Today we’d like to introduce you to Josh Googins
Hi Josh, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Much like a mushroom, Fallen Oak Mycology originated from underground obscurity. From a shipping container in a junkyard to a multimillion dollar facility with fresh mushrooms in stores all over Texas and across the West Coast, Fallen Oak’s journey through the soil has been one of meteoric ascendance. Like any good farm, Fallen Oak Mycology is fundamentally a soil company, with the core mission of our company being to use our mushrooms to innovate agro-ecological solutions and build soil health using agricultural “waste” products. Fallen Oak is a certified organic farm committed to providing the community with quality food and the Earth with quality solutions for the many ecological challenges that it faces.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Fallen Oak’s journey has been anything but smooth. We’ve moved facilities multiple times because one of them collapsed and another flooded. We’ve faced every challenge that a small business could face: cash shortage, staffing issues, crop failure, managers gone rogue…you name it, we’ve faced it! Every obstacle has proved to be an invaluable lesson, however, and we come out on the other side of each of them stronger, smarter and ready for the next challenge.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Fallen Oak Mycology?
Fallen Oak Mycology is a certified organic purveyor of the entire spectrum of mushroom products: fresh and dried mushroom products, mycological supplies, compost and more! Fallen Oak sets itself apart from other mushroom farms in its focus on the basis of all human civilization: the soil. We are not only a mushroom farm, but a set of motivating principles that seeks to find ways to create nutritious, un-compromised food that builds the soil that our communities are based on more than it takes away from it. Want to learn more? Come check out our farm!
What are your plans for the future?
Fallen Oak’s next phase is to bring mushrooms more directly to the community. We currently sell our mushrooms in major grocery chains like Central Market, Whole Foods and Sprouts, but we aspire to create a model that cuts out the middle-man and brings our quality products directly to the everyday people that enjoy our produce. Additionally, we intend to create products for the medicinal and functional mushroom market so we can harness the healing power of our mushrooms more effectively.
In keeping with Fallen Oak’s ethos as a soil company, we also intend to start creating mushroom compost for our community. We have a piece of land in Del Valle that will act as our land lab, showcasing the alchemical magic of mushroom compost and the abundance that it can coax from the Earth.
We also plan to host some SXSW events! Follow us on Instagram for more information.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fallenoakmycology.com
- Instagram: @fallenoakmycology
- Youtube: @fallenoakmycology3407
