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Johnwall11
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Registered: 11/10/13
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Last seen: 7 years, 6 months
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Oyster mushroom start up farm 1
#19114489 - 11/10/13 11:46 AM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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I have become real interested in growing mushrooms for profit in the last month. I have read lots,watched videos, and now talking with the community. I have 5600 sq feet of arched greenhouse that I am in the process of setting up. I have a bunch of questions so here I go.. I will be growing various types of oyster mushrooms.
When hanging the vertical bags does it matter how far apart they are from eathother ? I want to make sure I utilize my maximum growing potential.
My neighbors sells straws and hay I will being using that as my foundation for a substrate. I was planning on boiling a bunch of 55gallon metal drums of water using mesh wire to hold the chopped straw in place. I'm pretty sure I will use propane as a heat source I am on low budget as I am 22 years old so I want to do this the cheapest ways possible until I can invest back into the business. I know about steaming but it seems like it would take much longer proccess vs if I boiled a bunch of drums ..each drum could be done in one hour. Possibly just start with propane maybe fire
My house runs off of a well so I have free water I want to try and have the least amount of expenses possible low start up. I have a misting system in the greenhouse. Is their a way to turn my free water into a heat source to heat my greenhouse ? I'm trying to use the water as much as possible but that raises another question will the iron in my well water effect my grow? Do I need to buy a filter system ?
If anyone has good advice on starting a new farm it would be much appreciated.
Oyster mushrooms advice is well seeked out, if you live in Washington state and have alot of experience or your own commercial grow. Please contact me i would love to see how you operate. Thanks
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Rubestoad
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm [Re: Johnwall11]
#19114525 - 11/10/13 11:56 AM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Good luck bro! I don't have any answers for you but I did read somewhere on the web a few days ago about running PVC piping under/through a compost pile and using the heat in the pile to heat water that ran into radiators in the grow room.
It was smaller scale then your thinking but it might be worth a google search.
-------------------- Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
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Sickleg
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm [Re: Rubestoad]
#19114929 - 11/10/13 01:28 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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How do you plan on distributing? I am very curious.
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clueless
justnew




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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm [Re: Sickleg]
#19115674 - 11/10/13 04:02 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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To OP: We have a Gourmet and Medicinals forum here. You should post in there, very helpful members. BTW Welcome to The Shroomery     .
-------------------- I'm a rhinestone tiger in a leisure suit.
Edited by clueless (11/10/13 04:05 PM)
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RogerRabbit
Bans for Pleasure


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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: Johnwall11]
#19116866 - 11/10/13 07:40 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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This thread was moved from Mushroom Cultivation.
Reason: Moved to the edibles forum.
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deadmandave
Slime


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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: RogerRabbit]
#19117170 - 11/10/13 08:40 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Use the well water, i think high iron content will be fine. what are your ideas on using water as a heat source?
Where do you plan on getting your spawn? the cheapest method is to make your own; it takes a bit of skill but it is well worth it.
when bags are colonizing dont let them touch because if they heat up too much it will increase the chance of competitors growing. when they are hanging leave enough space for the mushrooms to fruit.
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drake89
Mushroom Magnate



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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: deadmandave]
#19117649 - 11/10/13 10:10 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Do some market research before you jump into this. It will obviously be more profitable to sell directly to restaurants than wholesalers, but more work delivering.
Fuck heating, use wood ash or lime (calcium hydroxide) to 'pasteurize' straw. Way cheaper.
I found out recently that while they will fruit in the cold, they won't really colonize. So you're gonna need to insulate a space to heat for colonizing. Unless you can keep your greenhouse around 70 on the cheap.
Best of luck, I'm 24 and we are making a living wage 4 months after starting. All you need is hard work, dedication, prayers and belief, and a good team.
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Group
Working Together

Registered: 10/25/13
Posts: 115
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: drake89]
#19118861 - 11/11/13 02:43 AM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Good luck brother!
I am starting to cultivate shiitake and oyster mushrooms as well. I'm doing it with the help of others. I hope we can give away free organic mushrooms to everyone!
Working as a team we can accomplish more! John Wall: maybe friends or family could help and you could all learn together? Best of luck!
-------------------- We are starting a mushroom growing network to provide FREE and/or inexpensive gourmet and medicinal mushrooms to local communities accross the US and globally. We have the opportunity to feed and heal each other. We simply need to work together. By sharing our talents we enable ourselves and others to enjoy a world of abundance. We'd love for collaboration from YOU, PM me!
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Smeagol
Poke my 3rd eye


