…grow mushrooms?
It sounds crazy, but some people do it. Like Franklin Garland. This North Carolina resident spent years as an electronics engineer before he quit his day job to cultivate French black truffles.
What inspires someone to do something like that? Well, Garland got the idea when he read an article about truffle cultivation in the Wall Street Journal. That’s when he purchased 750 hazel nut trees inoculated with truffle spores from a California grower and planted them on his 57-acre property.
For the next ten years, he waited for the trees to mature (geez, talk about entrepreneurial patience). By 1992 he was the first person to grow, harvest and sell French black truffles in the United States. Soon he began supplying celebrities like chef Emeril Lagasse with truffles. In 2007, he and his wife Betty appeared on The Martha Stewart Show.
One pound of French black truffles costs as much as $4,000 a pound and Garland harvests just a few pounds a year — the truffles are not easy to grow. To bring in revenue, Garland sells hazel nut trees that he inoculates to prospective truffle growers (his inoculation method is a secret). He also gives tours of his farm, writes how-to books, and even sells truffles grown by other people for a commission.
Luckily, two of his employees work for room and meals only. Golden retriever Molly, and beagle, Peedee, are expert truffle hunters. Truffles usually grow about three inches under the ground.
In the future, Garland plans to grow the farm by 100,000 trees. He and his wife also plan to add luxury cabins for foodies and truffle enthusiasts. Right now, they’re living their dream, making a living out of something that they love, and that so many other people love, too. They are the perfect example of taking a dream that seems farfetched and turning it into a sustainable business.
In the end, it’s not just a bunch of mushrooms.
To read more about Franklin Garland, check out this article that appeared in CNN Money or visit his website at http://www.garlandtruffles.com.
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