A Rainbow of Urban Agriculture

In an old factory building on a hilltop in Waterbury, thousands of vividly-colored oyster mushrooms--bright yellow, deep blue, improbable pink—have come to life. This kaleidoscope of fungi was created by Gregg Wershoven, a former bathroom remodeler turned mushroom entrepreneur. His business, Mountaintop Mushrooms, recently won a grant from the state to expand a unique business, cultivating rare and exotic mushrooms in the middle of a city. The self- taught cultivator currently grows about one hundred pounds of mushrooms a month; soon he expects his output will be one hundred pounds a day. Breeding different types of mushrooms takes both knowledge and equipment. Wershoven has benefitted from a state agriculture grant to expand his indoor specialty mushroom growing facility. The total project budget is $70,000; the grant award is $35,000, dependent on a private match of the state award. Established in 2005, the farm transition and farm viability grants protect and encourage Connecticut agriculture by supporting infrastructure, municipal open space grants, and historic preservation. Funding is generated through a $40 fee collected for the recording of documents into municipal land records. Grantees have one year to complete their projects. According to Steven Reviczky, the Commissioner of the state Department of Agriculture, “These projects build upon the work and recommendations of the Governor’s Council for Agricultural Development. With feedback gathered over the past year from hundreds of farmers and associated stakeholders, the council has begun shaping a long-range, strategic plan that will vitalize Connecticut agriculture—in turn increasing its existing economic contribution and creating jobs.” Mountaintop mushrooms plans to create thirty-eight new jobs, and has already developed two new products in addition to the mushrooms. A nutrient rich compost is made from the left-over root of the mushroom; while hydroponic gardeners benefit from a spent-mushroom bag that releases CO2 at controlled rate to help grow plants indoors. As Wershoven works to develop new strains of mushrooms from his “spawn library,’ he has discovered that the appearance and flavors he creates, inspire local chefs to create unique dishes of their own. In fact, La Tavola in Waterbury already has whipped up a dish using a yellow oyster mushroom grown at Mountaintop Mushrooms. If the state intends to support private initiative, this is the sort of imaginative project we ought to back—and it is right here in town. To learn more visit the Farm Transition Grant and Farm Viability Grant programs and additional information is at www.CTGrown.gov