After our having grown for many years, as a family and then producing over 300 pounds of Oysters in just one week in a ‘make-shift’ grow room in one of our horse stalls… next came my declaring that The Shroomery would become a business, as well as exactly where The Shroomery barn would be located on our farm.

Luckily, Scott was able to research, configure and build an adequate home for The Shroomery on our farm, while I finished out my 16+ year career in the medical field.

Tina Barger (Owner)

Why a mushroom farm you ask?
I began foraging at the very early age of 6! And am still enjoying it over 40 years later (yes, I am getting to be that old!! (LOL) As a family, we are going on over 9 years of growing for ourselves and I am just shy of the second anniversary of 'The Shroomery'.
My love of mushrooms, and foraging, began at a very early age, while visiting my Grandparent’s vacation home in Indiana. So many fond memories of family, friends, enjoying time on the Ohio River and picking dozens of morels a day! Yes dozens and dozens a day! Each morning my cousins and I would get up bright and early and take our baskets around the 'Camp' to harvest, then enjoying different flavorful dishes daily!

Need I say that during this time frame, I also grew to love hiking and the discovery of everything in nature!

Scott Barger (Farm Manager)

Scott was born an raised on a 150 acre farm in Bethel, Ohio with mushrooms having been about the only thing that he had not learned to forage...so sad... his family have never been fans of shrooms😢. Since good things happen to good people…!!!… after several years into our now 17+ years of marriage, I brought him Morel hunting on his own family farm! In return he taught me how to identify several of our native goodies, such a Dew Berries, Black Raspberries and Paw Paws, that he had grown up foraging with his Grandmother.

Ashley Schrenker (Soon to be the 4th Generation!)

With the combined foraging skills belonging to Scott and myself, need I say that our daughter Ashley can identify not only the majority of mushrooms native to our region, but also the fruits and other local vegetation.

No, there is never a boring dish or salad in our home (#foodies!) espec when adding dandys, plantain, wild violets, purslane, ramps, elderberries, poke, pineapple weed and so many other natural and medicinal 'goodies' from your own own yard!