Nate Rosenbloom, owner of Mountain Mushrooms in Reno, holds a cluster of blue oyster mushrooms from his farm. Photo by Shea Evans

Fall 2025 | Cover Story

Fungi Frontier

Locally grown gourmet mushrooms are a hometown delight.

written by Barbara Twitchell

Do mushrooms prefer classical music? Nate Rosenbloom, co-owner of Mountain Mushrooms farm north of Reno, says it depends upon who you ask. Rachel Jessee, his life and business partner, says “absolutely” — but Rosenbloom confesses that the growing fungi get a big dose of hip-hop music when it’s up to him, and they’ve never complained.

Either way, walking into the fungi growing place (or fruiting room, in mushroom speak) is an extraordinary, almost otherworldly experience. Atomizers pump out a hazy, surreal fog, while the strains of music regale countless rows of alien-looking fungi growing out of square, white fruiting blocks on floor-to-ceiling shelves. One is tempted to yell out “Beam me up, Scotty!”

The farm is on Rosenbloom’s beautiful, bucolic, 135-acre homestead, located on the north side of the Peavine hills. His entire mushroom operation is housed in an interconnected series of five converted shipping containers, totaling around 1,500 square feet of operational space. This provides a completely protected, controlled growing and storage environment for the mushrooms, ensuring a product that is USDA- and CCOF-certified organic.

Rachel Jessee with her life and business partner, Nate Rosenbloom, and their two children, Ona and Tatum, at their farm in North Reno. Photo by Shea Evans

Rosenbloom has spent nearly a decade perfecting his skills as a fungi grower and has created a niche market as the only commercial grower of gourmet mushrooms in the Reno-Tahoe area. The small farming operation produces 200 to 250 pounds a week, year-round, of an impressive variety of gourmet mushrooms. That’s good for the business — and good for us.

Mountain Mushrooms sells its products directly and exclusively to hometown consumers through local, independent grocers, a select group of local restaurants, and, especially, farmers’ markets in Reno, Sparks, Carson City, and Truckee, which comprise the bulk of its sales.

“We’re 100 percent local,” Rosenbloom says. “We grow it locally, sell it locally … not a lot of businesses do that anymore, especially with food. It creates a very connective relationship between farmer and consumer and builds a very different community. That’s a really satisfying part of what we do.”

It also means you get the freshest, best-quality mushroom directly from the grower’s hands. You can ask questions, get advice, and perhaps try a new variety of mushroom just for the fun of it.

Major Mushrooms
So what mushroom varieties are popular right now?

“Lion’s mane is most attractive to people because of its medicinal properties,” Rosenbloom says. “People buy it for that reason and then learn how to make it yummy.”

He says it’s pretty adaptable to a variety of recipes as its neutral flavor picks up whatever seasonings you add to it. Because of its texture, many people find it makes a great substitute for crab or chicken in recipes.

Chestnut mushrooms are one of the rare varieties he grows. Their buttery flavor and crunchy texture make them a favorite of many customers. But you’d better come early if you want to try them, he says. They’re always the first to sell out.

Maitake is an underappreciated variety, Rosenbloom says, “with a flavor and aroma that’s out of this world.”

Other excellent varieties he sells include king trumpets, which are the meatiest of them all, with a dense, almost steak-like texture. Beautiful, dramatic oyster mushrooms are prized for their delicate texture and mild, savory flavor. Shiitake and turkey tail are other popular varieties worth a try, among others.

King oyster, or trumpet mushroom. Photo by Rachel Jessee
Pearl oyster. Photo by Rachel Jessee
Pearl oyster. Photo by Rachel Jessee
Yellow oyster. Photo by Rachel Jessee

Are you a do-it-yourselfer? Rosenbloom sells ready-to-grow fruiting blocks for $30 that can yield about $70 worth of either lion’s mane or blue oyster; the blocks are available for purchase every Sunday at Riverside Farmers Market in Reno. With them he also provides instructions; you need only deliver the necessary growing environment (90 percent humidity and light) by creating a makeshift clear tent out of a plastic bag or old fish tank.

Not that brave? Rosenbloom also can give you a used block for free, just to try your luck at getting a second fruiting out of it. If it fails, it’ll make a nutrient-rich addition to your compost pile!

Added bonus: The music you play for your own fruiting block is totally up to you!

Mountain Mushrooms
775-686-0008 · Mtmushrooms.com
Find Mountain_mushrooms_reno on Instagram.

Where to Find Mountain Mushrooms:
Riverside Farmers Market (Old Southwest Reno)
Shirley’s Farmers’ Market, Village Market (Old Southwest Reno, through Oct. 4)
Carson Farmers Market (Carson City, through Oct. 4)
Great Basin Community Food Co-op (Downtown Reno)
New Moon Natural Foods (Truckee)
Reno Mobile Market (Old Southwest Reno)
Tahoe Food Hub (Truckee)

Restaurants & Caterers:
Beloved’s Bread & Café (South Reno)
Calafuria (Midtown Reno)
Foodshed Café at Great Basin Community Food Co-op (Downtown Reno)
La Condesa Eatery (Midtown Reno)
Liberty Food & Wine Exchange (Downtown Reno)
Madein (Old Southwest Reno)
Reno Bar & Grill (East Reno)
Roundabout Catering (Sparks)
Thali (Downtown Reno)
Truckee Tavern (Truckee)