What began as an academic pursuit in the fields of mycology, botany and organic chemistry at the Evergreen State College in Washington State, became a quest to build and operate an organic mushroom farm. The manifestation of this path is Cascadia Mushrooms and a love of the art of growing mushrooms and sharing that passion and its bounty with others.

    Cascadia Mushrooms was founded in Bellingham, WA in late 2005 by Alex Winstead. The farm started as a micro-sized operation in Alex's basement and garage in a rented suburban home. Since those initial cramped days, the farm has completed five successful seasons at the Bellingham Farmers Market, and we're in our third year at Seattle's University District Farmers Market. In Fall 2009 we moved to our permanent location just North of Bellingham, Washington. Now as the dream mushroom farm becomes a reality, we continue to inspire our customers' interest in learning about and eating mushrooms as well as growing their own.

    While still a small scale farm, the company's vision is growing as quickly as the demand for its delicious mushrooms.

  Serving the local demand for gourmet mushrooms is the target audience for our products. We sell mushrooms and mushroom growing kits direct at farmers markets and wholesale to local retailers and chefs.

    Organic and sustainable growing practices are a top priority in the farm's vision. We are a "Toward Zero Waste Pioneer". In addition to using only Green Power on the farm, more than 90% of farm waste products are recycled locally. By delivering locally, the farm is supporting Whatcom County's strong local food system, and reducing the farm's carbon footprint by keeping our fresh mushrooms within 100 miles of the growing houses. The growing process itself uses no chemical applications. That means none of the conventional stuff that is used on standard mushroom farms: no fertilizers, manure, brighteners, fungicides, or pesticides. 

    Cascadia Mushrooms prides itself on being able to grow mushrooms in a clean, disease-free environment without the need for chemical intervention. The largest by-product from growing mushrooms our way is fertile, clean garden compost.