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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: Group]
#19119189 - 11/11/13 06:28 AM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Nice! I'm far from experienced enough to hand out advice but making spawn isn't hard. Pressure cooker and using the search function. I'm on my first go and have made wild bird seed spawn, colonized a sub of horse poo/compost/vermiculite/coco coir and have fruits growing in a mini fruiting chamber. I also have some myc on home made agar.
Market research!!!!! There are a couple good threads and a pdf download on here somewhere where someone runs over the basics. Oysters are almost unheard of in the group of people I know but the mention of them perked interest. All morels, portabello/butttons around here. Ill be going the restaurant path myself. In a 50-60 mile radius there are dozens of asian and high class joints around. I'm working on procedures first but have the same plan of being a mushroom farmer!!! Good luck!
-------------------- The road to hell is paved with good intentions, but it is not paved with clarity.” -Terence "If you're not peaking what the fuck are you doing?" Dude on facebook
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Johnwall11
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) *DELETED* [Re: drake89]
#19947671 - 05/06/14 01:08 AM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Post deleted by Johnwall11Reason for deletion: research has taken me a new direction i will be going a different route with growing, would like to make this thread more accurate.
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deadmandave
Slime


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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: Johnwall11]
#19948483 - 05/06/14 08:11 AM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Definitely get a lab set up! it doesnt need to be fancy, i do all my sterile work in my bedroom with 99% success rate (as far as grain spawn production is concerned)
If you're willing to spend $700 on a humidifier you might as well go balls deep and get one of Stamet's humidifans. I would trust one of those over a craigslist ultra sonic any day.
also check out Solarity's posts, he has an awesome homemade ultrasonic humidifier for a fairly large indoor greenhouse.
You should honestly get some spawn asap, start making bulk substrates, start small fruiting experiments so that you can see what you are getting yourself into.
what type of substrate are you planning on using? pasteurizing or sterilizing?
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drake89
Mushroom Magnate



Registered: 06/26/11
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: deadmandave]
#19949838 - 05/06/14 03:08 PM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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man, if you are asking questions about spent grains and coffee grounds you got some learning to do. I wish people would start out small before pouring thousands into a setup they [may or may not] know how to run. Aloha medicinals should be able to provide you exotic spawn. I don't know of anyone else that can get it for you at a reasonable price. you can get away with incubating and fruiting in the same space during the warmer months.
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Johnwall11
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: deadmandave]
#19949910 - 05/06/14 03:30 PM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Thanks for the response! I was planning on buying a propane burner that will heat a 55 gallon metal drum bringing it to 160f for a little over an hour. I have bought a 30ish gallon metal trash can that i will drill holes in and then will put the 30 gal in the 55 gal. putting the straw in the 30 gal to pasteurize. you have any advice on this method? i looked for mesh wire baskets but didn't have much luck i figured the metal trash can with alterations could work fine. ill be in a period of trial an error. I'm still looking for a reliable source for spawn i would like to start experimenting. most suppliers i see online don't have very appleaing websites kinda look flakey so i held off on buying until i found a good source. .. i do want to practice with quality spawn. i want to save up so i can afford to have my 1st 20ftx70ft greenhouse operational as a grow room. I do see the importance of starting small i want to use my extra rooms in my house to start small! i can devote one room to incubation room and one room to grow in. I believe i can perfect my methods in this small environment save money. Then use both rooms in the house as incubation rooms as i progress and by that time be using the greenhouse as a grow room. Thank you for the advice i will look into stamets humidifans. The reason the $700 ultrasonic was appealing is in long term i would be able to humidify all my greenhouses. 5600sqft or potentially a majority of them. I will start researching making my own lab i do have extra space at the moment to devote a lab to and will start reading Solaritys post about homemade humidifiers. I am very new and understand that growing mushrooms is not something that any person can just start doing.. I am ready to learn as much as possible. I've been looking for farm i could work on or even intern or just devote time in exchange for advice for a little while. i will post pictures soon so everyone understands my situation and where i am currently at..thanks!
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Johnwall11
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: Johnwall11]
#19950026 - 05/06/14 03:57 PM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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you understand that i have asked questions and not stated that i did buy and that i am going to do this.. i am here to gather advice from people who have already taken this path and can answer questions. I had concerns about ultrasonic humidifiers because they can cause bacteria.. buying an industrial humidifier vs buying a bunch of walmart brands in the long term seems like the wiser choice. since i will need a lot of humidification in the long term . Im 22 and I've made money so i kno about making wize investments. i did not state i will start using this equipment right away..i plan on starting very small i won't even use the greenhouse until my methods are perfected. at a young age i started purchase industrial lighting equipment and then re selling it..made some decent money for letting equipment sit around until i found a buyer.. so even if i didn't use the humidifier i bet on myself that i will be able to find a buyer and sell it for more or equal to what i would have paid. appreciate your input. I make new connections all the time. recently have made a connection with a coffee shop owner as well as a brewery.. i had not planned on using these in my substrate but now since i have easy and free access to these valuable resources i will take benefit of them. Now i had asked a question about pasteurizing and sterilizing coffee and spent grain. because i have not done enough research on these methods as they were not in my original plans.. if you have solid advice and are willing to share..thats great! You answered one of my questions but i had already been to their website and checked out their products.
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drake89
Mushroom Magnate



