About

As a native of Blacksburg, Ben Harder started his first farm, Den Hill Permaculture, with his wife, Jackie, in 2012 while completing his degree in Environmental Horticulture and Civic Agriculture at Virginia Tech. Drawing from permaculture, biodynamic, and regenerative practices, Ben shaped the farm’s philosophy and stewarded the land for many years.

In 2014, a chance encounter at the farmers market changed the course of his work. An Appalachian Trail hiker stopped by to sell shiitake mushroom logs to fund his journey, and with each log already fruiting, Ben was captivated. Dozens of plump, beautiful fungi caught his eye—and as someone who loved to eat mushrooms, he was instantly hooked. That spark turned into passion; it felt like something he was always meant to do.

From that day forward, Ben and the team at Den Hill explored growing shiitake, oyster, and wine cap mushrooms using low-tech backyard methods. But as their interest deepened, they quickly reached the limits of those systems. Driven by curiosity and his natural affinity for lab work, Ben designed and built a climate-controlled fruiting chamber and a spawn production lab—tools that allowed them to dramatically expand the varieties and quantities of mushrooms they could grow.

What began as an experiment to compliment  growing vegetables soon grew into a full-time mushroom business, now known as Harder Mushrooms. Today, Ben brings together his background in civic agriculture, his love of fungi, and his experience as a grower to cultivate gourmet culinary and wellness mushrooms for his community.