Haute-Marne. He brings a mill back to life by growing mushrooms

If there is a place that has a soul and a past, it is the site of the Moulin aux Moines. Lurking in nature between Vaux and Aubigny, this green setting has always been very popular. The Monks once carried out works there to develop and regulate the course of the river, the Badin, before a cooperative cheese factory was established there in the middle of the 20th century.^e century.

Mushrooms from childhood

Subsequently becoming a leather goods manufacturing unit, the building no longer saw any activity until Cédric Abeillé acquired it, in order to carry out a project he had had for a long time: growing mushrooms. So, for several weeks, it is not uncommon to find the young producer randomly at local markets, and his production on the stalls of Multiferm, on the tables of restaurateurs…

An important step in the life of Cédric Abeillé who, after his childhood in Graffigny-Chemin (on the edge of the Vosges), sailed a lot, mainly in the department. Holder of a BTA (Agricultural Technician Certificate) with a forestry option, he held several seasonal jobs before creating his green spaces company and settling down at Moulin aux Moines, in June 2023, with a very specific idea in the lead. “I have always really loved the world of mushrooms. I was already going there with my grandfather from my earliest years. So when I knew that it was cultivated, that was the trigger.”says Cédric with an amused air. All that remained was to find the ideal site!

On logs, incomparable flavors

Indeed, not necessarily obvious. Because if its brown mushrooms, called Paris mushrooms, grow quickly on a substrate based on horse manure, in a closed space bringing together all the conditions necessary for their expansion, it is not the same for the other varieties. “Passionate about the forestry world, I chose to cultivate certain varieties, notably oyster mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms, directly on logs, outdoors. Growth, certainly slower, but which gives structure and above all a very good taste and nutritional quality. other. We must not forget that wood is their original support!specifies Cédric.

The harvest will begin soon

Thus, on the edge of the river, in a damp and shaded area, a whole alignment of one-meter logs, mainly made of poplar and beech, are already seeing the emergence, at various stages, of future oyster mushrooms. Antlers that Cédric carefully pierced in multiple places before inoculating the mycelium about eight months ago. The harvest will begin soon!

Same operation for shiitakesbut on oak, maple or alder stumps… and production between eighteen months and two years later, i.e. next spring. Then, the harvests will be done at the rate of one or two per year, depending on the varieties, as long as the tree has living matter, generally seven or eight years.

Then the orchard

If a little further on it is the morels which will be sown in greenhouses, Cédric, in order to diversify, is already busy developing part of his vast four-hectare estate. A grassy area will become an orchard (trying to find old varieties), while a plot will soon receive small fruit plants: blackcurrant, redcurrant, strawberry, raspberry, but also lesser known species such as goji, saskatoon berry…

A whole range of quality products, grown with enthusiasm, respect for the environment and passion by Cédric Abeillé. Enough to soon bring joy to many tables in the region!

Practical Les Cueillettes du Moulin Tel. 06 82 17 18 55