Registered: 06/26/11
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: Johnwall11]
#19951102 - 05/06/14 08:04 PM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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humidifier choice might be up to you. the industrial ultrasonic ones might have more of a warming effect. i have not used them, only the pond foggers from mainland mart. the misters probably have more of a cooling effect. i just got a couple of the aquapower ones off stamet's site so i'll let you know how they work. should be a breeze for a grand each.
I did not mean to be rude, glad you're starting small. mistakes on a grand scale are expensive and i would likely be out of business if I didn't have deep pockets. just being honest. Why I was beating around the bush is because it would be great to use coffee and spent grains, I am all for using local waste as substrate. I don't know of anyone who has used it successfully on a commercial scale. there was someone who put up a thread recently about using coffee mixed with sawdust. moisture and pH can be an issue with coffee. I can't see spent grain working ever unless you could cook it all at once fresh out of the mash tun. i reckon it would go pretty sour quickly, and you don't want to start with a high contaminant load. best of luck.
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Johnwall11
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: drake89]
#19951674 - 05/06/14 10:02 PM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Thanks for the response. As far as using coffee as a substrate i have read about two kids from berkley that have started a business (back to the roots) and they mainly use coffee as a substrate..i believe they are now producing on a commercial scale. My town is full of coffee shops and a lot of those bikini baristas as well!! I was thinking if i could pasteurize the straw then maybe sterilize the coffee if i even have to.. then run a few test with different mixtures such as 10%coffee 90% straw..and compare the results.. that would atleast give me and idea of what things i could add to make it work. I did not think of the spent grain going bad that would be a major factor..
I started working on a 55 gallon drum today for pasteurizing. I had planned on using fire to heat the drum but don't have a way to pull the wet straw out without building something..so i found a turkey fryer at my dads that was old and i cleaned it up and it works pretty good..put out a good flame. so i have moved the 55 gallon drum near a big tree with a large branch directly above. I created a platform for the drum to sit on . then put the platform on large bricks so the turkey fryer has a little room. i started to fill my drum with water as i had planned on just seeing what temp i could get the water to but the drum had a small hole that was leaking water.. the water leaked on the turkey fryer and put out the flame. i wasn't planing on using this drum anyways as it has had a lot of nasty stuff in it (buffalo skull) and has been thru its best days. i still wanted to mess around with it to start preparing and testing methods so i could get into a routine. 55 gallon metal drums are real expensive.. i should just start selling those shiiatt! I've been looking around i normally see them for $90. does anyone kno of a place i could come up on a 55 gallon metal drum for a reasonable price? tmrw i will drill some a bunch of holes in a 30 gal metal trash can that will go inside the 55 gal and hold all my straw. not much i can do without a usable 55 gal drum tho..so i guess ill start searching..
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deadmandave
Slime


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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: Johnwall11]
#19951988 - 05/06/14 11:06 PM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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search for reclaimed barrels. I can find them all the time for $15-20, food grade.
If i heard right, that startup company no longer uses coffee because of high contam rates try it out anyways because everyone has a different approach and maybe youll find a winner.
i have built baskets out of chicken wire, for a 55 gallon drum i would use hardware cloth and form it into a large cylindrical basket. i feel a trash can inside a barrel could waste a lot of space.
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Johnwall11
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: deadmandave]
#19952295 - 05/07/14 12:08 AM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Awesome Thanks! I will look around for for the reclaimed food barrels! The hardware cloth was my first option but i had not looked at ways how to build a baskets as it comes in rolls.. then i saw the trash can and thought it could just as easily work. The trash can fits into the 55gal and it didn't seem to be waisting much space but the hardware cloth is obviously more ideal and practical..ill swoop some up at my next home depot trip and see what i can make.
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FreeTheSoul
The wonderer.

