Urban Gourmet Farms

02/02/2024

Over the last few months we've been ramping up production here at the farm. This week we hit a milestone with over 1,000 pounds of mushrooms harvested and it's only Friday!

10/24/2023

Who will be the 2023 UPPY Farmer(s) of the Year: Wisdom & Cherie Jzar, Deep Roots CPS Farm; Hiram Ramirez, Urban Gourmet Farms; or Joe & Amy Rohrer, Boy & Girl Farm? You can be one of the first to know by coming to our 2023 UPPY Awards Dinner on Monday, November 13, at Middle C Jazz. Don't be left out. Click the link below and reserve your seats today.

Thanks to our signature sponsors: Charlotte's got a lot, Vulcan Equipment, and Toast

https://unpretentiouspalate.com/the-2023-uppy-awards/

10/24/2023

I'm humbled to be a finalist for the Farmer of the Year at this year's Uppy Awards. It's an honor to share a spotlight with so many talented folks that are doing great things in Charlotte!

10/18/2023

09/06/2023

Eight years ago while I was getting the farm going I popped into Futo Buta for the first of many ramen bowls. I met chef and talked about the farm and brought him some samples. Futo Buta was one of our first wholesale accounts because of him. He gave an unknown farmer a chance and started to order a lot of mushrooms. Because of that, I had to grow more and more which lead me to acquire even more wholesale accounts. If it wasn't for him believing in me I don't think the farm would be where it is now. Charlotte lost a great one. Rest in power my friend.

https://charlotte.axios.com/338512/south-end-loses-a-restaurant-pioneer/?fbclid=IwAR1AfX3QmJKD4_wacnkNakavqxgCdS2_0YRQNt9F65LDQNTn_U3NGNBQxOA

A Charlotte restaurant visionary who taught South End to slurp, sip and sup has passed away. Michael Shortino, 57, known for the ramen restaurant Futo Buta and the gourmet market Lincoln’s Haberdashery, died last week. Memorial plans are being made for his friends in the restaurant industry. As ne...

08/12/2023

Today was a bittersweet day at the Matthews Community Farmers' Market . Our little Ruby is going off to college and today was her last day at the market. She joined us as a high school intern and joined the team after the internship. She's been at my side at market for the last couple of years and has been a trooper at the farm. Don't worry, Ruby will be back to visit in-between higher learning and future girl bossing. We love you Rubicon!

08/07/2023

We are doing some trial runs of mushrooms that we normally do not grow and we will have some Black Pearl Trumpets this week to see if you guys like em.

07/24/2022

Normally we don't do a lot of picking on Sunday but when it's over a hundred pounds of blotch-less trumpets I don't mind at all.

12/14/2021

When we first started in 2015 we were lucky to grow 100 a week. In the not too distant past if we grew 400 it was a good week. Today we harvested 366 of oyster, shiitake and trumpet, for a total of 504 of mushrooms since Monday. We still have other varieties to harvest and five more days left in the week so we will see🍄

01/01/2021

Unfortunately we will not be at markets this weekend due to situations out of our control. We will be back the following week ready to go. 🍄

08/26/2020

It's nice being surround by over 300 acres. When we finish our farm chores we get to go play in the woods.

04/13/2020

Fortunately we still have power at the farm because everyone decided it was time to start pinning. Top left are Chestnuts, first time growing them and hope to have some at markets this weekend!

04/06/2020

I added a new strain of trumpets and they just started to pop. A little good news during troubling times.

03/18/2020

It's a difficult time for everyone right with the current state of affairs and my heart is with everyone impacted by the pandemic. I've been trying to formulate a plan but the situation is evolving so quickly that it's difficult to keep up. As of right now we still will be attending both the South End Market at Atherton as well as the Matthews Community Farmers' Market on Saturdays unless that changes.. With restaurants ultimately closed I have about 400 or so pounds of freshly harvested and soon to be harvested mushrooms with about 800 plus pounds fruiting in the next two weeks. Unfortunately I can't just turn off a switch because all of this was already in the pipeline prior. However, moving forward I will be ramping down production drastically and will be running a tight ship to weather the storm. I know in my heart that Charlotte and the surrounding areas has what it takes to get through this. These recent days have been challenging and may get even more challenging. With that said we are more that a community, we are a family and we will come together to make this thing happen. Thank you all who are trying to make sense of this crazy time. Thank you to Freshlist and the Piedmont Culinary Guild for stepping up and helping to find solutions for the farmer's and restaurants during this trying time. It's crazy right now but we are still in the fight and will continue providing you with local, passionately grown mushrooms.

Much love,
Hiram

03/14/2019

This is an interesting read.

Eating the fungi more than twice a week cut people's risk of memory and language problems, a study found.