|
 MycoAu
Registered: 07/18/07
Posts: 415
Last seen: 8 hours, 16 minutes
|
 Re: Farmer's Market Report [Re: Yrat]
#8544310 - 06/20/08 12:47 PM (2 months, 14 days ago) |
|
|
Faffle, what are those bags hanging from? Beams in the basement/garage?
|
 UrbanFungi
Stranger
Registered: 12/23/07
Posts: 50
|
Re: Farmer's Market Report [Re: Yrat]
#8544325 - 06/20/08 12:53 PM (2 months, 14 days ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Yrat said:
i'm curious to know how much stem you leave on the mushrooms when selling at the market. do you clean them yourself to pre-cooking state? or do you let the consumer do their own work?
Everything you do to the mushroom has to occur between removing from the substrate and placing in the carton. If you remove the mushrooms from the carton to clean them further, you need a certified kitchen.
|
Hotnuts
old hand
Registered: 02/26/05
Posts: 2,707
Loc: Wild Blue Yawnder
Last seen: 15 hours, 46 minutes
|
Re: Farmer's Market Report [Re: UrbanFungi]
#8544342 - 06/20/08 12:57 PM (2 months, 14 days ago) |
|
|
Tell that to all of the Shiitake cultivators.
|
faffle
Stranger
Registered: 04/06/08
Posts: 47
Last seen: 1 day, 52 minutes
|
Re: Farmer's Market Report [Re: Yrat]
#8545378 - 06/20/08 06:58 PM (2 months, 14 days ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Yrat said:
i'm curious to know how much stem you leave on the mushrooms when selling at the market. do you clean them yourself to pre-cooking state? or do you let the consumer do their own work?
I leave the entire stem intact, and pull the straw off that is stuck to the base of the stem. If I have a huge cluster, I either sell it to someone else, or separate it. I dont wash them. I just tell the customer to wash, then snap the caps off and saute. I also tell them that stems can be diced and used in soup, though I've never tried that.
Quote:
MycoAu said:
Faffle, what are those bags hanging from? Beams in the basement/garage?
It's an old metal loft from the dorm days, wrapped in plastic with an exhaust fan and 2 cool mist humidifiers.
--------------------
|
AcidHorse
No Name No Slogan
Registered: 05/12/06
Posts: 161
Last seen: 12 hours, 56 minutes
|
Re: Farmer's Market Report [Re: faffle]
#8546344 - 06/21/08 02:29 AM (2 months, 14 days ago) |
|
|
Next thing you need to do is genetically alter some yeast to put out some high potency octane.
We need an alternative fuel.
That or nuclear car engines.
Hey here's some new results I've found out about morels: The blacks are more aggressive than the yellows when it comes to germination and growth.
--------------------
---Stay home drink beer go to bed---
 - From Freshmorels.com
 - From Maitake and Morels PDF
---My Morel Culture/Spawn Photos---
   
  
|
faffle
Stranger
Registered: 04/06/08
Posts: 47
Last seen: 1 day, 52 minutes
|
Re: Farmer's Market Report [Re: AcidHorse]
#8546521 - 06/21/08 05:16 AM (2 months, 14 days ago) |
|
|
well the next thing i'm doing right now, i found some wild oysters (sorry no pics) and am attempting to keep some tissue alive on sterile cardboard until my lab supplies arrive. I spent 150 on agar, petri dishes, scalpels, Erlenmeyer flask, alcohol lamp etc etc. I'll start a thread on that eventually, if i can borrow a camera. So I will be mushroom hunting every chance I get, and cloning them. Anyway, I'm off to market. I'm bringing 13 units to sell.
--------------------
Edited by faffle (06/21/08 05:18 AM)
|
UrbanFungi
Stranger
Registered: 12/23/07
Posts: 50
|
Re: Farmer's Market Report [Re: AcidHorse]
#8547360 - 06/21/08 12:13 PM (2 months, 13 days ago) |
|
|
Quote:
AcidHorse said:
Next thing you need to do is genetically alter some yeast to put out some high potency octane.
