Mountain Meadow Mushrooms

What a fun tour! We learned a lot about mushroom farming and the struggles of farming in general in California. Kid friendly. Elderly friendly. Professionals and beginners to the interesting world of mushrooms will enjoy this tour. What a great morning! Mr. Roberto (Mr. Fun Guy) led our tour. He is so knowledgeable and hard working. He answered so many questions!

Fantastic place to learn about mushrooms and their operational impact in nature. Roberto was funny and provided in-depth information on composting, mushroom life, and dispelled misconceptions. We received a baggie complimentary of booking a tour ($40). If you enjoy learning about the natural world and would like to support local business this place is great. Also, free compost piles!

Mountain Meadow Mushrooms is awesome. The tours on Saturdays are interesting, and you get to take home a bag of delicious mushrooms and as much free compost as your containers can carry. Amazing place, wonderful resource, and the most delicious mushrooms I have ever tasted. They also have full fruiting body tinctures and grow bags and logs you can take home and grow your own. Excellent customer service, the staff and Roberto the host are great people, and I'm looking forward to going back soon.

We visit this place regularly to pick up compost, and it never disappoints. The compost is high quality and works wonders on plants and vegetables—especially flowering and fruiting ones. Best of all, it’s completely free. Highly recommended!

We did the tour here and it was really cool! Very informative about how they grow mushrooms, and we got a bag of mushrooms each as part of the tour. They have a really cool store with some dried mushrooms and tinctures, and they also sell fresh mushrooms. Free compost too! This was a really cool way to spend a Saturday morning. I would definitely come back here just to buy mushrooms, but also I would love to bring friends on the tour just so I can experience it again.

Mountain Meadow Mushrooms is a great mushroom farm. All the mushrooms look amazing and fresh. The prices are good for the mushrooms and they have a great variety that you wouldn’t be able to find in grocery stores. They even sell growing kits so you can try and grow some delicious fresh mushrooms yourself. They have free compost but they can load a truck or trailer for you but they charge a small fee, if you load yourself theres no cost. A true hidden gem on San Diego County and Escondido. It’s always good to support a small local business as well.

First homeschool field trip of the year was to this farm, my kiddo is obsessed with mushrooms! It was amazing, she was stoked and we both learned so much. The tour was very educational and went over everything about composting, including materials used, process and in-depth info about the proper method of composting. Then it went on to mushroom growing from beginning to harvest. At the end of the very thorough tour, we got to harvest a good sized bag of organic mushrooms to take home, the highlight of the tour for my child! After all that, we went into their store where we were able to bring home a shiitake growing log and a lion’s mane growing kit as well as a variety of mushrooms they pick fresh on the spot for us when we chose what we wanted. This time we brought home king trumpets, shiitakes and lions mane in addition to the bags of white mushrooms we picked. It’s wonderful to visit a small business that’s willing to really show you how their process works, and answer questions. The price for the grow kits was great, and the fresh mushroom prices were amazing. All organic! And the tour is only $15, but you get a discount for 5 or more people so we only paid $10 each. A great bargain for a day full of education and good times. We will be back and highly recommend!

Very disappointed in mushroom prices. One would think if you go to the source you'll get a great deal, but I was wrong! Way above and beyond retail values compared to the general market. One would think that they would give close to wholesale prices since locals are picking up from their location, but no, exact opposite. Literally every retailer B2C in San Diego County sells $1-$2 less per pound (depending on variety) than these guys. Otherwise forget it, this place is only good for mulch/compost, that's about it.

I shop for all of my fruits and vegetables exclusively at the Irvine farmers market. The lady that runs the Mountain Meadows Mushrooms booth is an extremely nice and friendly person. The variety of mushrooms are absolutely divine. I prefer the shiitake and the buttons. I also like that I'm using my money to support local independent farmers. I'm also certain beyond reasonable doubt that the quality of product I'm getting is far better than any store could provide.

Great local place for super fresh mushrooms. You can get them either directly at the farm or you can find their products also at some farmers markets. Highly recommend the tour the owner Roberto leads every couple of weeks on a Saturday. He is very knowledgeable and you can see how proud he is of his business!

