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Mushrooms, Mycology and Psychedelics > Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms
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Re: Hard working guy searching for a job at a mushroom farm! [Re: Raadt]
    #1421540 -

We are doing it and it is something else.......profitability is elusive and costs are high. It can take several seasons to even stop thinking what a huge mistake you've made. We are just barely hanging on.


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Yours in the Natural State Land of Enchantment!

"Sometimes the only way for a man to find true happiness is to take drugs in a group" - Cochise

No makin funna my pomes!

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Re: Hard working guy searching for a job at a mushroom farm! [Re: curenado]
    #1421585 -

Stick with it and i hope it works out :-)
Good luck to you.


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Re: Hard working guy searching for a job at a mushroom farm! [Re: curenado]
    #1421636 -

But when you truly enjoy it, it's all worthwhile. I'm right behind you on that =)


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Raadt

-- The information I provide is only information from readings, growing of gourmet mushrooms, and second hand stories--

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Re: Hard working guy searching for a job at a mushroom farm! [Re: curenado]
    #1421641 -

What mushroom do you cultivate?


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Grow Mushrooms from Spores - PF-Tek for Simple Minds

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Re: Hard working guy searching for a job at a mushroom farm! [Re: curenado]
    #1422033 -

Quote:
profitability is elusive and costs are high


I'm also afraid that it's really like that. According to my calculations you can make a living out of it, but it's not something that will make you rich, at least if you're growing oysters or buttons & you buy premade substrate.
If you make your own substrate, grow different (expensive) species or you make spawn for other growers then it might be better.

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Re: Hard working guy searching for a job at a mushroom farm! [Re: zeronio]
    #1422090 -

Shittake, Oysters, Paddy Straws - the "Go gourmet and supply way" is right, because that is what has been most of our income. We have killer deals on sawdust, chips and logs for the grower - all oak, red & white
But really, it's been 2.5 years and we're still looking for our magic formula of what strains we're best with in our area and how to minimize waste and cost. Anyway...point is true - too obsessed with the creatures to stop and was poor anyway when started so - folla ya bliss!
I gotta go - getting them "get off" glares - you know....
Could go on about it though...it just keeps getting cooler. Paddy Straws are cool...


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Yours in the Natural State Land of Enchantment!

"Sometimes the only way for a man to find true happiness is to take drugs in a group" - Cochise

No makin funna my pomes!

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Re: Hard working guy searching for a job at a mushroom farm! [Re: curenado]
    #1422113 -

Very interesting...
Do you make your own spawn & substrate or do you buy it?

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Re: Hard working guy searching for a job at a mushroom farm! [Re: zeronio]
    #1422162 -

I'm back. Yes - you must make everything possible. We buy straw, the chips and sawdust, logs we cut on the mountain and rye by the 50 lb bag. What is a pain is still hard to afford bags and have to hump it with jars on most. We soap wash, bleach, and hot rinse 5x unless something really bad.
We are a total po boy op - but I don't hink you lose as much on the rough and ready way as people say really. We lose some, but most is real good.
The Oysters we have are actually the Phoenix oysters (pleurotus pulmonaris). The neatest "gimmick" we have learned and going now is oysters fruiting off of colonized toilet paper roll. Not much for bulk but a great kitchen table thing and easy/cheap to set up (.55-1.00 bag, roll of "save" (no perfume) toilet paper and cup of spawn - sell for $10 to help make up for the ones you give away 'cause they're neat)
PS- buttons - market saturated - everybody and their brother - go for the gourmets and medicinals. Buttons ok for personal but kinda messy and too much heavy commercial compet.


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Yours in the Natural State Land of Enchantment!

"Sometimes the only way for a man to find true happiness is to take drugs in a group" - Cochise

No makin funna my pomes!

Edited by curenado (04/02/03 03:10 AM)

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Re: Hard working guy searching for a job at a mushroom farm! [Re: curenado]
    #1422172 -

Where is the guy looking for the "lazy old hillbillys seek mushroom bum to live in squalor (toolshed) and attempt year round cropping with no real hope of wealth or recognition" ad thing? I can't find it!


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Yours in the Natural State Land of Enchantment!

"Sometimes the only way for a man to find true happiness is to take drugs in a group" - Cochise

No makin funna my pomes!

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Re: Hard working guy searching for a job at a mushroom farm! [Re: curenado]
    #1422187 -

Would you tell us more about the machinery you're using? Like what kind of autoclave are you using and how much it cost.
It's quite hard to get information about that, the growers I know are very good at keeping their "secrets". :smirk:

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Re: Hard working guy searching for a job at a mushroom farm! [Re: zeronio]
    #1422553 -

Yeas this is very interesting, and I am very appreciative that some on in the business is speaking candidly. Zeronio is right, the industry growers seem to be a tight lipped bunch. I think, as with any busniess, location is important, and finding a local niche is a must. I would imagine that the best market are the direct ones: Grower to Resturant or Grower to Customer (say at a farmers market). Also, I think it is essential to establish your markets before you plunge into the deal fully and to go slow not taking out huge loans and so on. As far as profitability, gourmets are the only way to go. What I hope to do is a incorporate fungi into an overall small agriculture (vegtable and herbs) scheme, using them not only as food source but as organic matter maker, break crops, livestock food and so on. It is somewhat disheartening to hear the marginanlity of it all, but so many businesses are marginal, that is no change from most small busniess situations.

