Sep 17, 2019
We're talking low-tech mushroom growing this week with Eric Jong
of GroCycle out of the UK. Eric found his way to mushrooms after
leaving a corporate career and becoming interested in permaculture
and the local food movement. We talk about low-tech growing
techniques, marketing mushrooms, having a team to support their
business growth, and much more...
You'll also hear:
>> Which substrates Eric uses
>> Their innovative selling systems by selling fruiting
blocks via e-commerce
>> How they utilize a team to run their mushroom operation
and how processes are key
>> Why he recommends that new farmers find their footing
before they scale
>> Why a humidifier is Eric's favorite farming tool
About the Guest:
After finishing his MSc in Business Studies in Maastricht, The
Netherlands, Eric went to work for two of the world's largest
energy companies. It was after 6 years of office life that both
Eric and his wife Zoe decided that this lifestyle didn't suit them
anymore. They decided to up sticks and travel for a while. On this
trip, they visited the permaculture research institute in Australia
and helped out on several organic farms. Fascinated by small scale
food production they ended up doing a full growing season on an
organic farm in the Brecon Beacons.
Now seriously interested in food production the studied sustainable
horticulture at Schumacher College in 2011. This is where Eric
crossed paths with Adam who was about to change from more
traditional ways of growing mushrooms to a Low Tech approach. Back
then this was mainly by growing mushrooms on coffee waste. The two
of them decided to team up and GroCycle was started.