Got from too good to go with lower price . Worth to go . Very fresh mushroom . Only thing is the manager was on a phone so I had to look for the mushrooms myself to pick up but with a sign where to find .

DO NOT EAT THESE MUSHROOMS! Long time customer until I saw that they grow their mushrooms in what looks like compost sourced from the landfill. After buyer for years I was redoing my garden area and knew they provided compost. I paid to have the 10yds delivered and found plastic bags, rope, gloves, candy wrappers, cigarette butts, a door hinge, soda cans, plastic bottles, rubber, and other pieces of trash that I've been picking out for the last 4+ weeks.​ I do my best to avoid toxins and eating food grown in trash is not my idea of healthy or safe. I figured I'd share my experience to others who also wish to avoid eating food grown in this manner.

Got a bag of mushrooms here the area is really farm like and rustic! Liked visiting here didn't feel like San Diego. Mushrooms are good

They have a wide variety of mushrooms. They have also give us recipes that are favorites of ours now. "Scallops" from the king oysters are my husband's favorite. We pick up directly from the farm when we are in the area.

We went on a tour of their mushroom facility in Escondido. We had been here before Covid hit to buy mushrooms and boy have things changed. It's sad to see how Covid affected so many wonderful businesses. They use to sell millions of pounds of mushrooms to the restaurants and now they sell less than a million due to so many closing. On the bright side they have teamed up with another mushroom company and now do tinctures as well as tours and plan to expand. They explained how they grow all their mushrooms inside similar to the Dutch. They went from 120 employees to just 10 so if you want something specific place your order ahead of time because there is a good chance they will be out before you get there. Especially their rare mushrooms which are amazing!!! We got a few tinctures and the King Trumpet mushrooms which are suppose to taste like scallops so Surf and Soil Turf will be cooked tonight. We also got some free compost while we were there. The compost is free they just ask you to sign in. I highly recommend the tour and make sure you buy some fresh mushrooms and tincture.

I come to provide another review about their free mushroom compost. I learned about this several years ago but felt ill equipped to haul bulk compost in a small car + unmotivated by the distance from me (40 mins away), but ya know what? if you are serious about gardening and being cost-effective, it is worth the time and effort. What I finally decided to do was bring two large totes with me and tarp, shovel, 5 gallon bucket and gloves. Easy peasy solution for us non truck or SUVers. Really easy drive, open 7 days a week (so important for us weekday office workers), and blatantly obvious where the compost is that you can drive right up to. Saw all the signs saying to checkin in to the office, but it was closed on sunday and a worker told me if the office is ever closed not to worry about it and just take from any pile desired. I was in and out in 30 mins and the amount I was able to transport is probably over $100 worth of great compost "black gold." And the hilarious thing is my "great bounty" didnt even knock a dent in their supply to the world. It's clear why they are able to offer completely free mushroom compost without worry of running out. Even a truckful would put a dent in that mountain. My method for loading and unloading was a bit cumbersome, but not really a big deal. I backed up right next to the pile to shovel directly into my tote in the trunk then used the 5 gallon bucket to shovel and dump into the one in my backseat. Oh, and for those wondering...this compost doesnt smell terrible. Mild mushroom smell. Yes, my car smelled like it but it wasnt offputting and leaving all my windows open in garage thru the night it was gone completely. The compost sat in my car for hours while I went to the safari park after. Unloading entailed shoveling around half out of each tote and onto a tarp so it was light enough to remove from my car and then back in. Again, only took me about 10 mins a tote. Life with a pickup would be easier but I enjoy my gas mileage :) I cant speak on the results of the compost since I literally just picked up. With inquiring with my local gardening group, some people advised leaving computer for a bit to age stating they felt it was still hot/fresh. Others said they put directly in garden without issue. I'll be waiting a bit before use. Very excited for my first mushroom compost addition to garden. Thank you MMM!

Another great visit to Mountain Meadow Mushrooms. We bought 5# of Maitake mushrooms -- most of which we used for our mushroom sauce for pasta -- and some Pink Oyster mushrooms that I sauté with olive oil and garlic. Always take advantage of the free mushroom compost. We use it for our vegetable and herb gardens.

