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asdfghjkl
newbie
Registered: 02/02/03
Posts: 36
Last seen: 20 years, 7 months
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Easy to grow, easily salable and profitable mushroom? 1
#1748833 - 07/25/03 04:19 PM (20 years, 7 months ago) |
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It should be noted that I've never attempted to grow mushrooms, so...excuse my ignorance.
Are there any good mushrooms for a beginner to grow that are also fairly profitable? I was going to just grow 'shrooms, but I have no room in my life for drugs anymore, so that's simply out of the question. I kind of like the idea of growing things, so I'm just hoping there're some relatively easy to grow mushrooms that're valuable (if they were tasty, that'd be a big plus, too ).
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eric_the_red
Registered: 02/28/03
Posts: 14,267
Loc: happy land
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Re: Easy to grow, easily salable and profitable mushroom? [Re: asdfghjkl] 1
#1748859 - 07/25/03 04:27 PM (20 years, 7 months ago) |
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give the oyster mushrooms a try. those are not too hard to grow.
-------------------- Anno cock? is that some kind of Greek liqueur? -Geo's All Knowing Sex Slave
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Raadt
nicht
Registered: 06/07/02
Posts: 2,107
Loc: azurescending
Last seen: 4 years, 10 months
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Re: Easy to grow, easily salable and profitable mushroom? [Re: asdfghjkl] 2
#1748888 - 07/25/03 04:36 PM (20 years, 7 months ago) |
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I don't think you'll be able to start with the most profitable. But if you do want to, you might check out Reishi, they are not tasty - but get fairly decent prices at asian markets.
If you're looking to get started, I would go with one of the oyster species. Probably best to go with Pleurotus Djamor, Pleurotus Citronipilatus, or Pleurotus Osteratus.
If you're looking for an oyster which is somewhat more difficult. I very much enjoy the King Oyster.
If you have access to a pressure cooker, and sawdust. You might want to try shiitake, lions mane, or Reishi.
But I suggest starting with the oysters, and seeing if the hobby is for you. They are the fastest, easiest, and least cost intensive.
-------------------- Raadt -- The information I provide is only information from readings, growing of gourmet mushrooms, and second hand stories--
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psyconaut
NASA trainedpsychonaut
Registered: 05/22/02
Posts: 617
Loc: The Great White North
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Re: Easy to grow, easily salable and profitable mushroom? [Re: asdfghjkl] 2
#1749159 - 07/25/03 06:18 PM (20 years, 7 months ago) |
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Rather than suggest what or how to grow, let me look at what you want to do from a different angle.
Let's just say in your local market, oyster mushrooms fetch $5lb wholesale. You manage to setup a system whereby you can grow 100lbs/month and have a wholesale customer for them. That's a small business that grosses $500/month.
Now look at what goes into making that $500 in sales revenue (not profit, I hasten to add):
(1) You need a place to grow 100lbs/month of mushrooms. You cannot do this in your basement (well, maybe in *your* basement you can) or your broom closet or your bedroom or your garage. You'll want somewhere that you can control the temperature and humidity, somewhere where you can control pests, and somewhere where an outbreak of parasitic fungus/mold/baceterial growth can be contained and stopped. There's also another thing that this place will have to be, but that's in point #2 below.
(2) Check your local food production by-laws. I have no idea where you are in the world, but in many places you will need to adhere to at least some local by-laws if you're growing food for profit. This can be as simple as obtaining a business license, or as complex as food sanitary rules or labelling/packaging. Selling a few mushrooms at the farmer's market might well be exempt, but there's often weird caveats. For example, I know in some areas that selling to restaurants directly requires more forethought.
(3) Never underestimate how much work is involved. You might think that checking in on your mushrooms once a day when you get home from school/work is enough. It might be once you've got your system refined, but in the early stages, much babysitting may be required.
(4) You're better off getting a job at MacDonalds if you want to make some money:
Say you gross $500/month. Subtract $100 of that for substrate, electricity, packaging, etc. (probably on the low side). That leaves you with $400 gross profit. Let's say this business requires 15 hours a week of your time which is spent tending to your crop, readying substrate, culture expansion, harvesting, and distributing (15 hours goes fast when you spend 6 hours on a Saturday with a booth at a farmers market, or have to drive your shrooms to customers). That nets you ~$6.50/hr. Granted growing mushrooms is a lot more fun than MacJob, but I think you'll agree it's somewhat hard to get rich this way.
But, I hear you say, why not grow medicinals and other more specialist varieties? Because unless you live in a relatively specialized market (such as most of the Far East), you won't get the local sales volume to justify it. You'll end up having to invest in desicating and packaging machines, and fighting to find customers or distributors, and then spending lots of time shipping.
I'm not trying to put you off trying to make a few shekkels selling mushrooms, just laying out some facts. This is all off the top-of-my-head, so you can probably at least critique at least some of what is said....but the real point is that it's a tough business unless you're prepared to invest in a proper farm and controlled environment.
