- Video shows Bear Valley Mushrooms co-owner Bryce Hudson explaining his passion for farming mushrooms. The entire growing process happens in his backyard, and he researched everything to properly hand-build it all.
- Since farming full-time since February 2023, Bear Valley Mushrooms' products have traveled quite a ways. The culinary program at the Bakersfield Adult School uses the mushrooms in their cooking, something that Chef Robert Alimirzaie says enhances the creativity of the program.
- Visit Bear Valley Mushrooms every weekend in Bakersfield at the Riverlakes and Haggin Oaks Farmers Markets.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
In Bear Valley, a local family has quite the operation running in their backyard.
Bryce Hudson, co-owner of Bear Valley Mushrooms,
"I've always been the kind of person who likes to figure things out, and I just got a grow kit, kind of went down a rabbit hole and never came out," said Hudson.
Hudson built the entire growing operation himself by watching and reading tutorials to figure out how to properly farm these mushrooms, and what type of climate they thrive in.
The first step is filling filtered bags with oak and soy whole bran pellets, and then the bags are transferred into another hand-constructed item: a pasteurization barrel.
"So it kills off any of the other bacteria and funguses that are in there," Hudson said.
Hudson has a passion for learning about the delicate process of growing fungi. The fungi need to incubate in a climate-controlled room, and then finish in a growing room. All of which he hand-built. He says his family owns a construction company, and he drew from his construction background as a foundation to begin properly building the necessary items.
Hudson said it was a lot of trial and error, but worth it. Since February, farming and selling mushrooms has been his full-time job.
"Right now, we're producing about 100 pounds a week. So we're trying to get more clients and go up from there," Hudson said.
Every weekend, they travel to Bakersfield to sell their mushrooms at two local farmer's markets: Riverlakes and Haggin Oaks Farmers Market. Through this, the mushrooms have made their way to other areas of Bakersfield.
Chef Robert Alimirzaie, a culinary instructor, uses Bear Valley Mushrooms' products in his courses at the Bakersfield Adult School.
"These are just fantastic mushrooms, I mean..we get about 20, to 30 pounds of mushrooms every week from him," said Alimirzaie. "One of the mushrooms that is not easy to buy at a restaurant is lions mane. He grows it for us and we always have lions mane, it is one of my favorites."
According to the 2022 Kern County Agricultural Crop Report, vegetable crops generated $1.1 billion in revenue, up from $846 million in 2021.
Both Hudson and Chef Robert agree that there are not many farms growing specialized mushrooms around Kern County.
Alimirzaie says since the culinary program partnered with Bear Valley Mushrooms, they've saved around 75% of the cost compared to outsourcing from different mushroom suppliers around California.
"But you start getting a little bit bored with the usual mushrooms…button mushroom, crimini mushrooms, portobello mushrooms…everybody has it. We want the students to have experience with products that is not that easy to find," said Alimirzaie.
The whole operation is a truly homegrown, authentic process happening right in this family's backyard.
“Everything is grown with love and we’re there rain or shine every weekend. We’re just trying to be there for our community and offer the best mushroom products we can," said Hudson.
For more information on the full operation, you can visit the Bear Valley Mushrooms website or Instagram page, or visit them in person every weekend at the Riverlakes or Haggin OaksFarmers Markets.
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