Unbelievable our tour guide and part owner Robert knows so much about mushrooms. The tour is worth the money and you get to actually take home fresh mushrooms. I never knew the medicinal qualities so intense from mushrooms. If your restaurant or your cook please go there and support this business their stuff is organic fresh and amazing!

5/5 ORGANIC Mushroom tour $25 per person, $10 deposit prepay. Includes tour and 1 bag of freshly picked mushroom variety. Worth every penny! To appreciate the farm, watch Netflix's FANTASTIC FUNGI which took years to make. Roberto (owner/tour guide) is a smart and funny mushroom nerd. If you are curious about mushroom related machinery, price of almond shells or wants scientific data, he's your man. Tour involves walking around outdoors so have proper shoes and maybe hat/umbrella on hot days. The best part of the tour is last, where you can taste fresh mushroom and fill your bag. After all the walking, you will appreciate being inside the refrigerated storage "farm." You have to wear mask, head cover and gloves to protect the baby mushrooms (part of tour kit). BEST FRESH ORGANIC MUSHROOMS 5+++ stars. Skip the grocery store and come here. Call ahead to check inventory for that day. You don't realize what fresh tastes like. They are now carrying organic tinctures and powder for your wellness needs. A "wish" list is hopefully they start carrying tincture without alcohol base for those who can't tolerate any alcohol ingredients. FREE FREE FREE FREE ORGANIC compost!!! This is for ANYONE, you don't have to buy anything. You just pull your car to the mountain of compost and fill up. Line up your trunk, bring gloves and gallon buckets. If you have a major gardening project, call for a truck delivery $125, it's worth it. Nice friendly hardworking staff. Support local, organic and enviromentally conscious business.

We visited Mountain Meadows Mushroom farm in the rolling hills of Escondido prompted by sheer curiosity. Our guide, Robert, is a fantastic raconteur with a laidback attitude, complete with flannel shirt and cowboy hat. He gave a tour that was, borrowing his catch-phrase, "splendid," portraying himself as a "fun guy" (get it?) always ready with a story or quip. He was very informative; we learned so much about the different kinds of mushrooms (primary, secondary, and tertiary decomposers!) and aspects of actual farming (preparing the compost, ideal growing conditions, the Dutch vs. U.S. system). Everyone went home at the end of the tour with a bag stuffed with shiitake mushrooms and ideas for recipes. He answered everyone's questions, providing both practical tips and entertaining personal anecdotes, and shared some fascinating tidbits about trends in the industry overall. A few items that would have made the experience even better, though their lack doesn't affect my five-star rating: - Update the website, bringing it into the present decade and really showcasing the farm, and improving the tour reservation page so visitors can select their tour dates and see which dates are full (we learned only by contacting the office that tickets are for the immediately upcoming tour) - Show visitors more fruiting chambers with different types of mushrooms. We visited just a couple fruiting chambers, one empty to learn see how they're designed, and one (most likely reserved for showing visitors) with shiitakes, though we appreciated there were a couple other examples on-hand. - Greater variety in the gift shop. After checking out the online store, I wanted to try some of that mushroom jerky! The products on display were generally limited to mushrooms (of course) and tinctures.

We had a very interesting tour with Roberto, the owner. He is really engaging so we learned a lot and it was fun! We got to see various parts of the mushroom farm and several different kinds of mushrooms they are growing. They also give away free mushroom compost. And you can buy mushrooms and grow kits there. Definitely worth a visit!

For my birthday I asked my family to take a tour with me to Mountain Meadow Mushrooms. It was just a wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning. We learned SO much on the tour given by the owner, and I am now going to bring relatives who visit and are mushroom lovers like me. We immediately started cooking up the mushrooms we brought home, and did you know the beautiful pink oyster mushrooms cook into yellow? Very delicious, too.

bought the shiitake log a week ago. so impressive. took the tour last month and also picked up free mulch/compost

Their mushrooms are delicious, we always get the variety bag when we come to get the FREE mushroom compost! The compost grows great veggies. It is a stellar little operation and everyone is friendly. I'm stoked to see them at more farmer's markets and even doing deliveries. You guys should make stickers, I'd love to slap one on my truck!

