Backyard Mushrooms: Two Friends, 100 Logs, and a Fredericton Farmers' Market Staple
On Route 10 outside Fredericton, New Brunswick, Backyard Mushrooms grew out of exactly what the name suggests. Greg Collette and Mike Kendrick, longtime friends, started their gourmet mushroom business with 100 logs and a backyard in Pepper Creek, a subdivision on the outskirts of New Brunswick's capital city. What started as a small-scale experiment has become a recognized name at the Boyce Farmers' Market and in Fredericton's restaurant scene.
From Military Service to Mushroom Logs
Greg Collette's path to mushroom farming was not a straight line. He spent 23 years serving in the Canadian military as infantry before returning to civilian life and enrolling at New Brunswick Community College to pursue an accounting degree. It was during his studies at NBCC that the Backyard Mushrooms concept took formal shape. As part of his program requirements, Collette developed a business plan for a gourmet mushroom operation, turning what had been a hobby into a venture with structure and financial projections.
That combination of military discipline and formal business planning is evident in how Backyard Mushrooms operates. This is not a casual side project. Collette and Kendrick approach their growing with the kind of systematic attention to detail that separates hobby growers from producers who can reliably supply commercial accounts.
The Log-Grown Method
Backyard Mushrooms began with shiitake and oyster mushrooms grown on hardwood logs, a traditional cultivation method that produces mushrooms with a flavor profile and texture that substrate-grown varieties cannot easily replicate. Log cultivation involves drilling holes in freshly cut hardwood, inserting spawn plugs, and then managing the logs through an incubation period that can last six months to a year before the first harvest.
It is slower than indoor substrate cultivation, and the yields per square foot are lower. But the quality of log-grown shiitake in particular is widely regarded as superior to bag-grown alternatives. The mushrooms develop denser flesh, deeper flavor, and the characteristic cracking pattern on the cap surface that Japanese growers call donko, a mark of premium quality.
Starting with 100 logs was a manageable entry point that allowed Collette and Kendrick to learn the craft without overcommitting capital. Log-grown operations scale differently than indoor farms. Each log can produce mushrooms for three to five years with proper management, which means the initial investment in inoculated logs compounds over time as new logs are added to the rotation while older ones continue producing.
The Boyce Farmers' Market Connection
The Boyce Farmers' Market in Fredericton is the commercial anchor for many small-scale food producers in the region. Operating every Saturday morning in a converted train station, it draws a loyal crowd of local food enthusiasts who know their vendors personally. For Backyard Mushrooms, the market provided a low-risk entry point into direct sales, a place to test products, build a customer base, and develop the kind of face-to-face relationships that drive word-of-mouth growth.
From the market, Backyard Mushrooms expanded into supplying local restaurants. Fredericton's dining scene has grown substantially in recent years, and chefs looking for locally sourced specialty ingredients have become a meaningful customer segment for small producers. Fresh gourmet mushrooms, harvested the same day or the day before, are exactly the kind of product that distinguishes a restaurant committed to local sourcing from one that relies entirely on broadline distributors.
Small-Scale Farming in New Brunswick
New Brunswick is not a province typically associated with mushroom farming. The commercial mushroom industry in Canada is concentrated in Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta, where the population density and market access favor large-scale production. But operations like Backyard Mushrooms demonstrate that the artisanal end of the market can thrive anywhere there is demand for quality local food and producers willing to put in the work.
The Fredericton area has a growing community of small-scale farmers, brewers, and food producers who are collectively building a local food economy that did not exist a generation ago. Backyard Mushrooms fits squarely into that movement, proving that two friends with logs, knowledge, and persistence can create something that a community values.
You'll find Backyard Mushrooms at 2020 NB-10 in Fredericton, New Brunswick.