How Mushrooms Grows | Mushroom Farming Business

Agricultural farming generally is a money spinner. It will surprise you the high demand for mushroom in your locality when you do a random sampling. The interesting part of it is that it is not even expensive to operate. A mushroom farming business can be a mean of big profit in just a few weeks with considerably low startup capital investment to start a business. A person who has a little bit of idea in the science & technology of mushroom growing will make millions out it. Nowadays, farmers even dry mushroom, package them and market them abroad in other to make more money. People who have a house/building, is just enough to kick start the business. The cultivation of mushroom is an art and requires both study and experience.

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HOW MUSHROOMS GROW

Generally speaking, Mushrooms grow from spores — not seeds — that are so tiny you can’t see individual spores with the naked eye.

Furthermore, these spores don’t contain chlorophyll to begin germinating (as seeds do), they rely on substances such as sawdust, grain, wooden plugs, straw, wood chips, or liquid for nourishment. A blend of the spores and these nutrients is called spawn. Spawn performs a bit like the starter needed to make sourdough bread.

Similarly, the spawn supports the growth of mushrooms’ tiny, white, threadlike roots, called mycelium. The mycelium grows first, before anything that resembles a mushroom pushes through the growing medium.

Likewise, the spawn itself could grow mushrooms, but you’ll get a lot better mushroom harvest when the spawn is applied to a substrate, or growing medium. Depending on the mushroom type, the substrate might be straw, cardboard, logs, wood chips, or compost with a blend of materials such as straw, corncobs, cotton and cocoa seed hulls, gypsum, and nitrogen supplements.

PLACES TO GROW MUSHROOMS

As a matter of facts, mushrooms prefer dark, cool, moist, and humid growing environments. In a house, a basement is often ideal, but a spot under the sink may be all you need.

Test the proposed location by checking the temperature. Most mushrooms grow best in temperatures between 55 and 60 degrees F, away from drying, direct heat and drafts. Enoki mushrooms prefer cooler temperatures, about 45 degrees F. Many basements are too warm in the summer to grow mushrooms, so you might want to consider growing mushrooms as a winter project.

Mushrooms can tolerate some light, but the spot you choose should stay relatively dark or in low light.

Some mushroom types grow outdoors in prepared ground or logs, a process that takes much longer (six months to three years) than in controlled environments inside.

Types of Mushrooms to Grow

Furthermore, there are many kinds of mushrooms. One of the beauties of growing your own instead of wild-harvesting them is that you can be sure you’re not picking a poisonous mushroom. Below are mushrooms that are mostly grown at home:

Crimini
Enoki
Maitake
Portobello
Oyster
Shiitake
White button

Each type has specific growing needs. For example, white button mushrooms need to be grown on composted manure, shiitakes on wood or hardwood sawdust, and oyster mushrooms on straw.

STEPS IN GROWING MUSHROOMS

In like manner, if you are growing mushrooms in your home, there are a couple of options for materials that you can use to assist in planting.

Firstly, you can buy mushroom kits already packed with a growing medium that’s inoculated with mushroom spawn. Buying a kit is a good way to begin your knowledge of mushroom growing. If you start without a kit, the type of mushroom you choose to grow determines the substrate you grow the mushrooms on. It is important to research each mushroom’s needs.
Secondly, Button mushrooms are among the easiest types to grow. Follow Kansas State University’s directions for growing button mushrooms. Use 14×16-inch trays about 6 inches deep that resemble seed flats. Fill the trays with the mushroom compost material and inoculate with spawn.
Thirdly, Use a heating pad to raise the soil temperature to around 70 degrees F for about three weeks or until you see the mycelium — the tiny, threadlike roots. At this point, drop the temperature to 55 to 60 degrees F. Cover the spawn with an inch or so of potting soil.
Fourthly, keep the soil moist by spritzing it with water and covering it with a damp cloth, making sure that you keep spritzing the cloth as it dries.
Finally, Button mushrooms should appear within three to four weeks. Harvest them when the caps open and the stalk can be cut with a sharp knife from the stem. Avoid pulling up the mushrooms, or you risk damage to surrounding fungi that are still developing. Harvesting every day should result in a continuous crop for about six months.

