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No forest, no problem | Check out this mushroom farm in the middle of the city

VL’s Urban Farm is on Ivanhoe Avenue.

ST. LOUIS — VL’s Urban Farm on Ivanhoe Avenue grows gourmet mushrooms indoors and puts them on display for all to see.

Mike Crabtree, chief mycologist and master farmer, grew up hunting for morel mushrooms in Southern Illinois. While you cannot grow those, he does grow other varieties like Lion’s Mane, Blue Oyster and Pink Oyster. He sold mushrooms at the Soulard Farmers’ Market for three years.

Now, he has his own shop and sells mushrooms to the public and to chefs. He sets up his shop like a butcher – there is a cooler where you can pick the perfect-looking mushroom.

If you weren’t surprised enough by Mike and his indoor mushroom farm, there is one more thing that really puts it over the top: mushroom coffee. Show Me St. Louis host Dana Dean gave it a try.

He says there are a lot of health benefits to mushrooms.

For more information, visit vlsurbanfarm.com.

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