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MARCH 2019 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC Filling a niche for gourmet mushrooms


Specialty mushroom grower expects to double production


by MYRNA STARK LEADER SUMMERLAND – When


Brian Callow started growing mushrooms eight years ago, the Ontario-born hospitality professional never imagined it would lead to being an innovator, expert and teacher. From his beginnings


growing mushrooms on the asphalt driveway at his Penticton house, now with two full-time seasonal employees, he’s producing 500 pounds a week of indigenous strains and specialty commercial varieties in greenhouses on a property in Summerland from April to November. Unlike traditional


commercial operations that typically grow one to three varieties, What The Fungus (WTF) produces about 12 varieties of mushrooms annually including Pearl Oyster, Pink Oyster, Chestnut, Enoki, to Lion’s Mane, King and Elm Oysters. They’re sold to about 45 restaurants from Osoyoos to Kelowna looking for seasonal, unique products. This year, WTF will expand sales to Kelowna and Whistler restaurants. WTF will also supply home delivery companies including Farm Bound in Vernon and Local Motive in Summerland. Prices vary from $10 to $14 a pound for restaurants to $6 to $8 wholesale. Typically, chefs don’t get to pick the varieties. Callow offers them what’s ready. Farmers’ market variety packs sell for $10, equating to $16 to $20 a pound. The artisan farmer says a


couple of generations ago, families would forage for wild mushrooms, passing on knowledge about edible varieties. Today, the public buys mushrooms from grocery stores or growers like Callow who can educate them on foraging and cultivation practices. “When I first started, people


would walk by my mushrooms at the farmers’ market and not know what they were looking at. These days, the public is more educated on local food,” Callow says. Callow’s YouTube channel,


with over 30,000 subscribers, also helps educate and inspire viewers about WTF and his journey into mushroom cultivation. WTF also sells mushroom cultures worldwide and is the Canadian distributor of Unicorn grow bags. “We’re getting people


interested in something they normally wouldn’t be,” he says. “It’s cool.”


Growth curve


Six years after relocating to Summerland, Callow is all about growth, with plans to grow production to 1,000 pounds a week. WTF is adding two more


greenhouses, for a total of seven, expanding its incubation lab by 40 feet and building another three sterilizers. The only barriers to growth are choices like taking on a third employee, which will make Callow more of a manager. He doesn’t know if he’s ready to delegate parts of


33


Brian Callow, right, says his background in restaurant service makes him a better farmer. Used to speaking with customers, he says people want to know what they’re eating and the better he is at telling them what is on their plate, the more he earns. Callow has diversified his mushroom operation to include mentoring international students like Benedict Noel from Perth, Australia. SUBMITTED PHOTOS


the job he loves, like making product deliveries himself. But it wasn’t always like this.


Starting a new business was hard. “My wife Faith and family


helped tremendously in the tough years,” says Callow, who at 29 maxed out his credit cards and relied on his wife’s emotional and financial support. “I owe all my success


to Faith, who has stood by me all these years.” Two years into his business, he partnered with Thor


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