Home | Community | Message Board


This site includes paid links. Please support our sponsors.


Welcome to the Shroomery Message Board! You are experiencing a small sample of what the site has to offer. Please login or register to post messages and view our exclusive members-only content. You'll gain access to additional forums, file attachments, board customizations, encrypted private messages, and much more!

Shop: Kraken Kratom Red Vein Kratom   MagicBag.co All-In-One Bags That Don't Suck   North Spore Bulk Substrate   Mushroom-Hut Liquid Cultures   Left Coast Kratom Buy Kratom Extract   Bridgetown Botanicals CBD Concentrates   Original Sensible Seeds Autoflowering Cannabis Seeds   PhytoExtractum Maeng Da Thai Kratom Leaf Powder

Jump to first unread post Pages: 1
Some of these posts are very old and might contain outdated information. You may wish to search for newer posts instead.
OfflineAshroom22
Permaculturalist
Registered: 01/05/17
Posts: 8
Loc: NSW, Australia
Last seen: 7 years, 1 month
Grow House - But what to grow?
    #23987923 - 01/06/17 10:01 PM (7 years, 1 month ago)

Hello to all,
I'm new, my name is Ash and I'm would be grateful for any advice.

I'm interested in the qualitative and quantitate capacity of the following grow house that I have available to use (last used a decade ago for growing hydroponic cattle feed).  I believe it has the potential, with some TLC, some repair and upgrade, to then grow mushrooms. 

Im interested in what needs to be done, what can be grown, and then from this potential capacity.

See photos attached.  In summary -
  • It has now ruined coreflute external walls.  The internal ceiling is insulated, with an iron roof over top.  Light into the house is more ambient through the side walls.

  • As far as temp control - it has a large air inlet area with a wet blanket type system for cooling air, along with its own small pump for supplying water to the baffled inlet blanket.

  • It has two large western 3phase extraction fans that run off their own temperature sensors

  • it also has what appears to be a temperature controlled heater i believe and fan (see the orange thing).

  • internally there is a of racks for housing the trays, all of which are setup with irrigation supply to small sprinkler heads (easily changed to misters). the hot house also came with thousands of trays that fit on the racks.

  • large concrete floor that all drains to an internal sump pit with its own sump pump to drain.



Again, all comments, advice, help and inspiration is greatly appreciated.

Regards, Ash.


Extras: Filter Print Post Top
OfflineAshroom22
Permaculturalist
Registered: 01/05/17
Posts: 8
Loc: NSW, Australia
Last seen: 7 years, 1 month
Re: Grow House - But what to grow? [Re: Ashroom22]
    #23987928 - 01/06/17 10:06 PM (7 years, 1 month ago)

And to add -
I want to grow edible gourmet mushrooms specifically.
I'm hoping to grow oysters from a friends spawn.

The house is located in a warm temperate, bordering sub-tropical, part of Australia.  The cooling will be important, though the heat here is not as nasty as some parts of Australia.  Typically summer doesn't get above 32-34 degrees.  And the house does keep quite cool, even with the walls wreaked and the air exchange turned off. 

Winter is very mild here - doesn't drop much below 8-10 degrees outside, and again it probably stays more consistent in the house due to the high thermal mass concrete bass and insulated ceiling.

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
OfflineForresterM
aspiring sociopath
Male User Gallery

Registered: 02/05/13
Posts: 9,351
Loc: Northeast USA Flag
Last seen: 1 month, 26 days
Trusted Cultivator
Re: Grow House - But what to grow? [Re: Ashroom22]
    #23987950 - 01/06/17 10:13 PM (7 years, 1 month ago)

Damn, to me that looks like a mushroom growers dream, definitely got potential. 

Sorry I don't have much advice, never worked with anything that scale, just chimed in to follow the thread and see what you come up with.  I know there's some folks around here that will be able to offer you some great advice.  The fact that you've got a concrete floor with draining capabilities is an excellent start - you should easily be able to find a way to control airflow/temperature/humidity and you'll be all set.

Good luck!

based on your 2nd post - oysters should be good.  I'd go with a Phoenix oyster strain (great for higher temps).  You'll just need a lot of air exchange for oysters.  Intake at the top, exhaust at the floor IMO would be best.  And with oysters, you can mist/drench 'em all you want with no ill effects, other species like lion's mane can be harmed by overmisting pins.


--------------------
Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability to lift an eye to heaven, conscious of his fleeting time here.
-------------------

Have some medicinal mushrooms and want to get the most out of them?  Try this double extraction method.