MUSHROOM FARMING EXPERTISE

Similarly, an individual who has worked before on a mushroom farm can start his own mushroom farming business. Otherwise, it is always better to have a technical training on mushroom farming to gain expertise. You can contact ICAR- Directorate of Mushroom research for specific training for mushroom farming at their website www.nrcmushroom.org

MUSHROOM FARMING BUSINESS PLAN

Furthermore, starting a small business like mushroom farming requires some specific business plan. Work out a detailed budget; write out a clear strategy and objectives of your business, what will be the variety you want to grow and what will be your target market like domestic or export.

CHOOSE VARIETY FOR MUSHROOM FARMING

As a matter of facts, Different types of mushroom have different production cost and it is important to decide on a budget depending on the amount of money available and the long term investment benefit. A good variety to start mushroom farming with is the Oyster mushroom. Other profitable and easy to grow varieties are Shiitake, Lions Mane, White Button and Portobello.

ENVIRONMENT FOR MUSHROOM FARMING

In a word, mushroom farming business considers the environment of mushroom production. Different varieties require a different kind of environment. For example, the oyster mushroom has some basic environment requirement like temperature of 15 to 20°c, humidity of 80 to 90%, good ventilation, light and sanitation.

GET SPAWN FOR MUSHROOM FARMING

In fact, you will need to have spawns to start the culture. You can produce your own spawn by using a sterile culture or you can by ready-to-inoculate spawns form the suppliers. Producing spawns can be cheaper in the long run, because the startup cost will be high in this case.

PREPARE SUBSTRATE FOR MUSHROOM FARMING

Likewise, mushroom can be cultivated on a large number of agro-waste having cellulose and lignin that helps in more enzyme production of cellulose that is correlated with more yield. You can use straw of paddy, wheat and ragi, stalk and leaves of maize millets and cotton, sugarcane bagasse, saw dust, jute and cotton waste, dried grasses, used tea leaf waste, etc. you can also use some industrial waste like paper mill sludge, coffee byproducts, tobacco waste etc. Some of the popular method of substrate preparation is steam pasteurization, hot water treatment, fermentation of composting and chemical sterilization.

Some of the popular method of substrate preparation is steam pasteurization, hot water treatment, fermentation of composting and chemical sterilization.

PACK THE BAGS/ BOXES/ TRAYS FOR MUSHROOM FARMING

The bag making process normally involves composting the substrate, filling the bags with composted material, spawning and then incubation till maturity stage.

INCUBATION FOR MUSHROOM FARMING

Firstly, Arrange the spawned bags/ boxes/ trays in a dark cropping room on raised platform concentrate to stop any threats any natural light getting into the room. Keep the growing area at specific temperature that depends on the variety.

FRUITING IN MUSHROOM FARMING

Comparatively, while various species require different temperature regimes all require high humidity 70-80% during fruiting. Frequent spraying of water is necessary in the cropping room depending upon the environmental humidity.

PROTECTION MEASURES FOR MUSHROOM FARMING

More importantly, mushroom are suspected to be attacks by flies, spring tails and mites. The crop is prone to fungal disease and also can have the diseases of yellow blotch, brown spot etc. you will need to have some specific control measure according to the attacks.

MUSHROOM FARMING HARVESTING & STORAGE

The right shape for harvesting can be judged by the shape and size of the fruit body. The mushroom should be harvested before spore releases. It is advisable to pick the mushrooms at one time from a cube.

There are two types of storage involves in mushroom processing- long term and short term. Freshly harvested mushroom can be stored at low temperature (0-5°c) for maximum two weeks. Dried mushroom with 2-4% moisture, can be stored for 3-4 months in sealed pouches without any change in taste.

MUSHROOM FARMING MARKETING

High quality commercial cultivation of mushroom is a very profitable proposition as it is in good demand both in domestic and foreign market. You can go for local market penetration by making available your product to the retailer and vegetable shop. Also you can go for an export option. The export market for India is mainly the USA, with some quantities going to UAE, Russia, Germany, Switzerland, UK and other countries. To get updated with latest trend about mushroom farming business you can join the association like www.mushroomsociety.in

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