From little things…
Do you dream of earning a crust selling your own produce from home? Growing in popularity, microfarms are much easier to venture into than conventional farming.
Here we share the stories, insights and advice of three Australians who took the plunge and made their dreams come true. You can, too!
GOURMET MUSHROOM FARMING IN THE CITY
Mickey and Amy Pascoe, Little Acre Gourmet Mushrooms
Prior to 2017, Mickey and Amy Pascoe, founders of Little Acre Gourmet Mushrooms, had never given much thought to mushrooms. Then they were given a mushroom kit.
Mickey, who has a science background and was teaching business at the time, was fascinated by how the mushies could grow magically out of a box.
The couple, in their early 30s, started growing mushrooms beneath their rental home in Brisbane. Their success led them to research whether anyone was growing gourmet mushrooms in Brisbane to sell to restaurants.
“There wasn’t anybody,” Mickey recalls. “In business you’re always trying to find a gap in the market.”
To gauge potential interest, the couple talked to chef friends. “Everyone was interested,” Mickey says. “We had a demand immediately for this produce because it wasn’t around at all.
“They’re not a good commodity because they don’t have good storage or transport value, so you really need a local source. It was just really perfect timing for us.”
With very little information on how to scale or grow a mushroom farm — “It’s a very small industry in this country,” Mickey reveals — their first effort was a plastic greenhouse in the shade with humidifiers piped in and an air-conditioner sourced from their bedroom.
“We just sort of hacked it together with bits and pieces, duct tape and all sorts of stuff, and tested out the concept.”
The Pascoes focus on
