey from their barn to their home on a wooded hill a few yards away. Tomorrow, they will do the same. It gets tiring.
But they are living their dream. Together.
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