Registered: 01/04/14
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: Johnwall11]
#19952585 - 05/07/14 01:30 AM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
Johnwall11 said: Awesome Thanks! I will look around for for the reclaimed food barrels! The hardware cloth was my first option but i had not looked at ways how to build a baskets as it comes in rolls.. then i saw the trash can and thought it could just as easily work. The trash can fits into the 55gal and it didn't seem to be waisting much space but the hardware cloth is obviously more ideal and practical..ill swoop some up at my next home depot trip and see what i can make.
If your going to build a basket I recommend a couple smaller ones unless you have a way of lifting the big basket out.
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Johnwall11
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: FreeTheSoul]
#19952630 - 05/07/14 01:59 AM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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i posted a few pictures on my profile so people can see what I'm dealing with..the land was way over grown I'm waiting on an excavator to pull out a few larger trees & roots. This pace was a jungle.. took 4 goats 3 months just to help eat everything i cut down. i cleaned out the area within the greenhouse so i could start seeing what boards needed to be replaced. Their is a misting system that does not work ill take a few more detailed pics. Anyone have ideas on layout? I'm going to build an area to the far right and create a foundation and pour concrete and use that area as a clean room .This is all long term btw ill will only be using one of these greenhouse while starting out but would like to have something down on paper as to what I'm area I'm going to use for what purpose..such as 1 incubation room and 3grow rooms etc..gotta do so research so any books or threads..that could be recommended would be awesome.
Edited by Johnwall11 (05/07/14 01:12 PM)
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mrtumnas
Oyster-licious



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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: Johnwall11] 1
#19952923 - 05/07/14 06:14 AM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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I take my straw out of the barrels with a pitchfork and let it drain on a screen table. Seems simpler to me than a basket and pulley. Also maximizes the space...shrug...
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solarity
mm... my favourite food



Registered: 03/31/09
Posts: 1,590
Loc: UK
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: mrtumnas] 1
#19954125 - 05/07/14 01:38 PM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Pleeeeeeseee use the return/new line/enter key once in a while, your posts are so difficult to read as a solid block of text.
Anyway, don't bother with a basket you will never lift it. Use net bags, onion sacks work perfectly :

I don't use an ultrasonic humidifier any more I use mist nozzle in front of the incoming air stream. Not perfect but less hassle than an ultrasonic.
-------------------- Commercial exotics farmer for 8 years - now sold up!
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Johnwall11
Stranger



Registered: 11/10/13
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: mrtumnas]
#19963312 - 05/09/14 11:16 AM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
mrtumnas said: I take my straw out of the barrels with a pitchfork and let it drain on a screen table. Seems simpler to me than a basket and pulley. Also maximizes the space...shrug...
Thanks that does sound more efficient! Appreciate the help!
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Johnwall11
Stranger



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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: solarity]
#19963398 - 05/09/14 11:43 AM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
solarity said: Pleeeeeeseee use the return/new line/enter key once in a while, your posts are so difficult to read as a solid block of text.
Anyway, don't bother with a basket you will never lift it. Use net bags, onion sacks work perfectly :

I don't use an ultrasonic humidifier any more I use mist nozzle in front of the incoming air stream. Not perfect but less hassle than an ultrasonic.
Sorry about sentence spacing,I had lengthy paragraphs..and new to posting in forums.. I will start using proper spacing!!
Appreciate the input! I can get my hands on large onion& potato sacks! & Their are misting nozzles located inside the greenhouse already so that would awesome if i could get those working instead of using ultrasonic. Thanks y'all !
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solarity
mm... my favourite food



Registered: 03/31/09
Posts: 1,590
Loc: UK
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: Johnwall11] 1
#19964238 - 05/09/14 03:44 PM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Where are you? You seem very worried about heating the GH, usually the issue is cooling! Most of your space will be fruiting space - that usually determines everything (see the link in my sig) and 15-18C is ideal for quite a few species, inc a lot of oysters.
One thing you can do if you have access to the well is to run several hundred feet of pipe through the well water. Circulate water through the pipe and then run that through heat exchangers in your air stream as it will be about 13C (depending in your location) which will be warmer or cooler than your ambient. Note that this is a cheap option as you can use old car rads for the heat exchangers, cheap underground water pipe and a used pump.
I can thoroughly recommend starting with a small pilot operation, you will learn so much and you can re use any kit you buy. I just re-used a control box I originally built for my pilot operation 4 years later!
You don’t need drums, almost any metal container will do the trick, again depends where you are.
To keep your drum heating costs and time down, do not put the straw in until the water is at temp, and cover the water surface. This is more important than insulating the drum I did the maths in another thread somewhere...
There is so, so much to learn about setting up a farm unless you run a pilot you can waste a load of time and money on pointless things. Would be-farmers focus on the lab or the FC and forget about how many fridges they will need, what sort of containers they will use, how they will keep track of orders, what they will do with their used substrate...
-------------------- Commercial exotics farmer for 8 years - now sold up!
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MrRipley
Hola!


