Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin and Mia Nguyen.
Hi Justin and Mia, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Our journey began as a way to grow our own food but quickly became something much larger. As a healthcare practitioners and former educators, we saw the importance of reconnecting our community with where their food comes from. And what better way to do that than through mushrooms, the magical mycelium that seems to close the loop and connect us all.
After converting our entire front and back yard to edible garden spaces, we decided to use the last bit of space in our backyard to add backyard chickens to our urban homestead. The only space remaining on our lot was our garage. We’d always talked about mushrooms and how they would be a great addition to any farm or homestead as they seem to fully close the loop on the system. A close friend passed down a small grow tent, and after gathering a few buckets from Home Depot, some straw, and a humidifier, we were ready to grow our own mushrooms! After we got our first harvest, we were hooked. We started sharing with family and neighbors, and everyone seemed to love and appreciate what we were doing. We finally decided to commit to our first big purchase, a 10 x 10 grow tent which took up the majority of our garage. After a few visits from some local chefs, including chef Phil Pretty from Heritage LB, we knew we had something special.
Now we grow between 700-900lbs of gourmet mushrooms per week, supplying over ten local restaurants and four farmer’s markets, and many local subscribers. Our mushrooms travel an average of 4 miles! And all of our spent substrate blocks are picked up by local gardeners to fully close the loop and return our substrate to the earth while even providing second and third flushes of mushrooms.
We also believe in high-quality produce, which is why we do everything in-house, from spore to fruit. This also allows us to supply some of our grow bags to other farms in the area, expanding access to fresh gourmet mushrooms throughout Southern California.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
With any growth, there are obstacles to overcome. We grew our first cluster of mushrooms in the Fall of 2020 from buckets in a 3×4 grow tent in our garage. We are now in two warehouse spaces equaling ~2800sq ft and growing anywhere from 700-900 lbs of gourmet mushrooms per week. Our biggest obstacle initially was learning the natural temperament of each variety of mushroom and how to give these fungi the most optimal environment to thrive.
Our first Summer in our second warehouse space, we had many heat waves that affected the growth of our inoculated grow bags. We typically only lose <5% of our inoculated bags to contamination, but because of the severe heat, we were losing upwards of 40%. We quickly had to pivot to keep the business viable while still providing fresh produce to our community. We reduced how many grow bags we were producing and did our best to cool down the warehouse. That was our first big hit to the business, but we overcame by accepting the challenges head-on and making the necessary changes to keep the business viable.
We truly believe that entrepreneurship can be a vehicle for self-development and personal growth if you show up with an open heart and a little humility. Long Beach Mushrooms has had many challenges since its inception, but it’s also allowed us so much growth over the past few years. We’re so grateful for the opportunity and the support from our family, friends and local community!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We are gourmet urban mushroom farmers supplying a variety of wood-loving species of fungi to our local community through fresh produce and mushroom grow kits. We believe in the power of hyperlocal produce in connecting people to their food as well as efficiently producing a large quantity of food in a small footprint. We also believe in the spiritual value of food in nourishing our bodies, and we believe that hyperlocal produce maintains the highest spiritual value possible.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Chef Phil Pretty and Chef Dom Crimp are some of our day one supporters. These two chefs really affirmed that our mission was special and gave us the confidence to continue to grow and pursue who we are today!
Our families have supported us beyond measure, and their love and support has allowed us the freedom to pursue something we really love and believe in.
Pricing:
- $30 grow kit
- $50 grow kit class
- $250 home grower’s class
- $250 per hour consultation
Contact Info:
- Website: www.longbeachmushrooms.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/longbeachmushrooms?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@longbeachmushrooms8142
