Mushroom Farm
Maui's only mushroom farm is just outside
of the town of Makawao,
on the way into Upcountry
The mushrooms are grown inside this warehouse-style building
Rocky, the originator and owner of the
farm, explains that the mushrooms are grown in
bagasse, which is shredded wood from stalks, a byproduct left over after
the sugar
has been removed from processed sugar cane.
The shredded wood is autoclaved and then
mixed with mushroom starters and placed in
large plastic bags, hanging in the warehouse.
Mushrooms grow out of holes in the sides of the hanging bags.
The Oyster Mushrooms are picked by hand.
Even after the harvests are finished and
the used bags are discarded,
mushrooms continue to grow out of the bags.
Like all tours, the tour of the mushroom farm ends in the gift shop.