Our Story

Manchester Mushroom Farm started with a career change and a lot of curiosity.

Before becoming a mushroom cultivator, I spent five years as a teacher. I loved working with students, but I found myself increasingly drawn to agriculture, food systems, and the idea of building something tangible with my own hands. What began as a hobby quickly became an obsession. I spent nights reading farming guides and learning everything I could about growing food.

In 2022, Kaetlyn–my fiancé–and I moved from our small row home in Baltimore to my family’s two acres. We purchased twenty chickens from a local mill, then fifty, then one hundred and fifty. Soon, we had so many eggs we didn’t know what to do with them. We decided to sell them at the Olney Farmers & Artists Market. Little did we know at the time, but this was the beginning of a flourishing career in agriculture.

Each week, we sold out, demonstrating a clear demand for more eggs. We decided to take a leap and start farming full time. We planted a commercial orchard, while my mother experimented with gourmet mushrooms on a small scale. We quickly discovered the high demand for quality fungi above all other crops. So, we pivoted in that direction.

We began in a small space with a handful of mushroom varieties and a simple mission: grow high-quality mushrooms for our community and make fungi more accessible to everyone. We loaded up our car for multiple farmers markets, introduced customers to mushrooms they had never heard of before, and slowly built relationships with local chefs who shared our passion for great ingredients.

Since then, we’ve grown from a small market operation into a farm serving restaurants, retailers, and families throughout Maryland and the Washington, D.C. region. Along the way, we’ve expanded our offerings to include foraged mushrooms, grow kits, wellness products, and educational resources that help people explore the incredible world of fungi.

What makes our farm special isn’t just what we grow; it’s how we grow it. We handle every step of the cultivation process ourselves, from maintaining cultures and producing spawn to harvesting and delivering fresh mushrooms. We believe that great food starts with attention to detail, and we’re constantly experimenting, learning, and improving our methods.

Today, we are located on 18 beautiful acres in Manchester, Maryland. The new farm represents years of planning, saving, building, and believing that local agriculture still has an important place in our communities.

At its heart, Manchester Mushroom Farm is still what it was when we started: a family business built on curiosity, hard work, and a love of local food with others.

Iain Davis
Partner & Farm Manager