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
OfflineAshroom22
Permaculturalist
Registered: 01/05/17
Posts: 8
Loc: NSW, Australia
Last seen: 7 years, 1 month
Re: Grow House - But what to grow? [Re: Forrester]
    #23987983 - 01/06/17 10:24 PM (7 years, 1 month ago)

Thanks Forrester,
yeah I agree, there is some serious potential - with most of the electrical, irrigation and structural components there ready to go. I cant let the house sit there doing nothing...

Thanks for the tip on the oysters.  Im keen to get going something that I could sell at farmers markets, then move onto marketing gourmets to cafes/restaurants on the NSW mid north coast.

I have not house growing experience (not so much mushrooms, but plants) so are confident I can rig this bad boy up easily enough. 

The extraction fans on this thing are pretty big, so I think air exchange should be ok.  I still have some calculations to do.  The air intake is on the eastern side of the house (passive, with a wet on blanket setup in front of it for cooling air), and the 2 extraction fans on the western side of the house. 

im not sure if I put a photo up, but the concrete floor drains to a sump pit that has its own sump pump and float, so it drains itself out automatically.  ill probably consider setting up a recycled water setup and grow some outdoor water foods with it.

thanks again bud.  Ash.

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
OfflineForresterM
aspiring sociopath
Male User Gallery

Registered: 02/05/13
Posts: 9,351
Loc: Northeast USA Flag
Last seen: 1 month, 26 days
Trusted Cultivator
Re: Grow House - But what to grow? [Re: Ashroom22]
    #23988013 - 01/06/17 10:35 PM (7 years, 1 month ago)

I'm in the USA so have NO idea of the market in your area, but all I can say is check out the local farmer's markets and see what they sell.  Look closely at the quality.  Either grow better quality than they do, or find a species that they DON'T sell, and figure out a way to grow it.  I think with what you've got, you should be able to do either/both of those! 

If you have any questions on specific species, I can help with that, and as mentioned, others might be able to help more.  Oysters are a great place to start, but they are the most common "gourmet" mushroom in most areas, so moving up to something different/unique to the area is usually the next best step.  And with a grow room that big, you may be able to grow multiple species at the same time.  Or focus on what you find to be the best moneymaker.  Again, depends on the market in your area.


--------------------
Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability to lift an eye to heaven, conscious of his fleeting time here.
-------------------

Have some medicinal mushrooms and want to get the most out of them?  Try this double extraction method.

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
OfflineAshroom22
Permaculturalist
Registered: 01/05/17
Posts: 8
Loc: NSW, Australia
Last seen: 7 years, 1 month
Re: Grow House - But what to grow? [Re: Forrester]
    #23988038 - 01/06/17 10:45 PM (7 years, 1 month ago)

Good advice, thanks again.

From what ive seen, generally speaking is Australia, is that gourmet mushrooms are still not widely known of, besides in the cities or demanded by restaurants.  Farmers markets commonly have button/brown/swiss style mushrooms, but not usually more.  This is changing pretty quickly though, and mushroom foraging is going through a revival (the Porcini foraging in south Australia is getting very popular). 

Im expecting this venture to be as much about technically knowing how to produce quality mushrooms, but also marketing them well!

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
OfflineAshroom22
Permaculturalist
Registered: 01/05/17
Posts: 8
Loc: NSW, Australia
Last seen: 7 years, 1 month
Re: Grow House - But what to grow? [Re: Ashroom22]
    #23988049 - 01/06/17 10:50 PM (7 years, 1 month ago)

Something specific that I am wondering about is what material to replace the ruined coreflute walls with?

I'm wondering if the indirect, filtered wall light coming through something light coreflute is enough for things like Oysters? 

Is it ok that the roof lets no light through?

Im guessing that I either use coreflute again, or go for general hot house/poly tunnel plastic.  Id imagine the coreflute will insulate better, though probably let less light through. 

This is a question as much to the general forum as to yourself, just in case you have any thoughts.

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
OfflineForresterM
aspiring sociopath
Male User Gallery

Registered: 02/05/13
Posts: 9,351
Loc: Northeast USA Flag
Last seen: 1 month, 26 days
Trusted Cultivator
Re: Grow House - But what to grow? [Re: Ashroom22]
    #23988084 - 01/06/17 11:04 PM (7 years, 1 month ago)

Quote:

Ashroom22 said:
From what ive seen, generally speaking is Australia, is that gourmet mushrooms are still not widely known of, besides in the cities or demanded by restaurants.




