Willow Mountain Mushrooms ~ The Shroom Shack

Nestled in the Ozark Mountains of Southern Missouri, Willow Mountain Mushrooms has been providing gourmet quality mushrooms since 2004.

Using only Natural means to grow our mushrooms we maintain a high quality mushroom FULL of natural flavor not chemicals.

While other producers concentrate on a long shelf life by using chemicals ~

Willow Mountain Mushrooms specializes in delivering fresh picked mushrooms directly to you thereby avoiding the distribution system and the time it sits on your local stores shelf.

In doing this we maintain the mushrooms wonderful natural flavor that many people have told us they have never tasted before in store bought mushrooms.

Organic Produce Co-op

Organic Produce boxes delivered to your home, work, co-op meeting place or pick up point.

We offer a wide variety of boxes starting at the $20 level ~ Basic mixed boxes, veggie only, fruit only, snack/raw eating, juicing, Dried nut and fruit and add on's are available each week.

Each Wednesday we send an email letting you know what to expect in the following weeks box.

Standing orders are highly suggested, but not required. You can customize your standing order each week... or just 'know' that it will be there on your delivery day.

Being centrally located ... we deliver to Mountain Home, Gainesville and Theodosia on Wednesdays and to West Plains and Willow Springs on Thursdays.

Our supplier is unique in its approach to acquiring produce for the Co-op. The founders are farmers that got together in 2005 to create a co-op to help distribute their products. So, what they do is get products from smaller family farms first, many of which have CSA's, and then fill in the blanks with larger organic farms. Our goal is to do the same thing... utilize Ozark growers then fill in the blanks with what the supplier has to offer utilizing the smaller farms that they work with first.

To get started please fill in our contact form with the type of box you wish to order order, phone number and start up date and we will send you an email to confirm your order.

Look forward to meeting you!

Blessings,

The Semyck Family

Why Willow Mountain? Why Naturally Grown?

Many people ask us:  "What makes you different?"  Here is the answer...

Willow Mountain Mushrooms is a family farm. We are not a corportation with hundreds or thousands of employees. When you purchase from us you are supporting a farmer and his family.
Why "Naturally Grown"?

After Bob had worked for the large corporate factory mushroom farms for over 20 years we decided as a family to start a small farm of our own.


One of the first decisions that we made was that we would not use the synthetic fertilizers and non-organic (and most that are considered organic) insecticides during our growning. We even try to get organically produced materials for our composting whenever possible. With not using these chemicals we have lower yeilds. However, what we loose with yeilds we make up for in flavor and quality as well as shelf life.


We have had many of our customers tell us that, "I have never had a button mushroom that has had flavor and your mushrooms have Flavor!" Also, "I can't believe how long your mushrooms last in the refrigerator. I had a package in there that I forgot about and it was still good after more that two weeks!" Now, while we are thrilled that the mushrooms stayed so fresh for so long we do tell our customers that they should be eaten within 10 to 14 days ~ at which the reply is, "They won't last a day in our house!" (with a big smile!)

It makes us feel good that so many people, even former anti-fungus eaters, enjoy our mushrooms. We work very hard to produce a quality mushroom that is 'clean' ~ for the environment, our family and our customers.

We have to ask, "Why do our mushrooms have the flavor that factory farmed mushrooms do not?"

Could it be that the mushrooms are being picked too early? So that they can withstand the shipping trucks they enter and leave several times on the way to the grocery store?

~ Since we don't have to send in a crew to do our picking during scheduled hours, we go in when the mushrooms are ready to be picked. Now, that sometimes is 1 o'clock in the morning, but that is what it takes. So, we do it.

Could it be that the chlorine products (Dow Flakes) that are used during watering at the large factory farms to kill bacteria and make the mushroom nice and white dilute and kill any natural flavor that the mushroom may once have had?
~ We use just plain 'ole mountain water that is pumped from a clean aquafir over 400 feet in the ground. There is not a speck of chlorine added to this water. Not even for drinking purposes. It tests clean and pure ~ so, why mess with it?

Could it be the 'not so real' fertilizers that are used in addition to the 'natural' ones that the factory farms utilize?

~ We use 'straight from the farm' fertilzers provided by the animals we keep here and at neighboring farms to 'kick off' our crops and get the straw heating and composting to make some great smelling compost (I think it is just plain smelly, but Bob thinks it's a wonderful smell and enjoys trying to put it in everyones nose! You gotta watch him.)

Could it be the pesticides, like malathion and other neuro-toxins, that the factory farms employ on a standard basis as a preventative for mushroom fly?

~ We do not utilize non-organic chemicals during any process at our farm. We sometimes utilize a pyretherin to 'knock down' any flies that may be in a growing room after all the breaks are picked and we are removing the trays to dump the compost. We use it then so that they do not infest another growing room as we move the trays out of the farm to the compost pile.


Whether it is picking at just the right time, chlorine, not-so-natural fertilizers, pesticides or a combination there-of we may never know. And really, what does that matter? As long as we provide the 'cleanest', best tasting mushroom you have ever had.
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