Florida Fungi Farm Chronicles: Vol 1

Greetings!

First and foremost I want to share the pure stoke that I am feeling at this moment. I have been piecing this business together for roughly one year at this point and I can't accurately relate how exuberant I am to reach this stage of operation. As we speak, the very first of our substrate blocks have been placed into the fruiting tent and the countdown to fresh mushrooms is begun. It has been a long journey to get here and I would like to share a little bit of backstory about how we've reached this point.

Florida Fungi Farm has its roots - or should I say hyphae - in my curiosity for life. Ever since I was a child galloping through the deciduous Appalachian forests of Northeast Pennsylvania I was absolutely fascinated by the endless varieties of mushrooms upon which I would stumble. The palette of purples, oranges, pinks, blues, and reds stood out vividly from the earth tones of the forest and I was constantly engaged in searching for these treasures whenever I ventured into the woods, which was often due to my father being an avid outdoorsman. There was a lot to do and see in the woods where I grew up but nothing intrigued me quite like the mushrooms I saw there. Endless variety in size, shape, color, and other attributes caused me to revere these organisms in a slightly different way than plants or animals. I always knew fungi were something special, well before I ever learned about them in a classroom or from life experience.

My childhood fascination with fungi laid dormant for many years as life and it's many distractions took the reins for a while. I was the type of person to pick up a new hobby for a while and move on when I got bored. In college, I remember trying a mushroom grow kit and failing spectacularly with multiple types of contamination. However, I recall getting great satisfaction from watching the mycelium propagate a little further each day before the contamination took hold. I never forgot that satisfaction I got despite getting distracted from fungi for another ten years.

A few years ago I was visiting a friend and they happened to have a single, small mushroom block that was fruiting. It caused me to think back to the time when I tried and failed, and it reinvigorated me to try again. I got a few supplies and very carefully followed some instructions and a while later, I had successfully grown a mushroom. The feeling of accomplishment I got from growing a single fungi fruit rivaled some of my other greatest personal accomplishments and to put it simply, I was hooked. I simply love watching mycelium grow. Call me kooky but it calms the beast within me. I feel a sense of serenity and peace when I am in my lab surrounded by mycelium. I wish this sense of satisfaction fulfillment for everyone whether you get it from growing mushrooms or being an accountant.

There is much more I have planned for this enterprise beyond just growing and selling gourmet and medicinal mushrooms for profit. I feel very strongly about wellness and plan to create a holistic wellness program with the intention to elevate the overall mental, physical, and spiritual well-being of the individuals and communities within my sphere of influence.

I am beyond thrilled for what is to come. Onward ever, Backward never! The Mushroom Ministry is begun!