It all started under a lemon tree...

Paul's lemon tree

That lemon tree didn't have mushrooms under it, at least none that we noticed. Mushrooms were not on our radar yet, San Diego isn't necessarily known for it's wild mushrooms. ​We were under that tree smearing tangle foot around the trunk to prevent ants and snails from doing their damage. This job was part of a sub-tropical plant production class in southern California that we both happened to be taking and where we met. Our shared love for plants, dogs and long walks on the beach, or through the botanical garden, or in the scrubby hills with our dogs is what kept us together. Dreams of farming filled the next 10 years or so experimenting and learning as we searched for our niche. Was it sub-tropical fruits? Medicinal herbs? Saffron? Native plants? Hydroponics?

Oceanside sunset

Things weren't all perfect like the sunsets in southern California, never-ending droughts, astronomically high gas prices, job losses due to the economy, Stef missing 4 real seasons... We decided to pack up our 2 houses, 4 dogs, composting worms, and a few favorite plants. I think the only survivor 9 years later is a happy ginkgo tree. 

Our baby ginkgo tree's first day in the ground 2011.

Ginkgo tree 2019

Slowly our tenth of an acre grass filled back yard was transformed into a somewhat sustainable mini food production plot. We have Blueberries (which Paul had experimented with in that same lemon tree class), Schisandra berries, Elderberry and other fruit trees, rotating vegetable crops, herbs, chickens, rainwater harvesting systems, compost bins and composting worms. The desire to optimize our garden soil is what finally got us into MUSHROOMS and where we are today!

Our back yard 2016 See the ginkgo next to the sunflower?

We still have citrus... It just winters in the house and smells delicious!