About Hansen’s Harvest KY

We first started growing mushrooms about ten years ago while living in Hawaii, where Josh was stationed during his Navy career. Back then, it was mostly for fun and flavor. We loved the process, the challenge, and of course, eating fresh mushrooms we had grown ourselves. At the time, we had no idea that mushroom cultivation would eventually become such a big part of our lives, our farm, and our work.

 

While we were living in Hawaii, I went through some serious health problems that changed the way I looked at wellness. I was frustrated, exhausted, and searching for answers. Conventional medicine gave me a couple of diagnoses that turned out to be incorrect, and for a while, I felt like I was not being fully heard.

That experience pushed me to start learning for myself. I began researching herbal medicine, nutrition, mushrooms, and traditional approaches to supporting the body. Herbs and natural wellness practices helped me feel better — a lot better — and gave me a sense of control again. So when a new physical symptom appeared, it surprised me. I decided to go back to the doctor one more time, and through lab work, we finally found a missing piece that had been overlooked.

 

That experience changed me. It taught me the importance of asking questions, doing the research, and taking an active role in my own health. It also gave me a deeper respect for the plants, fungi, and natural compounds people have used for generations to support wellness.

 

After Josh retired from the Navy, we moved to Kentucky and kept growing mushrooms. What started as something we enjoyed for the taste slowly became something much bigger. The more we learned, the more we recognized the incredible potential of functional mushrooms like Lion’s Mane, Reishi, Turkey Tail, and Oyster mushrooms.

We still love eating mushrooms, but even when you grow them, you do not always have fresh mushrooms available every single day. That led us to a simple question: how could we take the mushrooms we were growing and make them part of a consistent daily routine?

 

We looked at powders, capsules, and tinctures, and tinctures were the clear winner. We learned that mushroom cell walls are made of chitin, the same tough material found in shrimp and crab shells. Unless mushrooms are cooked or properly extracted, the body has a hard time breaking that structure down and accessing the beneficial compounds inside. That is why we use a dual-extraction process with hot water and alcohol — to pull out and concentrate the compounds people are actually looking for. For daily use, a tincture simply made the most sense.

 

We are not a big supplement company, and we do not want to be. Hansen’s Harvest KY is small-batch, farm-made, and thoughtfully extracted. For our mushrooms, our motto is simple: If we don’t grow it, we don’t sell it.

After we moved to Kentucky, our work naturally expanded beyond mushrooms. We started learning more about Appalachian traditions, the plants and trees on our land, and the products we could make ourselves. That led to Shagbark Hickory Syrup, herbal tinctures, and herb-infused olive oil.

​

Josh is now pursuing a Master’s degree in Herbal Medicine, which has brought a stronger research foundation to the work we were already doing on the farm.

 

Our farm is home to more than mushrooms and products. We share the land with pigs, sheep, chickens, and twelve rescue dogs, which makes life here busy, loud, and never boring.

 

Our story is rooted in mushrooms, but it is also rooted in learning, health, resilience, Appalachian tradition, and taking the time to do things the right way.

From our Kentucky farm to your home, thank you for being here!
Josh and Candy Hansen

​

​

​