Mushroom Farming Business: How to Start a Mushroom Farm


Mushrooms
Mushrooms are fungi growths that get their nutrients from the medium or substrate they grow out off. They can be classified alongside other fungi like beetles, leafcutter and others.
The cultivation of fungi is referred to as fungi culture and unlike plants that use photosynthesis mushrooms reproduce via spores. Fungi spores germinate into tiny mycelium that are threadlike in appearance.
They are joined together form a honokaryotic mycelium and later the fruiting mushrooms. The mushroom is the fruiting fleshy fungus that grows above or bellow ground However, not all mushrooms are edible and some are even poisonous.
Mature mushrooms come in different shapes, colors and sizes. They need early harvesting before they produce spores that disperse and start the process all over again. There are many types of edible mushrooms some of which shall be covered bellow.
mushroom
Edible Mushrooms
Edible mushrooms are those that we can eat without getting sick. They are loaded with good nutrients and vitamins that are beneficial to us.
Edible mushrooms are eaten as part of a meal, used as a drug or in traditional medicine  Mushrooms should only be bought through reputable stores and avoid foraging or picking mushrooms in the wild.
 Familiar looking mushrooms might be poisonous and dangerous. The list of edible mushrooms includes shitake, oyster mushroom, Enoki mushrooms, and Cremini mushrooms.
Others are Portobello, morel mushrooms, Porchino mushrooms, Truffles, Chanterelle mushrooms, and black trumpet amongst so many others.
List of edible mushrooms and there characteristics
1 Cep mushroom is a creamy fleshed mushroom with a brownish cap and a delicious meaty taste
2 Portobello is a very popular mushroom that has a rich meaty flavor
3 Morel mushroom
4 Cremini mushroom
5 Emokitake mushroom
6 Shitake mushroom
7 Oyster mushroom
8 Truffles and many more
How to Start a Mushroom Farm
The first consideration when starting a mushroom farm is the quality of your compost or substrate. The composting is very important if you want good yields at the end of the day.
 After you have taken care of composting then the next consideration is spawning. When you have taking care of the spawning then you do the casting and pinning before cropping.
The stages are important and necessary to attain a good yield. Therefore, learning the stages which is dependent on the type of mushroom you a growing.
Mushrooms grow in different mediums so choosing the particular medium for it to thrive is important. If you try to grow mushrooms in the wrong medium they will not grow.
Compost Treatment
1Get horse dung
2Add organic material
3 Add organic waste
4Add nitrogen supplements
5 Turn to aerate
6 Sprinkle water to keep moist
7Allow ammonia dissipate before using the compost
Substrate, Recipes and Nutrients
substrate
mushroom recipes
nutrients
log
wild mushroom ragout
vitamin B5
straw
shahi mushroom
vitamin D
coffee grounds
mushroom risotto
protein
cereal straws
mushroom samosa

The compost
Compost is basically decaying waste which is used as a plant fertilizer. It is used to grow mushrooms or grow things like vegetables in your garden.
Composed is usually decomposed matter such as organic waste such as food waste. Others are decaying shrubs/grass and elements rich in carbon-nutrient material.
It can take up to two months to make nice compost while you wait for nitrification to occur. Good compost would have water, oxygen, nitrogenous material, and carbon. Your compost is very important because its function is to provide lots of nutrients that would help your mushroom grow nicely.
You can source your own compost instead of trying to make it from scratch. If you like, obtain horse or cow manure or using wheat bedding. Wheat straw bedding works nicely and helps certain mushroom types grow well.
To prepare your compost for the mushroom place the compost on a slab preferably concrete. This is to condition the material through aeration by regularly turning the compost.  
Water is also essential in this processing of making the compost because the material should remain highly organic. Spread a generous amount of gypsum and nitrogen supplements over the compost which is then mixed.
The amount of compost and labor put into the process greatly depends on the scale of your mushroom farm. Large mushroom farms might need specialized equipment to turn the compost but for a small home farm you can use a shovel.
During the turning and watering process you need to add gypsum, hardwood bark, bean hulls, and water to get a nice consistency in your compost. Water aids the composition of the compost as the matter goes through fermentation while lots of amino acids, carbon dioxide and heat evaporate leaving more robust compost.
The reason you have to pay so much attention to compost is because it is the food source of the mushroom. Good composed compost contains oxygen, nitrogen and other elements like having lots of moisture including carbon hydrates.
So all the elements that is required in good compost is oxygen, nitrogen, moisture provided by the microbes in the compost breaking down the mound.
Which answer is untrue?
Top of Form
  • sterilized substrates are best
  • spawn are inoculated before they form mycelium
  • Some mushrooms have hallucinogenic properties
  • Mushrooms can germinate from seeds
Bottom of Form
How do you know when you have good compost?
Conditioning the compost involves sprinkling sparingly at ousted and turning the compost on few days interval according to the heat displacement of the pile. A good compost pile should have added supplements.
It should have fairly rigid and dense sides while retaining a softer interior full of moisture and well aerated. Ensure that bugs, insects, fungi and some pathogenic microbes are destroyed by using a process of pasteurization while controlling the variable temperature.
While working on you compost you will notice variable heated temperatures usually within the range of 155f to 185f (Fahrenheit) due largely to the microbes processing the pile. By increasing and lowering the core temperature you can achieve good compost that is rich in nitrogen, aerated and devoid of insects and bugs.
It takes about two and a half weeks for the compost to be ready. Remember compost has an obnoxious ammonia smell so where it’s located is important.
The obnoxious ammonia indicates that your compost isn’t ready you must wait till the smell dissipates. The choice of compartment in which you want to keep your compost depends on what you have available, plastic containers, wooden boxes, or cast beds.
Mushroom Spawn
Substrate such as straw, wood cutting, compost, wood logs is where you cultivate mushroom spawn. The substrate depends in the type of mushroom you are planting.
Different mushrooms need certain substrates to thrive and grow so find out which substrate best complements the mushroom type you want to grow. It is better to buy the spawn from mushroom farmers who have gone through the process of inoculation and handling the mycelium.
 So it’s easier for a new mushroom farmer to buy ready to grow mushroom patches and plug spawns, but if you are adventurous you can develop sterile culture skills.
A spawn is when mycelium colonize a grain, so the farmer scatters the spawn into his compost by aid of specialized equipment or manually and mixed into the organic material.
Proper distribution is important and the humidity levels should be maintained so the spawn has a moist surface to grow.
After fusion growth occurs with a rise in compose temperature. The mushroom famer should lower the temperature if it exceeds 76F.temperature and moisture is the main indicators that encourage proper growth of the spawn
Casting and Harvesting
Casting
When casting you need to maintain an even spread while allowing moisture to remain in the compost. The farmer should maintain an average temperature between 74F and 75F for growth to occur.
During pinning the carbon dioxide levels should be controlled as appropriate, farmers should learn the proper levels if they are to get a good yield.
Harvesting
Harvesting happens in repeated cycles and the matured mushrooms are cropped according to the bloom cycles. The process should last between two to three months.
Remember mushrooms can’t grow in direct sunlight so a special ventilated place should be prepared to grow your mushrooms. Mushrooms grow in different mediums depending on the type of mushroom you want to grow.
When you medium is ready you add your spawn, spread and mix while regulating the temperature and humidity. Mushroom farming isn’t science fiction but gaining knowledge and experience would increase your confidence and profit making.
Marketing your Mushroom
Sell your produce in store, supermarkets, and the open market. Try trade fairs and commodity fairs to sell your mushrooms.
Other customers are restaurants, hotels and food outlets.

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