Wulff & Cub is our mushroom farm in the Lockyer Valley and founded by Kristian Wulff, and myself (Sophia Wulff) along with our ‘Wulff-cubs’ – Luka, Jesper, Angus and Huey. We began growing mushrooms commercially in 2022.
We have a passion for all mushrooms. We are currently growing various types of Oyster Mushrooms – QLD White Oyster, Blue Oyster, King Oyster, Pearl Oyster, Pink Oyster, Baby King Oyster – as well as Shiitake and Lion’s Mane. Not all varieties are always available, however, we would love to expand so we can have a large selection available throughout the year.
Given Kristian’s background of working for over fifteen years in organics and health food, being a passionate mushroom forager for over three decades, and being so close to his family who are also farmers (Bottom Hill and Spring Lake Farm) it was no surprise when Kristian responded to the inner yearning to grow mushrooms on a larger scale. Given my background of being a Clinical Nutritionist and Naturopath with a passion for health, food as medicine and sustainable living, it was an overwhelming ‘yes’ from me! I have always had a passion for food as medicine and seeking out food that is both delicious and nutritionally dense for our family. Mushrooms tick both of these boxes!
Clinically, I am seeing so many patients who are struggling with their health; with mental health, gut health and immunity being key issues. More and more research is emerging on the benefit of mushrooms for these areas and although we use a lot of supplements and herbal extracts in clinical practice (and they certainly have their place), food is something impactful on our health three times per day, every day. Adding mushrooms to meals regularly has been a huge game-changer for both my own family and many of my patients.
Our ‘why’ is family, health and community. These are high values for us, and it has always been important to Kristian and me to live in alignment with our values, so the opportunity to share amazing, good quality organic food with our family and community, while also creating a family business that our children can be a part of made so much sense to us. We are actively choosing a life where our children get to make memories barefoot on an organic farm, surrounded by their cousins, uncles, aunty and grandfather. What could be more magical?
We have encountered many obstacles along our business journey. This whole process has been one big learning curve for us, for example, we have had some production challenges with sourcing certified organic inputs, and then those organic inputs behaving inconsistently with each other; turns out that organic inputs are more nutrient-dense and higher in certain compounds (e.g. nitrogen), which can impact the ‘mushroom recipe’ significantly.
The fact that we have built the farm from the ground up with our own hands, nutting out proper airflow and creating the optimal conditions for the mushrooms has involved a lot of trial and error; there was no instruction manual for building a mushroom farm – we have had to write the book ourselves!
What sets us apart from other growers is that we are able to source a good percentage of our inputs directly off the farm; ingredients to our substrate come off the land and, at the same time, we are replenishing the land with the waste product from the mushrooms that creates an organic compost that is then fed into the produce that grows on the land. We are working towards a closed-loop system on the farm.
It saddens us to see mushrooms commonly packaged in single-use plastic punnets, so sustainable packaging has been a huge focus for us. We understand that the price of plastic vs compostable alternatives can make it challenging for small farms to use the more environmentally friendly options, however, we are driven to continually improve our packaging. We currently use a home compostable base (you can literally pop it straight in the compost, or even use it for propagating seedlings and then plant in the ground) and a recyclable lid however we are always looking for more sustainable options so that we can reduce our environmental footprint further. We are looking to invest in the machinery that will ensure that 100% of our packaging will be fully compostable; customers will be able to put the whole lot straight into the compost bin.
Our passion for sustainability doesn’t just pertain to produce, we are also very conscious of caring for the land that the farm is on, especially as the farm is both a designated koala and endangered melaleuca tree species habitat. We take our responsibility of caring for the land very seriously and always ensure that the conservation of the land is the highest priority; this is one of the many benefits of farming on a small scale.
We are very aware there is a gap in the market for local, organic mushrooms as we noticed that the majority of organic mushrooms on the shelves travel from Victoria so we realised the need for an alternative that travels from farm directly to shelves. In 2025, we plan to have another grow room set up so we can expand the varieties of mushrooms that are available year-round, as well as transition the operation to be completely powered by renewable energy, further reducing our environmental footprint.
Wulff and Cub’s amazing mushrooms can be purchased through our website here.
If you love what they’re doing for the community, be sure to show your support by following them on social media @wulffandcub.
