We caught up with Hearty Growers’ Terence Vaz who oversees the whole operation.
What do you do at Hearty Growers?
At Hearty Growers, we cultivate small batches of gourmet mushrooms and mushroom grow kits.
Tell us about how Hearty Growers started!
Being furloughed for 9 months caused me to volunteer on an organic market garden at Helens Bay Walled Garden, which eventually led me to practice all that I had learning at the market garden over in my backyard. We the tried home growing mushrooms and it was a success – and we’ve never turned back since, I ended up being made redundant in November ‘20, and we started Hearty Growers in December ‘20, moved into PortView Trade Centre this January, and started trading mid-February!
What are you growing this summer?
Mixed Variety Oyster mushrooms.
Is sustainability important to you?
We are only getting into sustainability now – to be honest – and are just beginning to learn and understand how sustainability can impact our community, surroundings and our ecological balance.
What other local food producers are you inspired by?
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Hahu Organics
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GroCycle
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Southwest Mushrooms
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Smallhold Mushroom farm