I would be interested as the to the relative size of your operation, number of grow rooms etc.


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Listen! Do you smell something?

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Re: Hard working guy searching for a job at a mushroom farm! [Re: r05c03]
    #1422575 -

I'm only thinking about starting it. I have some friends that are willing to invest money and that think everything is easy. They've seen those few shrooms I've grown at home and they're all for it. I'm a bit sceptic.
They're trying to rent an old & forgotten industrial hall that has 10 rooms sized 19x5x3 meters each. Walls are very thick and it seems that they hold tempearture well.

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Re: Hard working guy searching for a job at a mushroom farm! [Re: zeronio]
    #1422593 -

I plan to utilise one room 34' by 12' and have a go at small scale gourmet,
supplying 4 local restaurants to start out and just see were it goes.
I agree button farming would be hard to break into as there are large
farms every were now(u.k)but supper markets are also selling many fresh
gourmet now so even that could be a hard break.The key I'm guressing
is variety, or whats not yet available.Great to here there are a few of us here
with plans and idears :grin: i wish you all the best of luck in any future and
present endeavors.

P e a c e


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Re: Hard working guy searching for a job at a mushroom farm! [Re: Paid]
    #1422611 -

If it were me,
I'd go with solely medicinals (reishi, cordyceps, etc....) if there was any hope of profit......
logs are cheap, and magic health tonics should sell to anyone for $$

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Re: Hard working guy searching for a job at a mushroom farm! [Re: Mitchnast]
    #1422860 -

This guy was going to King's Tech doing plant technician. You may know him...

Maybe we should hook up sometime to discuss things and maybe go searching in the fall. I've heard the valley has ridiculous amounts of Libs all over the place.


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Man thinks. God laughs. - Jewish Proverb

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Re: Hard working guy searching for a job at a mushroom farm! [Re: no-tone]
    #1424097 -

We're still using the large canners! $4,000.00 for autoclave is awful lot of mushrooms to sell..... We're nowhere near ready to pay for one even though we could use it badly - more for load size than sterility though. You clean, room clean, jars clean most important in our experience.
Flammulina Velutipes is one that requires special cropping conditions and sells for a good price on the market - hard to come by and medicinal joy. A guy who studied that up and worked it might be ahead of the game a little. There is also "purple" reishi (ganoderma oregonense i think?) that is currently hot in medicine. The Agaricus Blazei (they call it something different now..see fungiperfecti.com) is a new hot medicinal too. OK - I'll be back - gotta go watch mod sqaud with donna....you know :smile:


--------------------
Yours in the Natural State Land of Enchantment!

"Sometimes the only way for a man to find true happiness is to take drugs in a group" - Cochise

No makin funna my pomes!

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Re: Hard working guy searching for a job at a mushroom farm! [Re: curenado]
    #1425961 -

Currently I am starting small and cheap, testing the market. I think that the small time asian model system will work well for market garden situations and perhaps also for resturant sales (from time to time). However, if you want to pump out any kind of mushroom week after week in any kind of quantity you are looking at a large investment, I would think 50k minimum


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Listen! Do you smell something?

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Re: Hard working guy searching for a job at a mushroom farm! [Re: r05c03]
    #1490922 -

I didn't find this thread again for awhile....
I guess what you may not have in cash you must be prepared to make up for in elbow grease and ingenuity.
I suggest starting with basic home equipment and a species you can work with. You may not start with all the bells and whistles but you can be well on your way.
Also - if you do crop medicinals as a small guy please contact me - we use them in the clinic and look for other market opportunities. We grow to use/distribute and only sell about half our totals in the end to carry on.


--------------------
Yours in the Natural State Land of Enchantment!

"Sometimes the only way for a man to find true happiness is to take drugs in a group" - Cochise

No makin funna my pomes!

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Re: Hard working guy searching for a job at a mushroom farm! [Re: curenado]
    #1492195 -

I agree with you. Starting small is the way to go. You can be sure that you have interested markets before you take that next BIG step. I would love to hear more about your operation, and I am interested in the clinic that you work with / for. What kind of community stuff do you do?



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Listen! Do you smell something?

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Re: Hard working guy searching for a job at a mushroom farm! [Re: r05c03]
    #1494373 -

It's not too elaborate - but one day.....(sigh)
It's really just a matter of our circumstance. You have to have a theologist, agriculturalist and doctor to operate a monastery. Different titles in different places but basic scheme. In our States in the U.S. Church members can choose Church care. It's their constitutional right. We live exclusively on Church grounds and therefor people are in a sort of "special territory" that is supposed to look more like an old general store with a kitchen - a sharing place, that's why people go. We are a complete inner community that just shares with others that visit. So that is why we must have the school and clinic and that is something more people seem to be turning on to.
But it isn't any different for any U.S. citizens anywhere. The idea that you have to have 60 post grad credits and full blown care to use mycomedicals is goofy - they're nothing more than good food. Anyone can access resources to learn and people are encouraged to do grass roots community by the Government through all those deductions you can take. I also believe that your "Business" is just a hobby until you make at least ten thousand dollars in a year and if you do that - start advising us!
But you need no tax number, special permits or liscense to produce, educate about and sell mushrooms.


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Yours in the Natural State Land of Enchantment!

"Sometimes the only way for a man to find true happiness is to take drugs in a group" - Cochise

No makin funna my pomes!

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