Are you an Austinite who enjoys growing food? Then you are in luck! A new, local company called Logro Farms — a sustainable farm just outside of Austin — is growing one of the most amazing gourmet products. Specializing in full cycle farming, Logro Farms uses agricultural waste to grow delicious and healthy oyster mushrooms.
Beginning as an experiment in their kitchen, childhood friends and business partners Ryan Sansbury and Jeremy Bastian started a mushroom farm and discovered that they loved the process. Wanting to turn their idea into a full-fledged business, the friends decided they needed help from crowdfunding to get things going. As a result, they launched a Kickstarter to advertise their plan, with their first product being oyster mushrooms.
After a successful campaign, the company finally found space for the farm at Ceres Park Ranch, located just minutes from downtown. The property is also home to Jester King Brewery, which is helpful to Logro Farms as they use the brewery’s grains for their mushrooms. A mixture of spent coffee grounds, Jester King grains, and wood chips gets the mushrooms blooming, which usually takes about two weeks.
The green focus makes sense, considering that Sansbury and Bastian operate their business with a progressive approach, using recyclable materials whenever they can. With these beliefs in mind, the company has already donated thirty tons of waste, while also donating mushroom compost to schools and community gardens.
While the company wants to keep growing, they also like to keep things local. They sell to the public through several farmer markets run by the Sustainable Food Center. You can also sample their produce at some popular local restaurants, like Jack Allen’s Kitchen and Olivia.
The oysters are not just a hit with the public, they are also a hit with neighboring businesses as well. Jester King Brewery has developed a pale ale, also known as saison (French for “season”), called Snorkel. They describe it as “farmhouse ale brewed with alderwood, smoked sea salt, and oyster mushrooms” from Logro Farms. Ever since its launch, the pale ale has been disappearing from grocery stores around Austin.
Also wanting to make sure that anyone can cook in their kitchen, they also ship home gardening kits, which were “perks” on Kickstarter, within the United States and worldwide. They have also introduced 3D planters through another successful Kickstarter, so that customers can customize their gardening experience to their liking.
With their focus on the environment and growing and eating healthy food, Logro Farms is making a splash in Austin and around the globe. For more about these awesome Austinites, check out The Austin Chronicle‘s recent feature on them.
Featured Photo: Logro Farms on Facebook.
