EAT MORE MUSHROOMS
At Leafcutter Farms we believe that everyone deserve access to high quality food that is grown with the earth in mind. Mushrooms are incredible for your health and are one of the most sustainable crops to grow with their low water usage and low spatial footprint.
Where Do We Grow
While we do grow produce on the farm, our main focus is mushroom production. We grow mushrooms indoors, inside a climate controlled grow room we built ourselves. We do not use chemical herbicides or fertilizers of any kind. We grow mushrooms vertically on shelves, improving both energy efficiency and footprint while maximizing production.
What Do You Grow On
Our grow blocks are made of a blend of hardwood sawdust, soy hulls, and water. While we grow mushrooms indoors on “blocks,” after harvesting we reuse the spent growing media by making mushroom compost to amend the soil around our farm, and for other farms and gardens in our region. We have found our mushroom compost helps with water retention, reduces weed pressure, and improves soil fertility!
Water Efficiency
Living in the arid southwest we strive to make our farm as water efficient as possible. Mushroom love humidity, and in our climate it can be difficult to achieve their ideal growing conditions. To grow quality mushrooms we custom-built a humidification system that uses 5-10 gallons of water daily to maintain adequate humidity levels in our growing space. When it comes to making our grow blocks , producing 2 lbs of fresh mushrooms requires only 1.5 L of fresh water!
Meet Your FUNgi Farmers
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Justin Crouse (Owner/Operator)
Justin Crouse grew up in the mountains west of Denver, Colorado. After living in Durango after graduating high school, he moved to Fort Collins to complete his bachelors degree in Natural Resource Management at CSU, minoring in Rangeland Ecology and Spatial Information Management (GIS). After graduating, Justin worked with the Colorado State Forest Service, and as Repurposed Material Manager for a commercial recycling company. Justin’s interest in mushrooms began during his time with the State Forest Service, and over the course of 3 years, mushroom cultivation grew from a hobby to a full-time passion.
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Victoria Halligan (Owner/Operator)
Victoria was raised in a fishing town on the west coast of Florida. In 2016, she uprooted to Fort Collins to pursue an education in Organic Agriculture at Colorado State University. She soon jumped into a variety of food justice and food waste diversion programs serving the local FoCo community. Vi has worked for several Ag-sectors including small scale farms, a pollinator research lab, compost education, and zero waste event management. Upon graduating in 2019 Vi knew she was passionate about strengthening local food systems and loved growing food for her community. She dove into the world of mushrooms and was fascinated by their incredible health benefits and the ability to be grown sustainably.
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Tuna & Jim
Our mycologist masterminds the Mighty Tuna & Mr. Jim
