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Gourmet Growers Family Farms Cooperative
Crimini Mushrooms Growing White Button Mushrooms At the Farmers' Market
WHO WE ARE
Gourmet Growers Family Farms Cooperative is a group of three families that have worked together in agriculture for many years. The cooperative includes the families of the brothers Fernando and Fidel Flores, and Duncan Soldner. Our products are marketed by family member name, e.g., Duncan’s Mushrooms.
Starting in 2022, Lexa Selfridge has increased her involvement in our enterprise. Lexa is the daughter of Barbara and Duncan, You may have seen her at farmers' markets along with her little son Finnegan (Finn). Lexa has taken over most of the product packing and logistics activities, and we welcome her increased involvement.
Further increasing her involvement in the business, starting in 2023 Lexa and her husband, Aubrey, will be seen at most of the Windsor Farmers' Market meetings on Sunday
WHERE WE ARE - WHERE WE SELL
The families live in Petaluma, Windsor and Geyserville in Sonoma County, California. Each of the cooperative family members produce and process agricultural products at properties owned by them, and jointly sell those products to grocery stores, restaurants, produce brokers, and at Farm Markets. We began selling at Certified Farmer’s Markets in 2010, and we now attend markets in Healdsburg, Windsor, Santa Rosa (at Luther Burbank and the Vets/Farmers Lane), Sebastopol, Sonoma, and Petaluma.
OUR SUSTAINABLE FARMING POLICY
Family Gourmet Farms embraces Sustainable Agricultural Practices (SAP) which include minimizing the use of new raw materials and reducing waste. Our primary crops are Agaricus mushrooms grown on a substrate made from recycled agricultural by-products such as wheat straw, cottonseed hulls and meal, rice hulls, and gypsum from recycled wall boards. Our exotic mushrooms are grown on ‘logs’ made from compressed wood chips left over from furniture making. Our fruit and vegetable crops are grown in native soils enriched with our ‘spent’ mushroom substrate, and watered by drip irrigation.
OUR PEST MANAGEMENT
Our SAP pest management program involves no pesticides relying instead on prevention of infestation. For example, our mushrooms are grown in enclosed, air-conditioned spaces. The growing rooms are ‘positive pressured’ by blowing filtered air into the rooms which keeps out flying insects and the potential problems they might bring with them.
We appreciate your support of our commitment to sustainable agricultural practices.
Gourmet Growers – Healdsburg, CA. 95448 – (707) 695-4393 – duncansoldner@gmail.com
Google us at Duncan's GG Mushrooms
Follow us on Facebook : gourmet growers and Instagram : gourmetgrowers
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SPRING 2022 Thanks to all of you who shared your support for continuing variety of products at farmers' markets.
As you may recall, at the end of 2020 the California Department of Food and Agriculture made changes to the farmers' market regulations restricting the ability for one farmer to sell their neighbors commodities. The logic that they were using was based on their assumption that customers were unable to distinguish between different commodities. Their example to the industry was that all apples are a single form of agricultural commodity. So, a grower of Golden Delicious apples could not also offer for sale their neighbor's Granny Smith apples. Or in the case of eggs, a chicken egg farmer could not also offer their neighbor's quail eggs. Again the logic being applied was that customers would not be able to tell the difference and would thus be confused what they were buying.
The good news is that after complaints from folks like you, and the farmers' market vendor community, the State of California revised their regulations for everyone's benefit. Since late last spring farmers are again allowed to sell commodities produced by their farmer friends and neighbors as long as they are visually distinguishable and signs are present at the sale booth declaring which farmer produces each commodity.
This change in the regulations helps your local farmers bring to market a wide choice for your shopping selection
This would not have come about without your support.
THANK YOU!
Duncan Soldner Fidel Flores Barbara Spruce Lexa & Aubrey Selfridge
SPRING 2024 Thanks to all of you who have asked where you could find our products in restaurants and grocers.
For all of you, here are the answers.
GOURMET GROWERS MUSHROOMS
ARE FEATURED AT THESE RESTAURANTS & GROCERS
CLOVERDALE PLANK COFFEE
DALIAH & SAGE COMMUNITY MARKET
GEYSERVILLE CATELLI’S
DIAVOLA PIZZERIA
CORNER PROJECT
HEALDSBURG VALETTE HEALDSBURG
BRAVAS BAR DE TAPAS
THE MATHESON
HEALDSBURG BAGEL & DREWISH DELI SPOON BAR : In the H2Hotel
PLANK COFFEE HEALDSBURG
SHELTON’S NATURAL FOODS
AGAVE MEXICAN RESTAURANT
PizZando
WILLI’S SEAFOOD AND RAW BAR
WINDSOR PIZZALEAH
GRATA ITALIAN EATERY
BURTONZ BAKERY
CHARLIE’S BAR-B-QUE & CATERING
SANTA ROSA STARK’S STEAKHOUSE & SEAFOOD
AUGIE'S FRENCH BISTRO
BIRD AND THE BOTTLE
MONTI’S ROTISSERIE & BAR
THE SPINSTER SISTERS
WILLI’S WINE BAR
La GARE
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ROSSO PIZZERIA & WINE BAR
FRANCHETTI’S WOOD FIRE KITCHEN
PETALUMA SEARED STEAK & SEAFOOD
SEBASTOPOL PSYCHIC PIE
GRATON WILLOW WOOD MARKET CAFÉ
UNDERWOOD BAR & BISTRO
FARMERS MARKETS
Santa Rosa (2) Windsor Healdsburg (2) Petaluma Sebastopol Cloverdale
FIND US ON THE WEB : Duncan’s GG Mushrooms
WHO ARE ALL OF THESE PEOPLE?
As our title implies, we operates as a family farm cooperative which means that our combined families work together to produce our mushrooms and bring them to you.
When you visit us at farmers' markets here is who you will run into:
At The Original Santa Rosa Farmers' Market (aka the Luther Burbank Market) on Saturdays you will mostly see Barbara and sometimes her spouse Duncan
At the Windsor Farmers' Market on Sundays you will usually see Barbara and Duncan' son-in-law Aubrey along with wife Alexa and the kids (especially Finn). When they are otherwise occupied Duncan fills in for them.
At the Healdsburg Farmers' Market on Saturday you will find Duncan.
At the Healdsburg Farmers' Market on Tuesday you will find either Fidel or Duncan
At the Cloverdale Farmers' Market on Tuesday you will also find either Fidel or Duncan
At the Santa Rosa Community Farmers' Market on Farmers Lane both on Wednesday and Saturday you will find Fidel
At the Sebastopol Farmers' Market on Sunday you will find Fidel