However, if you just want to have fun and make some pocket money....growing a few varieties (oysters, lobster, shiitake) and heading to the farmers market is a heck of a lot of fun...and your 'hobby' (and quite a lot of dinners) will be paid for.
Good luck.
-psy
-------------------- It may look like a button mushroom right now, but wait until you see how it grows!
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psyconaut
NASA trainedpsychonaut
Registered: 05/22/02
Posts: 617
Loc: The Great White North
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Re: Easy to grow, easily salable and profitable mushroom? [Re: Raadt] 1
#1749165 - 07/25/03 06:21 PM (20 years, 7 months ago) |
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I just wanted to add that growing 100lbs/month of oysters is actually quite an achievement for the amateur grower...it's the scaling of crop that's the tricky part once you can initially grow mushrooms, and things like contamination control technique become the real skills. Don't think that because you can easily grow 5lbs in a bag in your basement that all you have to do is go to Walmart and buy 20 garbage bags ;-)
-psy
-------------------- It may look like a button mushroom right now, but wait until you see how it grows!
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r05c03
The Slug Scourge
Registered: 01/06/02
Posts: 383
Loc: Indiana, US
Last seen: 18 years, 11 months
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Re: Easy to grow, easily salable and profitable mushroom? [Re: psyconaut] 1
#1750304 - 07/26/03 07:40 AM (20 years, 7 months ago) |
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Nice break down, and 5 buck per pound whole sale for oyster is generous too. The one thing that you did not figue in is the intangible...satisfaction. That is worth alot, and McDonalds cannot not give it you you, well if you want to work at McD it can, I suppose.
-------------------- Listen! Do you smell something?
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psyconaut
NASA trainedpsychonaut
Registered: 05/22/02
Posts: 617
Loc: The Great White North
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Re: Easy to grow, easily salable and profitable mushroom? [Re: r05c03] 1
#1750553 - 07/26/03 11:30 AM (20 years, 7 months ago) |
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"However, if you just want to have fun and make some pocket money....growing a few varieties (oysters, lobster, shiitake) and heading to the farmers market is a heck of a lot of fun...and your 'hobby' (and quite a lot of dinners) will be paid for."
I kinda thought I did mention that intangible ;-)
-psy
-------------------- It may look like a button mushroom right now, but wait until you see how it grows!
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YidakiMan
Stranger
Registered: 09/28/02
Posts: 2,023
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Re: Easy to grow, easily salable and profitable mushroom? [Re: psyconaut] 1
#1750590 - 07/26/03 11:46 AM (20 years, 7 months ago) |
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I bought P. Djamor, it should be here on Monday or Tuesday. The purpose not being sale, but for fun. Though I figure that the pink oyster would be very easy to sell to those co-op natural food type stores for a decent price. Especially in a moderately sized metropolis with few natural food stores.
Edited by YidakiMan (07/26/03 11:47 AM)
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Zen Peddler
Registered: 06/18/01
Posts: 6,379
Loc: orbit
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Re: Easy to grow, easily salable and profitable mushroom? [Re: YidakiMan] 1
#1752226 - 07/27/03 01:28 AM (20 years, 7 months ago) |
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Shemiji - same conditions as cubies
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Baby_Hitler
Errorist
Registered: 03/06/02
Posts: 27,625
Loc: To the limit!
Last seen: 2 minutes, 57 seconds
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Re: Easy to grow, easily salable and profitable mushroom? [Re: Zen Peddler] 1
#1752491 - 07/27/03 05:04 AM (20 years, 7 months ago) |
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*Shimeji
-------------------- "America: Fuck yeah!" -- Alexthegreat “Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle. The real extent of this state of misinformation is known only to those who are in situations to confront facts within their knowledge with the lies of the day.” -- Thomas Jefferson The greatest sin of mankind is ignorance. The press takes [Trump] literally, but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally. --Salena Zeto (9/23/16)
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YidakiMan
Stranger
Registered: 09/28/02
Posts: 2,023
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Re: Easy to grow, easily salable and profitable mushroom? [Re: Baby_Hitler] 1
#1752705 - 07/27/03 09:49 AM (20 years, 7 months ago) |
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From what I read, shimeji, or the beech mushroom, would take far too long from inoculation to fruiting for a novice.
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Baby_Hitler
Errorist
Registered: 03/06/02
Posts: 27,625
Loc: To the limit!
Last seen: 2 minutes, 57 seconds
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Re: Easy to grow, easily salable and profitable mushroom? [Re: YidakiMan] 1
#1753229 - 07/27/03 02:37 PM (20 years, 7 months ago) |
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bluemeanie may or may not be referring to the woodlovig Beech mushroom. Shimegi, Sjimegi, Shimigi... can refer to a number of different species.
Perhaps he should just use the scientific name.
-------------------- "America: Fuck yeah!" -- Alexthegreat “Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle. The real extent of this state of misinformation is known only to those who are in situations to confront facts within their knowledge with the lies of the day.” -- Thomas Jefferson The greatest sin of mankind is ignorance. The press takes [Trump] literally, but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally. --Salena Zeto (9/23/16)
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