How To Build a Mushroom Growing House ( Simple Guide)
Growers must build a mushroom fruiting house and provide perfect growing conditions to produce high-quality mushrooms consistently.
An ideal mushroom house should not be located near dumping grounds or livestock pens to limit the risk of pest infestation and illness. It should ideally be in the shade.
The house can be made from locally available materials that can main cool temperatures and high humidity such as clay or bricks.
A grass-thatched mud-walled cottage is excellent for a small-scale mushroom grower scenario.
For ventilation and light during fruiting, the house should contain air vents or small windows on the upper walls. Insect screens should be installed on vents and doors, and they should be closed.
If the temperature inside the house is too high, water can be sprayed on the floor with a knapsack sprayer equipped with fine nozzles, and the door can be left open at night.
For the convenience of operation in the growing home, wooden shelves for holding bags or wooden racks for hanging hatched substrate tubes should be built at the height of about 1.5 m from the ground and 1 m apart.
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Types of Mushroom Farming House
Below are two types of Mushroom Farming House you can grow your Mushroom
- Culturing room
- Fruiting room or chamber
1. Culturing Room
This is where you keep your spawning substrate, packaged in any carrier material such as bottles, bags, or buckets, among others.
This is the room where spawning colonizes the substrate; a crop producer refers to it as a nursery bed.
This should be completely dry, to the point where entering it necessitates carrying a flashlight or using infrared lighting to see what’s inside.
They should be insect-free (put insect nets around their vents). Keep these clean and off-limits.
Install a foot bath near the doorway so that caregivers can wash or dip their shoes or gumboots before entering. Fill the footbath with formalin or another powerful disinfectant…
Kerrol was employed in our situation.
Mushrooms should stay for 4-6 weeks, depending on the species.
2. Fruiting room or chamber
This is where mushrooms fruit or begin to emerge from the substrate.
This, unlike the colonization room, should have adequate lighting because it is critical for mushrooms to have adequate lighting for qualitative fruiting at this stage.
To keep insects out, drape an insect net across the open spaces.
It should have adequate drainage. It should have a floor that does not become muddy when wet.
You can coat your floor with charcoal dust (lusenyente) so that when you wet it, it doesn’t generate mud and wetty conditions that may give diseases to your mushrooms.
It shouldn’t be near many crops because they emit a lot of carbondioxide, and mushrooms aren’t buddies with carbondioxide. There will be greater space for gaseous exchange if there are numerous plants nearby. How To Build a Mushroom Growing House
Types of Mushrooms to Grow
There are many beautiful different sorts of mushrooms to choose from, according to study, but don’t make this decision lightly—there are too many factors to consider.
First, you must decide if you want to grow only one variety of mushroom or numerous types. Both have pros and cons.
When you grow only one type of mushroom, you have fewer issues to contend with when making grain spawns and attempting to time the mushroom cycle.
1. King Oyster Mushrooms
King oyster mushrooms are likewise rather simple to cultivate, albeit they grow better on supplemented sawdust than on straw. The king oyster mushroom’s best feature is its long shelf life.
A properly harvested king oyster mushroom may typically be sold for up to two weeks, which is uncommon for most other gourmet species. Unfortunately, this also means that king oyster mushrooms can be shipped over large distances.
You will very certainly be competing with low-cost commercially farmed king oyster mushrooms from Chinese or Korean sources. These monarchs, on the other hand, are typically grown with little heads and large fat stems. You may distinguish yourself by growing kings in a bright, low CO2 environment to develop a king with a distinct appearance.
2. Blue Oyster Mushrooms
Blue oyster mushrooms are simple to grow, especially when grown on straw logs, where they can generate large harvests quickly. Oyster mushrooms are also quite well-known and widely available, however fresh, attractive oyster mushrooms are rarely found in most grocery stores.
This implies you may be able to command a fair price for your mushrooms. Pleurotus species mushrooms do not ship well over great distances, thus you may have an advantage over larger commercial farmers. Examine your local scene to evaluate if the fee they charge is worth your time.
3. Lions Mane Mushrooms
Growing fresh Lions Mane Mushrooms on a regular basis may set you apart from the crowd, as these mushrooms are rarely marketed to consumers by commercial growers. This is most likely due to their sensitive teeth, which necessitate cautious handling and packaging.
A tiny local producer, on the other hand, may be able to properly harvest this mushroom and send it directly to the buyer. Although many chefs and customers are unfamiliar with these mushrooms, they are generally well-loved when tried and could provide a unique business potential.
4. Shiitake Mushrooms
Shiitake mushrooms are more difficult to cultivate and may not be the ideal choice for a newbie mushroom grower. However, if you can cultivate these mushrooms well, there should be a reasonable demand.
Shiitake mushrooms are highly known and popular, so you should have no trouble marketing your product. Again, you will most likely have to compete with major commercial suppliers, so research your market before going all in on shiitake.
How Long Does It Take for Mushrooms to Grow
The entire process of growing mushrooms, from adding spawn to a growing medium until harvest, takes approximately a month.
The colonization stage takes about two weeks for the mycelium to fully spread through the growing medium. You’ll know your mushroom spawn is fully colonized when the surface is completely covered in the fluffy white mycelium.
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Harvesting and Storage
Whatever mushroom you choose to cultivate, you will need to harvest and store it appropriately before bringing it to your kitchen or clients. Harvesting your mushrooms is satisfying, but it is also a time-consuming procedure that requires some practice to master.
You should approach mushroom collecting in the same way you would any other element of food preparation.
This includes utilizing only clean tools and equipment, wearing clean clothes and gloves, and keeping a wash sink accessible. Make careful to clean your knife frequently, as it doesn’t take long for hazardous bacteria to grow on it, which could be passed on to your final product. Wearing a decent mask is also recommended, especially when harvesting Pleurotus species oyster mushrooms.
Mushroom growers frequently develop allergies to the spores of these mushrooms, which can worsen over time. Because of this, some growers avoid growing Pleurotus. When in the grow room, wearing a good mask is your best defense against developing this allergy.
Harvesting often entails severing the mushroom fruit body at the stem and removing any leftover substrate material. This is where you can really stand out from the crowd by ensuring that you only offer your customers cleanly harvested, high-quality mushrooms.
When harvesting, keep a scale nearby so you can weigh your mushrooms to get an indication of your yield and how much you are actually generating.
Substrate blocks and straw logs are frequently harvested many times, with diminishing results and increased contamination after the second or third harvest. When the substrate has served its purpose, it must be appropriately disposed of in a compost pile or similar.
This is an important factor that many beginner growers ignore, as the amount of spent substrate can soon accumulate into a significant mound (and a large problem!). In order to appropriately dispose of your substrate, you may need to negotiate with a local landowner.
