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Offlinetaman
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Growing mushrooms in the slums
    #14429916 - 05/10/11 01:43 PM (12 years, 8 months ago)

Hey all,

I was reading up on Urban Farming today, especially in relation to the developing world. Did you know that Hanoi produces 90% of its poultry and vegetables within its city borders?

Anyway, I came across the concept of Appropriate Technology, basically, these are simplified existing technologies adapted to local resources.

'Famous' examples are solar cookers and dyno-torches. With regard to urban farming, you have Simplified Hydroponics: http://www3.telus.net/public/a6a47567/Food%20Security.pdf

I was wondering if something similar could be done in regard to growing mushrooms. The Shroomery board is full of creative individuals which have shown how creativity can lead to low-cost and efficient adaptations of cultivation techniques.

Would it be possible to find a way to grow mushrooms in for example slums in (SE)-Asia with mostly recycled (thrown-away) materials? Would this be feasible? Or formulated in a different way, what are the ABSOLUTE minimum requirements for growing mushrooms?


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Offlinetheneatobandito
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Re: Growing mushrooms in the slums [Re: taman]
    #14430012 - 05/10/11 02:10 PM (12 years, 8 months ago)

IMO it really depends on whether or not your wanting to produce a food source, or if the desire is to do something more along the lines of mycorestoration projects & the like?

Mushroom cultivation for the purposes of restoration & cleaning the environment is next to nothing, because ideally you would want your mushroom spawn to be naturalized for easier use outdoors. This is of course what I've come across in my time researching the subject, & I'm open to others giving more insight.

You should really consider reading Paul Stamet's Mycelium Running. The information he presents in that book is hands down some of the most interesting, amazing, & real life applicable information I've found on the subject of mushroom cultivation & it's wide array of uses.

:peace:


--------------------
“In oneself lies the whole world and if you know how to look and learn, the door is there and the key is in your hand. Nobody on earth can give you either the key or the door to open, except yourself.” - Jiddu Krishnamurti


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Offlinetaman
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Re: Growing mushrooms in the slums [Re: theneatobandito]
    #14430441 - 05/10/11 03:38 PM (12 years, 8 months ago)

My first idea was to enhance food security, hence growing it for food although mycoremediation and mycofiltration certainly will have their proper uses in this environment as well.

Thanks for the tip by the way, I had Mycelium Running in my hands one day but bought GMCC instead. But I do remember MR was mightily interesting as well.

One thing I already picked up as a possible adaptation (which I could also have found here) is the use of cardboard as it is semi-selective and thus is more easily used in a high contamination environment. Cardboard will also be readily available in even the poorest urban areas so thats great as well.


Edited by taman (05/10/11 03:39 PM)


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OfflineHumility
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Re: Growing mushrooms in the slums [Re: taman]
    #14430543 - 05/10/11 03:58 PM (12 years, 8 months ago)

I think one of the most daunting challenges to producing commercially in a developing or undeveloped nation is energy and its relation to pasteurization/sterilization.

In order to grow commercially for food production; in order to ensure a constant and consistent supply of quality produce, it is imperative that your spawn and substrate materials be as comfortable habitats as possible for the particular species you are trying to grow.

Temperature and humidity can be managed, though it might take some work, pretty much wherever you are.  Wetter is usually better with fungus.

Eliminating competitor organisms however is more difficult to achieve without sufficient energy.

Here on the shroomery we usually advocate water bath pasteurizations which require lots of water that is close by (transport costs would quickly become untenable) and lots of energy that is relatively cheap, with which to heat the water to pasteurization temperatures.





Unfortunately that's pretty much all I have.  I've heard RR remarking about making greater use of Hydrated Lime in order to raise PH and kill off organisms.  I believe he got the idea from here; it should be noted that this link is one that he originally posted:

http://www.alohaecowas.com/diversified-agriculture-part1.html


Here are some of the more relevant portions, but it's a great read in general.

Quote:

The most basic concept of mushroom cultivation is that we need to produce an environment in the substrate that is selectively preferential to the growth of our target species of mushroom, and less amenable to other types of microorganisms and pests. This involves sterilization (completely killing any other organisms that are present in the substrate which would compete with the mushrooms for utilization of the substrate as food) or pasteurization (killing off the majority of competitive organisms). Mushroom cultivation in more developed countries has evolved from an art into huge agri-business by way of the most innovative production technology and biotechnology available. This usually means the use of large pressure chambers and high temperature steam for sterilization of the substrate. However, steam and the associated equipment are both expensive and technically demanding in terms of training and education. There are many less-developed areas of the world where access to these technological advances are either unavailable or too expensive to utilize. In those areas it would be much more practical to look at ways to pasteurize rather than sterilize the substrate, and by methods other than the use of steam. This can be done in many ways, such as using commonly available substances such as soap or hydrated lime to pasteurize the substrate. The mechanism by which these chemicals work is through the rapid change in osmotic pressure, causing the majority of microorganisms present to burst from the change in osmotic pressure. Once the substrate is treated in this way, and the majority of the microorganisms are killed, the substrate is suitable for the introduction of our target species, the Oyster mushroom.



