Wed
May 7 2008
08:51 pm
  • Monterey Mushrooms - one of East Tennessee's hidden gems, and a great place for the gardener.

East Tennessee is full of discoveries waiting to be discovered, and wife Sally and I found one on Tuesday -- the Monterey Mushrooms Company in Loudon County.

And why go to the Monterey Mushrooms Company? Not for the mushrooms. You can buy those at the local grocery story.

If not mushrooms, then what? Compost.

Monterey Mushroom has compost, mountains and mountains of compost. And the friendly folks there will sell you a truckload for $25. All you need is a truck with a good set of springs, and the ability to stand strong odors. The place wreaks.


View Larger Map

Our friend Jim Brown of Honey Rock Herb Farm in Louisville told us about the place a few weeks ago, and we had been meaning to drive down there ever since. Tuesday we got our chance. We made our way over to Highway 11 and then down through Lenoir City and five miles after that the town of Loudon. A couple of miles past the center of Loudon, Highway 72 intersects Highway 11, and you make a right back toward Interstate 75. Just after you cross over the Interstate, you see a big Honda plant on the right, and the next thing on the right is Monterey Mushrooms.

The guy at the gate directed us around to the back, and as we were driving back there Sally rolled up the windows and turned on the AC. Too late. We just had to live with the smell. In the back, a very friendly guy took our order for year-old compost (this stuff is ready to spread onto your garden) and told us to drive further up the hill -- which must be what compost heaven looks like.

When we got to the designated spot, we waited for a few minutes along with a couple of other folks. A guy with a front-loader made his way up the hill and proceeded to dig into one of several mountains of compost (some had to be 30 or 40 feet high) and load us up with all that we could carry.

The compost is thick, a bit moist and pretty heavy, so you have to be careful not to overload the truck. We paid at the gate, and it was somewhat slow-going back to Maryville, but we made it. We spent yesterday and today spreading the stuff throughout the garden.

Twenty-five bucks for the compost, a few bucks for the gas, a pleasant drive and a healthier garden. Not bad for a Tuesday morning in May.

More gardening, beekeeping, baseball and general thoughts on life at Honey Dot Comb.

Note: We did a little research on Monterey Mushrooms before we ventured into deepest Loudon County and found that it is one of the major companies in the county with more than 500 employees. Many of the workers are Mexican, and you can note the Hispanic presence in the area by the many signs in Spanish that you see along the way. If our country ever decides to get sensible about an immigration policy -- and stop cowering behind the idea of a "fence" -- it might look to Loudon County to see how our neighbors south of the border are making our lives, and theirs, a little better.

Pam Strickland's picture

Monterey Mushrooms I've

Monterey Mushrooms

I've taught at the Loudon County satellite of Roane State Community College for two of the last three fall semesters. Both times I had Hispanic students whose families came to the states to work for Monterey Mushrooms. The company does a great job in giving the families support, including English classes and helping them figure out the whens and wheres of how to get things accomplished in their new home. At least one of my students was paying for school with a grant from Monterey Mushrooms, which as I understand it any employee's family member could apply for.

Pam Strickland

"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." ~Kurt Vonnegut

JPROF's picture

Very cool

Pam,

Very cool. Thanks for the info.

An enlightened immigration policy that encourages employers like Monterey Mushrooms . . . the mind reels at the possibilities.

Jim Stovall

Pam Strickland's picture

Doesn't it. And these

Doesn't it. And these students wanted to do something to help others -- teach, nurse. It is a very rewarding thing to see and to have a very small part in.

Pam Strickland

"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." ~Kurt Vonnegut

Tess's picture

I covet your truck

There. I said it, during Lent even. I called to get a price on a load of mulch from a local company. $340 for 10 cubic yards of the black delivered to my house.

I bought 25 bags at the Rocky Hill hardware for around $100 and the lovely owner followed me home with a load of them in his pickup to earn his Boy Scout badge for helping others (I don't live far from the store).

smalc's picture

Ouch. Mulch averages around

Ouch. Mulch averages around $20 per cy. 140 for delivery is pretty steep. I just got 5 cy delivered for $145 from a guy I found on craigslist.

Gwen's picture

Monterey Mushroom Compost

Look at this!

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

TN Progressive

TN Politics

Knox TN Today

Local TV News

News Sentinel

    State News

    Wire Reports

    Lost Medicaid Funding

    To date, the failure to expand Medicaid/TennCare has cost the State of Tennessee ? in lost federal funding. (Source)

    Search and Archives