We need an alternative fuel.
That or nuclear car engines.
Theres a old Silicon Valley company that left the computer industry to pursue bio-tech. They are using non-pathogenic e.coli with GMO technology to make them "poop" crude oil.
|
UrbanFungi
Stranger
Registered: 12/23/07
Posts: 50
|
Re: Farmer's Market Report [Re: faffle]
#8547375 - 06/21/08 12:18 PM (2 months, 13 days ago) |
|
|
Cancel or return that order for the alcohol lamp, go to the hardware store and get a butane torch and some wire. Wrap the wire around the torch nozzle and make another loop so that it holds your scalpel blade in front of the flame. You can use two scalpels, one is sterilized while you are using the other.
Those lamps are useless, IMHO.
|
faffle
Stranger
Registered: 04/06/08
Posts: 47
Last seen: 1 day, 52 minutes
|
Re: Farmer's Market Report [Re: UrbanFungi]
#8547412 - 06/21/08 12:27 PM (2 months, 13 days ago) |
|
|
Market was awesome today. Could be that there was a parade a few blocks over. Anyway, I sold out of the 13 6 oz bags i brought in the first 45 minutes, so I went home and harvested more. Sold 21 total for 3.75 a piece, $70 after taxes. That brings my total revenue up to $337.75, total expenses are still $506.39. That's 14% of my expenses I made back in 1 weekend. People are talking about them a lot, which could also be why the sell so well. The cool old hippies all come to our booth, talk for a while, then buy mushrooms. I've had some people buy mushrooms every week I've sold them.
--------------------
|
AcidHorse
No Name No Slogan
Registered: 05/12/06
Posts: 161
Last seen: 12 hours, 56 minutes
|
Re: Farmer's Market Report [Re: UrbanFungi]
#8547535 - 06/21/08 01:09 PM (2 months, 13 days ago) |
|
|
Quote:
UrbanFungi said:
Quote:
AcidHorse said:
Next thing you need to do is genetically alter some yeast to put out some high potency octane.
We need an alternative fuel.
That or nuclear car engines.
Theres a old Silicon Valley company that left the computer industry to pursue bio-tech. They are using non-pathogenic e.coli with GMO technology to make them "poop" crude oil.
LOL,
Now we got canola oil engines, natural gas engines, and this.
So did you happen to see what the yield was?
Need a pit the size of Lake Superior filled with a substrate and throw some e. coli on it and have it in a reasonable amount of time.
Gas would be a nickel!
--------------------
---Stay home drink beer go to bed---
- From Freshmorels.com
- From Maitake and Morels PDF
---My Morel Culture/Spawn Photos---
|
faffle
Stranger
Registered: 04/06/08
Posts: 47
Last seen: 1 day, 52 minutes
|
Re: Farmer's Market Report [Re: AcidHorse]
#8551961 - 06/22/08 08:10 PM (2 months, 12 days ago) |
|
|
There will be no relief any time soon in the form of alternative fuels. We have no control over the government, and no power to solve the coming fuel crisis. Get used to it. I just wish I had the money for some land and an assault rifle.
--------------------
|
fluffyshapes
lowly lotus
Registered: 04/02/07
Posts: 137
Loc: joe-ja
Last seen: 3 days, 11 hours
|
Re: Farmer's Market Report [Re: faffle]
#8554501 - 06/23/08 01:41 PM (2 months, 11 days ago) |
|
|
Looking great!
May I ask how you package them? If they're ready for harvesting 3 or 4 days in advance, how do you keep them fresh? I've heard of CO2 packaging, but that seems like a little much for a farmers market.
|
faffle
Stranger
Registered: 04/06/08
Posts: 47
Last seen: 1 day, 52 minutes
|
|
I just set like 4 clusters on top of folded paper bags so people passing by can see them. I'll have 1 cluster with gills facing out, and another turned the other way, so people can see what they look like from both angles. Making them visible is important, because a lot of people are just casually browsing, and the mushrooms stop them in their tracks. They get a look of confusion/fascination on their face, then come by and ask me about them. Then I just put them in the bag for the buyer. I don't sell mushrooms unless they still look nearly perfect. So about 5 days old is the maximum. I store them in larger paper bags in the fridge. No stacking. For retailers/restaurants I only sell 1-2 day old mushrooms.