I went there to pick up free mushroom mulch. So grateful for having the opportunity to do so. Of course I wanted to see their mushrooms and got a bag of trumpet mushrooms that I cooked up like scallops. We got two big meals for two out of one bag. Lovely and delicious! Definitely will be back though it's a long drive from here to their Escondido farm. Very happy.

Love these guys! Have wanted to visit this farm for ages and finally got around to it. Unfortunately, the pandemic put the kibosh on touring the farm. However, we were greeted cordially, got four cases of assorted mushrooms, fresh and fragrant, (10# per box!) for just $30 each! Wow! Can't be that. We also got a huge load of mushroom compost in the back of our truck. Compost is free if you "serve yourself". If you'd like it dumped into your truck bed, it is just $25. Great ride into the back country, wonderfully friendly helpful people, delicious fresh mushrooms at a fabulous price. Do bring cash, and load up on compost and mushrooms! Buy local!!!

Great place to find rare and unique mushrooms and free organic compost!! Will return with a truck :)

Bought a huge pack of mushrooms and made a bunch of hot pockets. My son loves them. The mix ofushrooma is perfect and we've been cooking them for a week now...

Great variety of mushrooms and they are very knowledgeable and friendly. Took home a small variety box to try them all

Local mushroom farm in Escondido that is 100% certified organically grown. I went there to get mushroom compost. There was a giant pile of compost. For $25 you can have it loaded into a truck or trailer with their loading machine. I wanted to buy mushrooms from their farmstand, but didn't see it. It was an interesting "field trip" for my kid, and maybe next time we can get a tour of the growing rooms. I buy their mushrooms at Frasier Farms market, and they are local and fresh.

This place is fabulous! An enormous operation with a great selection of mushrooms for a great price, and the compost! Everone I know who uses their compost has an INSANELY productive garden. Best of all, the compost is FREE. F - R - E - E Just back up your truck and load it in while the personnel prepares your mushroom order. They also sell mushroom tinctures, powders, and even delicious mushroom jerky. We are going to go back with some friends for a tour.

Magic Mushrooms.. I first found out about this place watching Mike Rowe's Dirty Jobs show (Mushroom Farmer). The farm is just up the road from me so it obviously perked my interest. Little did I know, but I've been using their product for years ( You can find it at Henry's and other local grocery stores). I've also been impressed with the quality of their shrooms. Note - They basically grow the mushrooms in sh*t. You'll need to call them to find out about tours. Free compost! I'd call to make sure they have the equipment available if you're loading a truck. (760) 749-1201. You know you're close to the farm... the place stinks!

Free compost!! As much as you can shovel! It's a little out of the way (maybe not for everyone, tho').

The staff was super friendly and answered all of my many questions. I would highly recommend this place for their free compost and their mixed box of mushrooms.

Wonderful, sweet and helpful people. Great compost! I've never gone wrong using their compost. In fact the beds I added their compost to far outgrew the ones that didn't get the compost. I haven't bought mushrooms from them yet. I'm eager to buy their mushroom-growing gifts. I keep going back. Beautiful drive. Beautiful experience.

Mountain Meadow Mushrooms is a hidden gem here in San Diego County! Our group booked a tour for ten people. Robert, our tour guide, was extraordinarily knowledgable, and we learned so much about mushrooms, composting, and his organic mushroom farming methods. In addition, we were able to see every step of their process, and the elaborate set up they have to grow different types of mushrooms. The tour price included a bag of fresh picked mushrooms, which were delicious. We highly recommend Mountain Meadow Mushrooms - available on their website and at local farmers markets and a few groceries stores - and if you ever get a chance to tour, you'll cherish the trip!