Registered: 04/05/14
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: solarity]
#19968971 - 05/10/14 06:41 PM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Cold pasteurization with hydrated lime is effective and cheap (requires very little lime) but the issue is where to put the waste water.
For the risk of pointing out the obvious, I'd recommend reading Paul Stamets's 'growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms', there's a free pdf on Google. If interest to you would certainly be the breakdown of different oyster species - what temperatures they need for spawn colonization, fruiting.
Solarity - what kinds of things were you referring to when you mentioned dealing with expended substrate? What are some value added considerations for the used substrate?
Ripley
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solarity
mm... my favourite food



Registered: 03/31/09
Posts: 1,590
Loc: UK
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: MrRipley]
#19972064 - 05/11/14 01:24 PM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Don't know about value added, just work out a way to get rid of it! 1 Ton/week can get out of hand pretty quick if you don't have a plan (trust me on this one !!)
-------------------- Commercial exotics farmer for 8 years - now sold up!
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drake89
Mushroom Magnate



Registered: 06/26/11
Posts: 4,168
Loc: TN
Last seen: 4 years, 10 months
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: solarity]
#19972707 - 05/11/14 04:39 PM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
solarity said: Don't know about value added, just work out a way to get rid of it! 1 Ton/week can get out of hand pretty quick if you don't have a plan (trust me on this one !!)
Or a garden. We have a 100x50ft plot and it can take probably 5 tons of spent substrate to deep mulch it 6-12".
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chefinainteasy
Chef



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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: drake89]
#19973632 - 05/11/14 09:02 PM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Talk to local farmers or anyone who produces compost in your area for sale. They will take everything you have. I have two at the farmers market who are going to come once a week and pick mine up. I'm also going to experiment with reusing and composting my own for resale. Time willing???
-------------------- Check out my youtube videos. the Mushrooms Naturally series by chefinainteasy My new business is now on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MushroomsNaturally?ref=hl
   MY Garden
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forrest



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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: chefinainteasy]
#19974244 - 05/11/14 11:32 PM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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and you could use the heat that is produced by composting to warm up colonisation or fruiting rooms. doesn't drake do something like this?
-------------------- My Trade List
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nanncee



Registered: 12/01/12
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Loc: Utah
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: chefinainteasy]
#19974989 - 05/12/14 07:15 AM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
chefinainteasy said: I'm also going to experiment with reusing and composting my own for resale.
Don't give that away for free, that shit is like gold! (if you have a space to compost it obviously) People will pay good money for properly composted spent substrates.
Just another avenue to bring money in.
-------------------- I am a small scale farmer, come check out what we do. www.facebook.com/biocentricbros Check out our Youtube videos. www.youtube.com/biocentricbros
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solarity
mm... my favourite food



Registered: 03/31/09
Posts: 1,590
Loc: UK
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: nanncee]
#19975260 - 05/12/14 08:36 AM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Yea that's fine if you have somewhere to compost it. If it takes a year to compost then even if you only grow 150kg/week then that's 52 Tons of compost sitting around that you have to take out of it's bags, compost, then re-bag, brand and sell. Ok if you have nothing else to do and that space has no alternative more profitable use.
-------------------- Commercial exotics farmer for 8 years - now sold up!
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nanncee



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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: solarity]
#19980422 - 05/13/14 07:48 AM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
solarity said: Yea that's fine if you have somewhere to compost it. If it takes a year to compost then even if you only grow 150kg/week then that's 52 Tons of compost sitting around that you have to take out of it's bags, compost, then re-bag, brand and sell. Ok if you have nothing else to do and that space has no alternative more profitable use.
Like I said, IF you have the space it can sit on or even can find a cheap piece of land to do it on, it's a great value added item to bring in more revenue.
-------------------- I am a small scale farmer, come check out what we do. www.facebook.com/biocentricbros Check out our Youtube videos. www.youtube.com/biocentricbros
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drake89
Mushroom Magnate