--------------------
|
fluffyshapes
lowly lotus
Registered: 04/02/07
Posts: 137
Loc: joe-ja
Last seen: 3 days, 11 hours
|
Re: Farmer's Market Report [Re: faffle]
#8557876 - 06/24/08 10:37 AM (2 months, 10 days ago) |
|
|
Thanks for the info!
I'm always OCD about presentation, and it sounds like you've got it down.
|
faffle
Stranger
Registered: 04/06/08
Posts: 47
Last seen: 1 day, 52 minutes
|
|
Made $44 today at market sellin all 13 bags of mushrooms I had, even though it was raining on and off today. I need to be workin on cultivation more, I'm behind. It's just a pain in the ass because to keep up, i have to do work like 50 hours a week. I had 1 bag contaminate cause I waited too long to inoculate after pasteurization. Straw was shitty too, I ended up throwing out 2 loads of pasteurized straw and buying a good bale elsewhere. I'm inoculating a few bags this weekend so big flushes will come in 3 weeks. I'd follow a weekly schedule but I get distracted, and I'm happy with how much money I'm making anyway 
--------------------
|
undergrounder
Registered: 11/10/06
Posts: 1,259
Loc: NSW
Last seen: 4 hours, 4 minutes
|
Re: Farmer's Market Report [Re: faffle]
#8635365 - 07/14/08 09:11 PM (1 month, 21 days ago) |
|
|
Congrats faffle, awesome that you're selling mushrooms at market... hope it works out... do you have to comply with special food prep laws and fork out stall fees and things? Have you tried selling other types as well?
--------------------
 RIP
Bigger and bolder and rougher and tougher in other words sucka there is no other...
   
|
best haash
Stranger
Registered: 07/07/08
Posts: 8
Last seen: 4 days, 14 hours
|
|
  good luck I want to do one too
|
faffle
Stranger
Registered: 04/06/08
Posts: 47
Last seen: 1 day, 52 minutes
|
|
Quote:
undergrounder said:
Congrats faffle, awesome that you're selling mushrooms at market... hope it works out... do you have to comply with special food prep laws and fork out stall fees and things? Have you tried selling other types as well?
There are very few regulations at this market. I sell on behalf of the student farm I work for, and pay part of our stall fee. It's only $5 bucks though. We also have to pay like 7% sales tax. I would imagine that at larger markets in big cities, you will see more regulations. I will eventually get around to growing some woodloving species, but I dont have a lot of extra time, so it might be a while. Taking up another species now would mean I'd be working like 7 days a week, unless i sacrifice some of my oyster production.
--------------------
|
faffle
Stranger
Registered: 04/06/08
Posts: 47
Last seen: 1 day, 52 minutes
|
Re: Farmer's Market Report [Re: faffle]
#8749495 - 08/09/08 03:47 PM (26 days, 14 hours ago) |
|
|
I've been forgetting to post. Since my last update, my mushrooms sold at 2 markets, 1 i made $50 and last week I made $18 because all i had was 5 clusters. People really miss the mushrooms when i dont have any. I moved them outside under some trees/shrubs a couple weeks ago at my new place, and theyre doing great. They even survived a 106 degree day! I'm not going to bother setting my FC back up until weather requires it. Other than some slight bug damage at the bottom of the bags, they look better than they did indoors. I have 2 bags pinning on their 2nd flush, and 3 more that should have their 1st flush ready by next weekend. I wish i had a camera, id be posting pics.
--------------------
|
|
login or 
register to post messages and view our members-only content. You'll gain access to additional forums, encrypted messages, file attachments, board customizations, and much more!
Previous
Index
Next
Threaded
Edit 
Reply 
Quote 