While the world has gone mad with the quest for organic, local, local organic. I think it's important to point out the places like Triple M and CCD, Inc. have been producing local mushrooms in the 8 figure range in pounds for many many years and anyone who is vegan or vegetarian that doesn't draw the line at fungus should know the importance and benefits that they give over vegetables, green vegetables, nuts, root vegetables, etc. This is not a fad, this is not new, this is not a gimmick, this along with other gems are the key to the entire eco-system. Protip: Learn about the free organic mushroom compost that is 1000 times better than what you can get at El Corazon. 7-7 self loaded. If you've bought bulk mushrooms from local markets like Solana Beach, Vista, Carlsbad, etc. you have already tried them. They distribute and sell to a few local markets like Any green thumb or aspiring gardener knows the importance of soil and not the top soil crap you buy at HD or Lowes. I'm talking real compost, I'm talking biogenic and nutrient rich stuff that is "black gold" for all plant life. I promise you by switching to this you will see improvements in your harvest, you will know that buying something marketed as "pesticide free" isn't always the case, while using "natural organic" compost can be trusted. Since most of the reviews are about the compost I've dug a little deeper over the years. For value it can't be beat on compost and on mushrooms, you'll learn a lot in just a few minutes with their friendly staff and as you've learned from Mike Rowe it is a dirty job, lots of crap, lots of moisture, lots of smells and all kinds of heat and hot mess rise from their mounds of glory. They sell everything you need to start your own little subsistence mushroom growing, logs, plugs, PH testers, and some key information on the steps. What they won't tell you about is their industry secrets like how they get their logs to be so densely rich with spores. Cremini and white It's pretty easy to find and despite the pungency of the operation it certainly doesn't overpower the chicken farms you also pass on your way east of the 15. I've done worse.

Only if you love gardening will you even consider reading this. This place is way off the beaten path, and not a pretty sight. But nice to know. I- now that I am retired - am finally getting into organic gardening. I had a sadly neglected yard that is now starting to look like something with a little bit of elbow grease and sweat. New fruit trees, some nice roses, an apricot tree (yum) not to mention my favorite, a pomegranate tree that yields football sized fruit that tastes amazing. I have tubs full of heirloom tomatoes, herbs, and plans for growing beans and chard, maybe more. And lots of weeds. They all need TLC, except the weeds of course, and healthy compost addresses many of my problems. Unfortunately my kitchen trimmings are limited, and bags of compost from Home Depot are not exactly cheap. So when I found out that this mushroom farm piles up their spent mushroom compost, and lets you haul it away for FREE, I was all ears. This is exciting s**t, literally. My gardening friends, they ask that you check in at their humble office first. But bring your truckful of empty trash cans and start shoveling. Dirty, dusty work, smelly, but you already know your garden will love you forever. Hey, maybe you'll get some nice mushrooms too.

This place is awesome. Free compost and excellent mushrooms. Nice vibe too.

Gary and his people are the best in the shrom bizz! These are the freshest mushrooms you can get anywhere and they taste AMAZING! They have huge piles of organic composted soil that is free for the taking! It is better than anything you can buy in the stores and did I mention that it is FREE! Just check in first at office, bring a shovel and a truck and get to work. It has grown some of the most amazing fruits and "herbs" EVER. Oh yeah, did I mention it was FREE :)

If you like to garden and need some compost to amend your clay soil you've come to the right place. Best of all .. It's free. Bring your shovel .. Buckets .. Garbage cans etc. Our veggie garden is doing fantastic after we added the free compost provided by this Mushroom farm. (Don't forget to check in at the office.)

Not only does this business grow the best organic mushrooms ever, but they also have a program to give gardners their by products for free. They grow yummy nutritious organic mushrooms. The mushrooms put off a biproduct that is very nutritious for the, and we gardeners haul it away, mix it with soil (you have to mix it in -- only use 1/3 or you'll burn your plants, and in turn, we get big beautiful vegetables! When ever I shop for mushrooms I always think of MMM, and guess what, they are nice people too!

I want to thank you MMM for the high quality compost. I mixed the compost, sand and topsoil, 1/3 each by volume. The soil is great, high nutrient for the plants with good drainage. I did not any else to this mixture...ie fertilizer. I placed this black gold in a raised box three months prior to planting. The plants are healthy and productive. The Thai peppers and tomatoes are transplants and fruiting. Green onions and basil are vigorously growing. Corn and beets are sprouting from seeds.

