West Wolf Farm
where amazing 'shrooms grow
where amazing 'shrooms grow
We believe in mushrooms. They have the power to heal our bodies and the planet. We believe the more people grow, eat, study and enjoy mushrooms — the healthier the world will be.
You can look up the history of the intimate connections between humans and mushrooms but the quick takeaway is humans have known about the healing powers of mushrooms for eons. And in our culture, we have only just begun to understand. So let's get to it!
WHY MUSHROOMS
Besides being a great alternative to meat, mushrooms are an adaptogenic super food. Scientists have isolated more than 100 health functions produced by mushrooms. To list a few: they fuel your immune system, boost energy, build brain clarity, reduce inflammation, fight cancer, help with allergies and cholesterol, protect your cardiovascular system and are anti viral and bacterial. Pretty amazing huh? We also think they're delicious. With over 10,000 known mushrooms, we want people to eat more than the 3 typically available in the grocery store. To date we have farmed over 2 dozen varieties such as Lion's Mane, Black Pearl and Pink Oyster.
the science of it all
From spore to mycelium growth—the "roots of the mushrooms" — to the fruits of the fungus...the delicious mushroom. Each step needs incubation, care and love. As we build up our lab with strains, we are also involved in a citizen science group with Mycobios. Together we are working on creating strains and conditions where mycelium can potentially eat non-compostable garbage such as styrofoam and convert it to compost.
OUR FARMETTE
Located in Boulder, our sweet little patch of fertile creek bed soil is a dream realized. For the first few months in 2019, we set up camp and observed the land as we did some badly needed restoration of the cottage. Soon we turned to the soil and turned part of our pasture into a regenerative farm with permaculture swales, trellised market garden, mushroom patches and a pollinator mandala. We also outfitted the sheds to grow mushrooms year-round. We welcomed birds to create an endlessly entertaining flock of ducks, chickens and turkeys— all with help from our farm neighbors and community of friends.
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We came from dense cities to create our blended family. Nicole from New York City, Ben from DC. Sashi was born in Saigon and Tenzin lived until he was 3 in DaTong, a city on the border of Mongolia. For years we enjoyed the busy lifestyle of our diverse neighborhood in Manhattan. Trained in politics and environmentalism, Nicole owned a community newspaper and worked in non-profits. Ben traveled globally as a documentary cinematographer. The boys, well, they grew up enjoying New York City playgrounds and Bronx schools.
Although we loved the culture, opportunities and being near family, we buzzed from the consumerism, crowds and risks of living in a target city. So we moved West for a little piece of sky. Here nature and the dharma are strong, a perfect combination to start a farm.
scenes from our family farm