Registered: 06/26/11
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: forrest]
#19980762 - 05/13/14 09:59 AM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
forrest said: and you could use the heat that is produced by composting to warm up colonisation or fruiting rooms. doesn't drake do something like this?
I was hoping to but ill probably have to wait until I can afford a tractor. You need an absolutely massive pile. I probably won't use spent substrate. I found a German company that markets this commercially so ill post details if I go through with it.
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Johnwall11
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: solarity]
#19980840 - 05/13/14 10:20 AM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Thanks for the help! Im am located in Paul Stamet country aka Washington State! I am in farm country but as close as you get to being in the city while still being zoned properly for farming. I am 25 min away from Seattle. The reason I was concerned about heating is our temps are just below 50F 7-8 months out of the year. So figured Long Term id invest in a nice heater to be able to operate full time an easily control the greenhouses atmosphere.
I am still learning about greenhouses but your idea of using the well water is awesome. I will look into this method further it seems like great cheap alternative.
as far as the small pilot operation.. You mean just starting small right? testing methods,testing different variables for both substrate techniques and grow techniques. learning How the business will flow.. basically discovering all the small details before I just focus on larger details. A point of discovering all aspects involved.
I had a question about the grow room & incubation room flooring. I realize concrete is ideal as you can easily clean it off and I plan on laying concrete for my clean room.. I was wondering if pea gravel could be used in the grow/incubation rooms? The weed barrier that is already in place is in good condition could I fill pea gravel over the weed barrier and still maintain drainage and a clean environment ? or will the pea gravel harbor bacteria?
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nanncee



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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: Johnwall11]
#19980927 - 05/13/14 10:39 AM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
Johnwall11 said:
I had a question about the grow room & incubation room flooring. I realize concrete is ideal as you can easily clean it off and I plan on laying concrete for my clean room.. I was wondering if pea gravel could be used in the grow/incubation rooms? The weed barrier that is already in place is in good condition could I fill pea gravel over the weed barrier and still maintain drainage and a clean environment ? or will the pea gravel harbor bacteria?
Look up some stuff posted by RR, or go to his website. Gravel is used often and works well.
-------------------- I am a small scale farmer, come check out what we do. www.facebook.com/biocentricbros Check out our Youtube videos. www.youtube.com/biocentricbros
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solarity
mm... my favourite food



Registered: 03/31/09
Posts: 1,590
Loc: UK
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: nanncee]
#19981268 - 05/13/14 12:03 PM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
nanncee said: Like I said, IF you have the space it can sit on or even can find a cheap piece of land to do it on, it's a great value added item to bring in more revenue.
Sorry, not knocking it, just stressing that it needs to be looked at in advance!
Quote:
as far as the small pilot operation.. You mean just starting small right? testing methods,testing different variables for both substrate techniques and grow techniques. learning How the business will flow.. basically discovering all the small details before I just focus on larger details. A point of discovering all aspects involved.
Yes. The idea being to run a mini version of the full scale operation. Not just a hobby grow. So stuff like paperwork for an order, keeping track of your batches and yields, organising your fridges!
-------------------- Commercial exotics farmer for 8 years - now sold up!
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Johnwall11
Stranger



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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: solarity]
#19982244 - 05/13/14 03:52 PM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Alright cool! Thank you for the useful help! That is basically the stage I am at now and will be at for a bit of time. That is a great idea, I feel i have taken a lot into consideration. a lot of the knowledge comes from experiences. so the pilot is a wise choice.
I started constructing a spawn lab in a extra room in my house today. found a bunch a material from my parents garage..who knew that my dad having a terrible hoarding problem would end up actually being a major benefit! Found a useful table , glass to place on top of the table. created a glovebox this morning, found a good sized heater to maintain temps, metal racking to store stuff, a college size refrigerator! my dad use to sell hardwood so we have a bunch of wood samples.. I can use those to create a floor over the carpet. i would tear out the carpet but he would have my head.. About to go to home depot to find some poly plastic to cover the room with before creating the wood sample floor.
Should I place the table/glovebox in the closet? and work in a more contained area? I feel like that could be beneficial.. also i am going to put a few boards up create a wall to divide the room so i have three door before entry. I realize this might not be necessary at this point of experimenting as all i need is a clean room.. but eventually I will buy a flow hood so might as well create an good environment. I have not figured out how i will filter the air into and out of the room.. i have a bit of learning to do before attempting that.
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chefinainteasy
Chef



