And a Fungi He Was

The experienced hands of Baris Gomes stir the moist, nutrient-enriched soil that provides the sustenance to keep the mushrooms in healthy condition. What we call “garage,” Gomes calls “workspace.” The 12ft x 13ft area has a scent similar to freshly plotted woodchips. The aroma of moist soil crawls through Baris’s nasal passages making its way to the tongue where we are truly able to experience the blossoming scent of the beginning stages. The lights are dimmed low. Yellowish-white rays of light reflect off the clear plastic ducted taped to the ceiling to prevent bacteria from entering the Mecca of fungi.

“Mushrooms are the next big things. They can be used for business, education and incorporated into people’s lifestyles.”

Baris Gomes, 31, a senior financial systems analyst at BASF has recently begun the journey of the cultivation of mushrooms. He is in the midst of transforming his garage into a small vertical farm. Vertical farming is an interpretive take on traditional agriculture where producers grow food in tall buildings or the act of stacking produce on shelves to save space and reduce costs.

The infatuation with mushrooms began at the University of Arizona. Every summer, this toasty campus hosts an event where the fundamental purpose is to promote healthier and a more sustainable, production and consumption relationship with food between produce and humans.

Gomes attended this conference in 2012 and immediately realized an opportunity that would not only be financially beneficial but environmentally as well.

“There was this guy at the convention right, and he was preaching about how the mushroom market is on the rise, and I’m sitting there thinking to myself, ‘Well I mean, I like mushrooms,’ And that’s the moment I realized that I needed to become a mycologist.”

Within a few years, he was able to transform a mild feeling of interest to a connoisseur of all things fungi.

“Fungi are super smart.” Gomes proclaims. “They are decomposers, but they are also life-givers. Who wouldn’t want to study fungi?”

When asked why he adored mushrooms so much he responded very prideful and commended them for their caring nature. Fungi’s roots, called hyphae, latch on to the plant's roots and extend themselves deep into the soil where nutrients are inaccessible for plants to reach on their own. Once the fungi retrieve the desired food for the plant, they participate in a handoff. As the mushrooms feed the plant, the plant produces sugars that the fungi consume. This process is known as a symbiotic relationship; two parties are mutually benefitting from each other without causing any harm to one another.

Fungi and plants are great allies given the right circumstances. During the process of photosynthesis, plant cells take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release oxygen as a by-product. Fungi, on the other hand, take in oxygen and produce carbon dioxide. Because of this relationship, farmers strategically grow mushrooms next to plants, and the plants can grow faster and stronger because of the constant consumption of carbon dioxide emitted by the fungi.

Gomes looks forward to taking this magnificent duo and using it to his advantage with his vertical farm. When asked if he would consider straying towards the regular horizontal, farming style, he hastily shut down the question.

“Why would I want to destroy landscapes to create flat land? Vertical farming is the future because of its resourcefulness and innovative take on this traditional practice.”

The rising population is causing a domino effect on the agriculture industry. The demand for food is increasing while consumer preferences are constantly evolving. Vertical farming has become a favorite trend amongst several nations across the world because of the accessibility and cost and effective energy tactics.

According to a study done by the Journal of Agricultural Studies at the University of Bonn in Germany, “Due to the closed environment and controlled lightning, the land productivity of vertical farming is twice as high as traditional agriculture.”

Vertical farming provides a paradigm shift in the way we cultivate and use the land. Space is an issue that vertical farming seems the resolve in respect. Abandoned urban properties can be converted into food production centers thereby eliminating the need for expensive construction and remodeling of land that can be utilized for something more productive. Optimization of the area could be as resourceful as one indoor acre equaling 4-6 outdoor acres or more, depending upon the crop. This observation is considered inconceivable in case of conventional or greenhouse agriculture.

With all these positive qualities, it would not be considered revolutionary without some flaws. Crops require space, light, carbon dioxide and water, which are available freely in nature. Because vertical farming is an indoor process, the elements of the production that cannot be present can only be supplied at a cost. Structures need to be built for the nutrient delivery system and shelves for storing the plants.

On the one hand, vertical farming is an innovative necessity for many communities where agriculture is necessary. However, it’s climatically challenging to be practiced in the open, like in desert nations or mountainous nations lacking flat arable land. Vertical farming is a space-saving approach that can also be beneficial in Mega-cities where real estate demands hinder setting up of parks and botanical gardens.

As the public becomes more mindful of where their food is coming from, farmers are looking to revolutionize ways to assist consumers to make the best decision for their lifestyle. As mentioned in the AgMRC Renewable Energy Newsletter, plowing and manure contribute to almost 78% of the agricultural emissions in the United States. With the global climate change issue more pressing than ever, vertical farming has the opportunity to get more significant social and political acceptance because of its problem-solving capabilities.

“Local food gardens are back in-style. The mushroom industry is going to be very hard to monopolize so this leaves a lot of leeway for independent growers.”

Gomes is actively working on his garage, so in the mean time, he is leading the development of a meager garden at Pioneer Academy in Wayne, New Jersey where high school students have the responsibility of caring for several varieties of mushroom species in a mock vertical farm.