We've been here several times. They have a giant pile of manure that you can just pull up and take what you want for free, even on SUNDAY! Black gold for the garden. (Most people recommend letting it sit a few months, at least, before planting with it) everything we've grown with it has been great. Thank you!

If you're getting compost from here, beware. It's not as awesome as people make it out to be. Yes it's free, but free doesn't always mean good. This stuff is great when you first get it, but then it dries out and compacts down so hard you can barely stick a shovel in it. Unfortunately we assumed we could plant straight into it (like we do with the compost we make) and it killed all of our vegetables. I was very upset because everything I planted in it were special vegetables I grew from seed that you can't buy at any store or nursery. A few tomato plants and marigolds barely survived, and they look terrible. This compost compacts so much it does not dry out. This was the reason the plants died. We spent a whole day digging up 4 massive garden beds again adding well draining soil and sand to the compost. We will try again now that it's mixed up with other soil and things. It's safe to say, If you're going to use this compost, DO NOT plant right into it, it needs to be mixed with other soil.

I went for a tour with my granddaughter!!. Roberto was most kind & they have the absolute best mushrooms we've ever had . Plus he gives away FREE compost for your garden. Thank you so much for showing us how the best mushrooms are grown .

This place is great. Free compost, super nice people. My plants and garden have never been happier. Thanks Mt. Meadows!

I really appreciate the mushroom compost! Thanks Mountain Meadow Mushrooms! Available Mon-Sun 7am-5pm, Free. Just bring a shovel. They will load Tue nd Thu only, from 7am-3pm for $25. Compost contents vary, but the note they gave me listed straw, horse straw bedding, cottonseed hulls, meal, agricultural gypsum and grape pomace.

This place is in a rural area of Esco. Lots of nurseries and private residences as well on the way to the mushroom farm. Went there with my Dad because we both had built raised beds and needed some good compost to add to the topsoil. We went on a Sunday at about 1pm. They had two really big piles of the stuff, it smelled like shit. You can see the mushroom caps in this stuff, its killer, great for growing veggies. I have oregano, basil, tomatoes, peppers, rosemary, onions, and kale growing right now and they are all doing great in this mushroom mulch. I would recommend bringing a truck with a tarp in the bed and some zip ties to keep it all in place.

Holy mushroom madness! The legends of the free mushroom compost are true! Black gold I say, this stuff looks and smells pretty legit. Went earlier today with my dump trailer and paid $25 to have it loaded with their tractor. Easily saved me a few hours shoveling and I drove home with over 5 yards of stinky goodness.

I haven't tried the mushrooms, but let me tell you about the compost! It's FREE. It's not manure people, it's a really expensive blend of worm casting, peatmoss, and grape pumice, and a few other things...not cheap. The compost process is state of the art and what you get is "spent" meaning one crop has been grown with it. Bring shovels and muscles and water, this stuff needs to be sifted and mixxed with at least 3 other types of compost for a complete product. I use composted horse, and dairy cow (also free here is SD, look for it) and the compost from Mirimar landfill (really good stuff). Mountain Meadows is awesome if your lucky enough to live in SD and like to grow! I love you guys! And Rosebank Elementary loves you too, the garden there will be huge this year!

Great place to get free mushroom dirt full of nutrients for your garden, downside smells like shit!

Went by this place to see if the compost legends were true... and they are! Huge pile of the stuff free for the taking, just make sure to check in with the front office (at the back of the property) first. We filled in a raised bed with mostly compost and just about 30% native soil (clay), and I am completely impressed by the quality we got. We definitely plan coming back here, what an amazing business!

I grew a phenomenal garden from the compost I picked up here! Free and limitless! What a wonderful way to help home gardeners grow!

I'm reluctant to purchase this brand of mushrooms again due to the amount of dirt on them. There is a quality control issue with this product!

great stuff...black gold! love this place for giving the soil away and our plants and grass are so happy to have it...will be going back for me again soon!

Today a group of 38 people had a tour of a fascinating growing process. We were treated to a tour and lecture of the complete cycle of growth. It was absolutley fascinating as well as educational. Mushroom cultivation is a real science! We will be asking our grocers why they are not selling mushrooms from a local source if we do not see the Mountain Meadow lable.