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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: Johnwall11]
#19984143 - 05/13/14 10:05 PM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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If your using a SAB you don't need to worry about the clean room as much. I use to use mine on my kitchen table to much success. Agar, grain to grain, and serialized sub inoculations. Its a PITA but good learning until you can afford a flow hood.
-------------------- Check out my youtube videos. the Mushrooms Naturally series by chefinainteasy My new business is now on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MushroomsNaturally?ref=hl
   MY Garden
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Aleon
The Power of Our Origins



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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: chefinainteasy]
#19991031 - 05/15/14 08:15 AM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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How often should mushroom compost piles be turned? I just got to use my first pile this year in my garden (it took about 2+ years with no turning). My piles are pretty big; about 6' tall by 12' diameter with thousands of blocks in them. My neighbor does have a tractor; should i have him turn it every 4 months or every 1 month? Anyone have any suggestions on speeding up the process?
-------------------- Mushroom medicines available at: www.swordandshieldwellness.com
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nanncee



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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: Aleon]
#19991114 - 05/15/14 08:49 AM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
Aleon said: How often should mushroom compost piles be turned? I just got to use my first pile this year in my garden (it took about 2+ years with no turning). My piles are pretty big; about 6' tall by 12' diameter with thousands of blocks in them. My neighbor does have a tractor; should i have him turn it every 4 months or every 1 month? Anyone have any suggestions on speeding up the process?
In commercial composting systems they turn them quite frequently, 2 weeks or under. I have a cousin who does large scale organic compost and they turn them once a week I think. they also are MASSIVE piles so the turning keeps them from burning out. If you have a big pile and a neighbor with a tractor once a month would be awesome. We have a big problem here with keeping the piles moist enough so ours take quite a while to fully break down. But the more you can turn them, the faster they will break down.
-------------------- I am a small scale farmer, come check out what we do. www.facebook.com/biocentricbros Check out our Youtube videos. www.youtube.com/biocentricbros
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Couperj



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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: nanncee]
#19991141 - 05/15/14 08:58 AM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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-------------------- (¯`'·.¸(♥)¸.·'´¯) But suddenly you're ripped into being alive. And life is pain, and life is suffering, and life is horror, but my god you are alive and it is spectacular!
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deadmandave
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: Couperj]
#19991259 - 05/15/14 09:51 AM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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nanncee



Registered: 12/01/12
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: deadmandave]
#19991348 - 05/15/14 10:20 AM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
deadmandave said: Dont know if ya'll have seen this but it is extreme composting and it is beautiful. http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/general-homesteading-forums/homesteading-questions/342651-extreme-composting.html
That thread is AWESOME! The man knows how to compost..
-------------------- I am a small scale farmer, come check out what we do. www.facebook.com/biocentricbros Check out our Youtube videos. www.youtube.com/biocentricbros
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Couperj



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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: nanncee]
#19992783 - 05/15/14 02:55 PM (9 years, 8 months ago) |
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You can turn spent substrate into beautiful compost in about six weeks if you turn it and water it regularly. Using multiple bins you can have compost at different stages. Its wild.
-------------------- (¯`'·.¸(♥)¸.·'´¯) But suddenly you're ripped into being alive. And life is pain, and life is suffering, and life is horror, but my god you are alive and it is spectacular!
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Johnwall11
Stranger



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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: Couperj]
#20355493 - 07/31/14 12:38 PM (9 years, 5 months ago) |
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Hey y'all just giving an update on the status for anyone interested on the progress. I here it takes 2 years to start a business like this, I've been at it for about 6 months including all my learning and reading and feel pretty good about the progress I've made. I am a one man show so its been taking some time.
My plans have changed since my original plans I outlined in early post. With more in depth research I have a better understanding of how things will flow and operate.
I was planning on buying spawn but some fellow members had suggested I grow my own. research had backed them up. so i took their advice. My first attempt was a success in my eyes. I failed with agar and believe I messed up with LC but my grain jars had colonized very nicely. I did create a spawn lab and would love advice on how to to improve it. Cause i am still unsure of a few things an don't have anyone to bounce questions off. I can send pictures! just message me.
The land was way overgrown with over sized trees and sticker bushes. I hired an excavator to clean out the trees away from the greenhouses and pull out the many roots that were causing problems. They were far to big and deep to pull out by myself.
I picked up 11 8x8 pallets for free, I plan on building a walk in freezer. i will wait till I am producing before building it but am setting aside the money. I will fallow Mushfarmer's example off youtube. Should cost me about $800 to build
i do plan on doing a hot water treatment method of pasteurization with a 300 gal stock tank using propane until i can afford a tankless hot water heater. As well I will be converting an old wooden hot tub into a cold water lime bath treatment method. i will use both methods until i can afford the tankless hot water heater.
I was also going to build a harvest/packaging room connected on the side of the walk in freezer.
My next step is building the frame on the existing greenhouse so i can attach the plastic to it. I am open to suggestions on what kind of poly plastic i should get.. i was thinking 4mil double poly? Then will buy pea gravel a lot of pea gravel. Then will be looking into exhaust fans an shutters. RR has said many times you can just cut slits into the GH for FAE but shutters and exhaust fans are not that pricey so I will end up buying them cause I fear the slits will lead to a higher possibility of contamination. not proven! just my theory.
I will give y'all another update soon after most of this is completed! thanks guys
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solarity
mm... my favourite food



