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SAE: |
Grow and Sale mushrooms |
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Description: |
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Description: Mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) are fleshy, edible fungi that generally are considered a gourmet culinary item. Mushrooms are grown from mycelia called spawn that usually is purchased. This spawn is used to inoculate prepared beds on which the mushrooms are grown. Growing your own mushrooms at home is relatively easy and can be done year around indoors with purchased kits, or seasonally outdoors in your back yard or on hardwood logs. Horse manure is the basic growing media component although effective substitutes are available. Composting and pasteurization of the growing media ingredients are necessary before they can be used to produce mushrooms. The first mushrooms may be harvested five weeks after the spawn is planted. A critical mass of one ton of compost ingredients is necessary to develop the temperatures needed to grow mushrooms. Home production is possible on a small scale by making compost, pasteurizing it as described and inoculating it with spawn. The spawn may be purchased from: Burpee Seed Co., Warminster, PA, 18991; Henry Field Seed and Nursery Co., Chenandoah, IA, 51601; R. H. Shumway, Rockford, IL, 61101; and perhaps other seed outlets. Much work can be avoided if the student can purchase compost already pasteurized, spawned and cased from a commercial mushroom producer. What type of Mushrooms to Grow: The choice of which species to grow should be thoroughly researched. The beginner should be completely familiar with the various fungi life cycles and should know the parameters of growth required by each. Two basic references are: The Mushroom Cultivator by Stamets and Chilton and Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms by Stamets. A mushroom cultivation kit is often a good way to learn how to grow a particular species before beginning commercial production. The other factors that should be considered in choice of a species to grow are the waste materials available for use as substrate, an appropriate facility, cost of necessary equipment, the level of skill required to manage the life cycle of the fungus, and the market already established for that species. Considering these criteria, oyster and shiitake mushrooms are probably best for most novices. They are relatively easy to grow and there is a growing market. Growing Factors: Spawn is the cottony fibers produced by mushroom spores after they germinate. It usually is purchased from laboratories that specialize in culturing spawn. The purchased spawn is broken up and distributed over the top of the compost beds and worked into the surface. Maintain the temperature at 70 degrees F the first week after spawning and then lower to 65 degrees F. The bed moisture should not drop below 65 percent and the house should receive some ventilation. After two weeks, the cottony growth of mushroom spawn will have permeated throughout most of the bed. At this point the beds are "cased" by applying 1 inch of pasteurized loam over the beds. The loam should resemble that of a good garden soil and be heated to 180 degrees F for 30 minutes to effect pasteurization. For the next two weeks, keep the beds at 55 to 60 degrees F and water lightly to maintain bed moisture. Near the end of this period, flushes of mushrooms should appear. Harvest these flushes four to seven days after they appear. The harvest period lasts for two months if the temperature is maintained at 65 degrees F and three months at 55 degrees F. Ventilation is important to keep the gasses (ethylene, acetaldehyde, acetone, ethyl alcohol, ethyl acetate and CO2) that are produced at safe levels. CO2 will produce spindly stems at a concentration of one percent. Light is not necessary for mushroom production and therefore is excluded. Its presence encourages the growth of green plants and makes it more difficult to maintain uniform temperatures, bed moisture and humidity. Harvest Mushrooms are picked just before the veil breaks exposing the gills. At this point, the cap should be 1 to 3 inches in diameter. The mushrooms are picked with a twisting motion and removed with as little damage to the bed as possible. For fresh market the stems are trimmed to remove the rhizomorph hair "roots." Mushrooms will store for one week at 90 percent relative humidity and 32 degrees F. Written by Teri Hamlin |
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Factors To Consider |
Ranking: 1 = lowest 10 = highest |
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Time required |
8 |
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Investment |
5 |
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Equipment needed |
3 |
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Skills required |
6 |
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Facilities required |
2 |
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Land required |
2 |
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Labor Intensity |
3 |
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Potential for income |
6 |
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Transportation required |
1 |
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Expansion possibilities |
5 |
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Expertise needed |
5 |
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Advertising needed |
7 |
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Susceptible to disease |
5 |
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Susceptible to insects |
5 |
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Suitable for residential areas |
10 |
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Other (specify) |
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Length of production cycle |
4-6 months |
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Regional |
no |
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When to start project |
Spring - Fall |
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Notes: |
Marketing It is very important to plan a marketing strategy carefully before committing to a mushroom venture. Direct marketing of the fresh or dried product, producing a value-added product, or using the wholesale system set up for fresh produce are all possibilities. Local grocery stores may be interested in buying this specialty product directly. Natural foods stores are another potential market. |
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Sources of Additional Information: |
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Website: Georgia Cooperative Extension Service
Horticulture: www.ces.uga.edu Publications Kaye, Geraldine C. 1986. Wild and Exotic Mushroom Cultivation in North America. Farlow Reference Library and Herbarium of Cryptogamic Botany, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. 59 p. A directory including publications, organizations, suppliers and researchers dealing with exotic mushroom cultivation. Somewhat dated information. No production information. Available for $7.50 from: Mushroompeople Stamets, Paul and J.S. Chilton. 1983. The Mushroom Cultivator. Agarikon Press, Olympia, WA. 415 p. Includes general growing parameters for sixteen species and covers every aspect of mushroom cultivation. Available for $24.95 from: agAccess
The Mushroom Grower's Newsletter is a monthly newsletter containing commercial information and reporting current prices of mushrooms at San Francisco and New York markets. Available for $24/year from: The Mushroom Company Suppliers: Alpha Spawn Amycel Spawn Field & Forest Products Fungi Perfecti L.F. Lambert Spawn Co. Long Ridge Farms Mushroom Kingdom Labs Mushroompeople |