Another potential treatment method is simply to soak the substrate in water for a week or so. This results in a rapid bloom of the bacteria that rapidly consume the readily available simple sugars. Once the sugars are exhausted after about 5 days of fermentation, the bacterial bloom dies off due to lack of any more simple nutrient availability. This leaves a substrate which is more selective to the higher cellulose degrading organisms such as Oyster Mushrooms. This is the simplest method of substrate preparation; however it is the least effective of any methods we have tried. It does work, but the chemical treatment methods are much more effective and not considerably more difficult or expensive.




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InvisibleMonkeyKnifeFight
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Re: Growing mushrooms in the slums [Re: Humility]
    #14432046 - 05/10/11 09:26 PM (12 years, 8 months ago)

I think you could probably reduce your energy/water usage for the final fruiting substrate if you got a bit creative.  But I know of no way to produce spawn over the long term without the ability to make sterile substrates.  So that would be kind of a big hurdle to overcome.  Maybe grow a large volume of spawn out in some central location to distribute.


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Offlinetaman
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Re: Growing mushrooms in the slums [Re: Humility]
    #14433102 - 05/11/11 01:56 AM (12 years, 8 months ago)

Hey Humility,

That's a really helpful and inspiring read. It is something like that which I have in mind. Thanks a lot.


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Invisibletito123
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Re: Growing mushrooms in the slums [Re: taman]
    #14433605 - 05/11/11 06:50 AM (12 years, 8 months ago)

you could probably just buy spawn from somewhere, make outdoor beds, and keep transferring those beds around


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Offlinetheneatobandito
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Re: Growing mushrooms in the slums [Re: Humility]
    #14442942 - 05/12/11 11:17 PM (12 years, 8 months ago)

Quote:

tito123 said:
you could probably just buy spawn from somewhere, make outdoor beds, and keep transferring those beds around




I Agree with tito, that in a minimalist situation, maintaining an outdoor culture should require the least amount of long term financial expenditure, & may also yield cultures that will be naturalized to an environment. These cultures will fair better with using simpler pasteurization techniques to induce fruiting.

Quote:

Humility said:
Quote:

The most basic concept of mushroom cultivation is that we need to produce an environment in the substrate that is selectively preferential to the growth of our target species of mushroom, and less amenable to other types of microorganisms and pests. This involves sterilization (completely killing any other organisms that are present in the substrate which would compete with the mushrooms for utilization of the substrate as food) or pasteurization (killing off the majority of competitive organisms). Mushroom cultivation in more developed countries has evolved from an art into huge agri-business by way of the most innovative production technology and biotechnology available. This usually means the use of large pressure chambers and high temperature steam for sterilization of the substrate. However, steam and the associated equipment are both expensive and technically demanding in terms of training and education. There are many less-developed areas of the world where access to these technological advances are either unavailable or too expensive to utilize. In those areas it would be much more practical to look at ways to pasteurize rather than sterilize the substrate, and by methods other than the use of steam. This can be done in many ways, such as using commonly available substances such as soap or hydrated lime to pasteurize the substrate. The mechanism by which these chemicals work is through the rapid change in osmotic pressure, causing the majority of microorganisms present to burst from the change in osmotic pressure. Once the substrate is treated in this way, and the majority of the microorganisms are killed, the substrate is suitable for the introduction of our target species, the Oyster mushroom.



Another potential treatment method is simply to soak the substrate in water for a week or so. This results in a rapid bloom of the bacteria that rapidly consume the readily available simple sugars. Once the sugars are exhausted after about 5 days of fermentation, the bacterial bloom dies off due to lack of any more simple nutrient availability. This leaves a substrate which is more selective to the higher cellulose degrading organisms such as Oyster Mushrooms. This is the simplest method of substrate preparation; however it is the least effective of any methods we have tried. It does work, but the chemical treatment methods are much more effective and not considerably more difficult or expensive.







This is fascinating stuff btw. Thanks for the link on this info, & certainly shows that their are available techniques for areas that are stricken with the difficulty of not having an industrialized society (or overly-industrialized society IMO).

Taman, should you consider actually reading mycelium running, page 136 is a excellent starting point about using spore-mass slurry, such as spores suspended in oil, for use on something like a chainsaw to inoculate a downed tree stump, which could be an extensive food source for quite a long time; & as the mushrooms are picked for consumption, stem-butt inoculation can increase mycelial expansion for new beds & projects; & the mushrooms will already be naturalized from the environment it's growing in. Page 137 also begins discussing the use of cardboard if you were interested in using this really simple technique as well.

:peace:


--------------------
“In oneself lies the whole world and if you know how to look and learn, the door is there and the key is in your hand. Nobody on earth can give you either the key or the door to open, except yourself.” - Jiddu Krishnamurti


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OfflineMycelio
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Re: Growing mushrooms in the slums [Re: theneatobandito]
    #14444185 - 05/13/11 08:08 AM (12 years, 8 months ago)

Yes there are alternatives to sterilization, but I see another big obstacle.

Fruiting mushroom cultures in peoples homes and in densely populated areas would require sophisticated air filtering or the huge amount of spores would cause a lot of heavy allergies.

I can only imagine that with species, which are harvested before dropping spores, like paddy straw mushrooms.

Carsten


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