TRENDING:
PLYMOUTH — Which came first?
The chicken?
The egg?
Definitely the chicken, says Plymouth Township farmer Katie Tlush. Then the egg. Actually, six chickens and multiple eggs. But the microgreens and mushrooms weren’t far behind…and more recently, edible flowers. Welcome to Tlush Family Farm, a two-year-old agricultural anomaly amid the traditional two-story Colonials on Johnson Road in Plymouth Meeting.
The local woman, the farm’s CEO, had spent 15 years as a dental hygienist when the pandemic made her a stay-at-home mom to toddlers Oliver and Lady. Husband Jonathan is senior foreman at BMW of the Main Line. The two had always been home gardeners. Raising crops professionally? In hindsight, the chickens kind of paved the way. But it was COVID that triggered the pivot to fulltime – indoor – agriculture and the conversion of the Tlush basement into the warren of tented “grow rooms” and “breeding chambers” that comprise the family farm.
To backtrack…
“My husband had been wanting chickens for, probably, the last 12 years,” Tlush says. “Then COVID came, and we had a lot of free time on our hands. He built our coop out of 100 per cent recycled material, so I couldn’t really say no anymore. Shortly after our hens arrived…I started thinking about ways to produce an income without constrictions, and, I guess, because we’d always enjoyed gardening, turning something that was essentially a hobby into something professional seemed like a natural way to go.”
Not that either had any formal training. So, the two Plymouth Meeting natives spent hours doing research, “trying to figure out our niche…what we wanted to grow and the outlets in which we wanted to present them.” In the end, they decided to focus on the organic, nutrient-dense microgreens and mushrooms that have become their signature crops and made them regular suppliers for several of the Philadelphia area’s top restaurants, country clubs and private chefs.
That said, they didn’t casually dump a few loads of topsoil into the basement and cross their fingers.
Jon Tlush monitoring the farm's aeroponic flower walls. (Courtesy Tlush Family Farm)
Some of the nutrient-packed microgreens grown at the farm.(Courtesy Tlush Family Farm)
Oliver and Lady Tlush, the farm's youngest helpers. (Courtesy Tlush Family Farm)
Tlush Family Farm Chicken Coop. (Courtesy Tlush Family Farm)
Some of the farm's mushrooms. (Courtesy Tlush Family Farm)
Tlush Family Farm Rainbow Eggs. (Courtesy Tlush Family Farm)
“We wanted to do things the right way,” Tlush explains. “So, the health inspector has been here, and we have practices in place to make sure that everything is the way it should be, with our grow (spaces) and mushroom lab all properly segregated from our living facilities.”
At first glance, the farm’s “traditional and hydro-aeroponic” cultivation gear – the vertical pipes that make up its 300-port “living walls” and assorted fans, pumps, meters and tools – looks like the stuff of weird science. In fact, each is used to calibrate, regulate or measure…everything from pH values and nutrient levels to moisture content, temperature and lighting.
According to Tlush, such attention to detail has been central to the farm’s “exponential” growth. As has production dependability during the extreme weather swings attributed to climate change.
“One of the benefits of our farm, we get a predictable yield despite the weather – all the storms, fires, droughts and other unfortunate circumstances that seem to be on the rise,” she says. “It’s always sunny and in the 70s here. And there aren’t any bugs. That makes the chefs who buy from us trust that we’re going to be able to deliver on whatever we’ve promised.”
In addition, indoor agriculture’s production ratios are typically higher and more sustainable than those of outside farms, she notes. More efficient, too.
“According to one article I read, an indoor farm of about 340 square feet gives the same amount of yield, even more or higher yields, as one-to-two acres outside because of controllability,” Tlush says. “Our farm’s initial indoor space is around 700 square feet, and we’re planning an expansion that’ll add another 700 square feet. So, total, we’ll be at approximately 1,400 square feet.”
COVID supply chain problems have made the farm’s predictable yields even more valuable to clients.
“At one point, a lot of my chefs were unable to get oyster mushrooms because, I guess, Kennett Square was having trouble with (supplies) being stuck out at sea and in the port,” Tlush recalls. “We make our own fruiting blocks, so that wasn’t an issue for us. With our mushrooms, from cultivation to harvest, we touch every bit of the process, so, yeah, there’s definitely something to be said about being local…not to mention, the freshness issue.”
White Dog Café Executive Chef Greg Maloney is among the farm’s biggest fans.
“Being the executive chef of a restaurant that focuses on local farms and quality ingredients, Tlush Family Farm checks all the boxes for us,” Maloney says. “It’s easy to see that everything they do – from their microgreens to their mushrooms to their chicken eggs – is done with love and care…so much so that I use their ingredients in my own home.”
Even with carefully-automated maintenance cycles, the farm takes continuous oversight by both Tlushes, with an occasional assist by Oliver and Lady.
“In the beginning, I’d get up at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning to work on creating our website…and then, during the day, I’d be out there making cold calls and taking samples to (prospective) clients,” Tlush recalls. “To this day, I get up and harvest the whole farm at 2 in the morning. Then, I turn around and replant the whole thing. On mushroom Mondays, I work in the lab for two hours and knock out 20 to 30 blocks. Before I go to bed at night…maybe do some accounting. Yeah, it’s pretty wild. Time is never on my side, but I get to be a mom and have a career, and that’s great. And…there’s nothing more rewarding than being a small part of the complete artistry that our family of chefs create.”
Area residents who’ve signed up for automated text messages can participate in an “overflow” program that notifies them when the farm has extra produce, but “our preferred audience is chefs and the wholesale side.” Additional information is available at 610-636-5232, www.tlushfamilyfarm.com and @tlushfamilyfarm.
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