Registered: 03/31/09
Posts: 1,590
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: Johnwall11]
#20356029 - 07/31/14 03:05 PM (9 years, 5 months ago) |
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Do the maths for the tankless hot water heater. The cheapest form of one is a used electric shower that you can pick up for a couple of bucks. But even a 9kw one (with its thermostat bypassed of course!) will take hours to fill a decent size tank when it has to go from 13C (water out of the tap) to 70C. Above 9kw you are looking at a very expensive and complex electrical installation.
Look at steamers instead. $150 off ebay.
-------------------- Commercial exotics farmer for 8 years - now sold up!
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Johnwall11
Stranger



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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: solarity]
#20356526 - 07/31/14 05:02 PM (9 years, 5 months ago) |
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Thank you for reply solarity, I wanted to copy this method -
use google to copy an paste the link yahoo won't direct you to it. -
I think its a wize investment cause you save yourself a lot of time. The tankless on demand hot water method is desirable cause This allows the water to already be at the desired temp for pasteurization and could use a burner on low to maintain temps.
for someone who is mechanical your method would seem to be ideal but i am not that kind of person sadly to say. I realize what I'm talking about is expensive but the amount of time i could spend on other things would be way worth it for me in the long run.
steam pasteurization would be awesome - Can you send me a link to how you think i could use a steamer from ebay ? I am not as familiar with that process.
Edited by Johnwall11 (07/31/14 05:16 PM)
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solarity
mm... my favourite food



Registered: 03/31/09
Posts: 1,590
Loc: UK
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: Johnwall11]
#20360353 - 08/01/14 12:54 PM (9 years, 5 months ago) |
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Ok That seems to be a gas on demand HW system. Lots of kW! Should be reasonably efficient though.
I run my steamer unattended overnight, because of cheaper electricity. The amount of power required to heat a gallon of water does not change, so with steaming you are only heating the water in the straw, not all the excess you are going to throw away. Take a look at Chefin's write up. All my write up disappeared with the Fungi Forum, basically you pipe in a sauna steamer and use it to generate your steam and heat your sub.
-------------------- Commercial exotics farmer for 8 years - now sold up!
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drake89
Mushroom Magnate



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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: solarity]
#20360449 - 08/01/14 01:21 PM (9 years, 5 months ago) |
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I don't think installing electric tankless heaters is too hard. It's just 2 runs of fat wire. I have a 24kw model in my home, runs off 2 #6 wire circuits. The 20kW model in my mush barn runs off 2 circuits of #8 wire. The 20kW model struggles to keep 140F at 2GPM with about 60F incoming water. It says its good for a 90 degree temp rise at that flow rate in the manual.
Lipa was telling me about a method Aloha was using with several tanks connected in a closed loop with a tankless hot water heater. That sounds promising but I don't have any experience.
Tankless heater plus a burner sounds the easiest up front. But if you can rig up a sauna steamer that might be the best system to leave unattended.
Do you pre soak your straw that you steam solarity? Or does the steamer provide enough moisture to hydrate the straw?
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solarity
mm... my favourite food



Registered: 03/31/09
Posts: 1,590
Loc: UK
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Re: Oyster mushroom start up farm (moved) [Re: drake89]
#20360899 - 08/01/14 03:35 PM (9 years, 5 months ago) |
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I used straw logs - like pellets but 1kg each so they hydrated in an hour, then drained and steamed. You will need to pre-soak, steam wont provide enough moisture.
Electrical switching (ie a relay) of 24kw is going to be very expensive, even on proper 3 phase (380v in Uk 480v in USA I think). I worked it out for a 9kw shower unit and found it was going to take hours!
Yep my steamer works a treat
-------------------- Commercial exotics farmer for 8 years - now sold up!
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