Quality Mushrooms

This family-owned and operated farm has been growing top quality mushrooms for over thirty years.  

Daniel (left), the General Manager and Maarten (right), the head grower, with their little ones (the next generation of mushroom farmers).

Quality Mushrooms was built from the ground up by Frans in 1988 and is now operated by two of his sons, Daniel and Maarten. What started as 4 growing rooms, has now developed into a professional growing facility, with 9 fully climate controlled growing rooms, a compost yard, and composting tunnel facilities. Located in Ohaupo, Waikato, Quality Mushrooms has always focused on quality, sustainability and innovation has remained at the fore, with the brand achieving organic certification with BioGro in 2019.

Growing mushrooms is not only a science, but an art. Mushrooms require precise conditions to grow, and it takes 12 weeks from compost bed to harvest.  Daniel and his team produce 10-12 tonnes of mushrooms a week and each mushroom is harvested by hand.  They specialise in white button mushrooms and portabella mushrooms, harvesting 365 days a year.

Long before sustainability was trendy, Quality Mushrooms has been an active player. As part of a circular economy, they produce their own compost by using by-products from other companies that would otherwise be considered waste. For example, wheat straw (from harvesting wheat) and chicken manure are utilised. This way they know what’s going into their compost and even more importantly, what’s not going into it. 

After the mushrooms have grown and been harvested, the compost left over goes to local landscaping companies who use it in gardens, where it goes back to the land. This supports their goal of having the smallest ecological footprint as possible. Their environmentally conscious efforts date back to their first Waste-free Award in 1999. 

At Commonsense, Quality Mushrooms have become a staple item in the produce fridge for years ensuring customers have ready access to the freshest, most sustainable mushrooms on the market.

Blog first published by Chantal Organics, September 2024.