Sounds very similar to what it's like here in Maine, USA, other than the farmer's markets in the city tend to offer a bit more variety.

If you can find a way to grow something like lion's mane (fairly easy), or maitake (a bit more difficult), it sounds like you could have very little competition.  Although I have heard it can be difficult to get things like mushroom cultures INTO australia, due to customs there and whatnot (am I wrong?)

As far as the coreflute walls, I have absolutely no idea what the hell that is?!  But it sounds like you might benefit from going with plastic instead, and possibly artificial lighting, or replacing the roofing with something that lets enough full sunlight through.  Seems like artificial lighting would be easier, just get the right spectrum bulbs (is it 6400k? - someone correct me if I'm wrong, it's been a while).  At least with artificial lighting, you can set it on a timer and get what you want all the time, not worrying about cloudy days or anything like that.


--------------------
Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability to lift an eye to heaven, conscious of his fleeting time here.
-------------------

Have some medicinal mushrooms and want to get the most out of them?  Try this double extraction method.

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
OfflineAshroom22
Permaculturalist
Registered: 01/05/17
Posts: 8
Loc: NSW, Australia
Last seen: 7 years, 1 month
Re: Grow House - But what to grow? [Re: Forrester]
    #23988124 - 01/06/17 11:16 PM (7 years, 1 month ago)

I have a friend who grows different strains (plenty of oysters) and possibly lions mane now too.  my plan was to get someone like himself to do that side of things, then I just purchase from him to inoculate my substrates.  He has done the hard work experimenting, creating clean rooms etc, and that's another level of investigation and time that I don't have just now.  This way I concentrate on getting the house going and growing.

Coreflute =  Polyflute, Coroplast, FlutePlast, IntePro, Proplex, Correx, Twinplast, Corriflute.  Often used for temporary signs, as tree guards etc. 

I was worried about the requirement for artificial light - I was hopeful to keep things natural to avoid the cost.

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
OfflineForresterM
aspiring sociopath
Male User Gallery

Registered: 02/05/13
Posts: 9,351
Loc: Northeast USA Flag
Last seen: 1 month, 26 days
Trusted Cultivator
Re: Grow House - But what to grow? [Re: Ashroom22]
    #23988166 - 01/06/17 11:28 PM (7 years, 1 month ago)

Quote:

Ashroom22 said:
I have a friend who grows different strains (plenty of oysters) and possibly lions mane now too.  my plan was to get someone like himself to do that side of things, then I just purchase from him to inoculate my substrates.  He has done the hard work experimenting, creating clean rooms etc, and that's another level of investigation and time that I don't have just now.  This way I concentrate on getting the house going and growing.

Coreflute =  Polyflute, Coroplast, FlutePlast, IntePro, Proplex, Correx, Twinplast, Corriflute.  Often used for temporary signs, as tree guards etc. 

I was worried about the requirement for artificial light - I was hopeful to keep things natural to avoid the cost.




I think you're on the right track then, I believe more commercial growers than not just buy their spawn, rather than making their own.  In the future, maybe you will find making your own spawn worth it, or maybe not, only you will see.

Coreflute = lol, I still don't know what ANY of those things are!  It was a shock to me when I moved from Colorado to Maine that they now called the walls in your house "sheetrock", instead of "drywall" (still don't know if there's a difference).  Either way, I'm no help there.

But the cost of lighting?  Go with LED!  What's his name, used to be on here... oh yeah, ALeon, search for some of his posts.  He used these awesome LED strips that cost virtually nothing to run and provide awesome light, his were some of the best fruits I've ever seen and he killed it at markets.


--------------------
Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability to lift an eye to heaven, conscious of his fleeting time here.
-------------------

Have some medicinal mushrooms and want to get the most out of them?  Try this double extraction method.

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
OfflineAshroom22
Permaculturalist
Registered: 01/05/17
Posts: 8
Loc: NSW, Australia
Last seen: 7 years, 1 month
Re: Grow House - But what to grow? [Re: Forrester]
    #23988374 - 01/07/17 01:44 AM (7 years, 1 month ago)

Ha,  we call the walls gyprock over here.

Aleon - cool, ill hunt this guy down. 
another full set of questions regarding lighting down that track...

I figure its not like growing weed where you need shit loads of lumens cranking flat out, so im guessing its a much cheaper venture with mushrooms.

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Invisiblesolarity
mm... my favourite food
 User Gallery


Registered: 03/31/09
Posts: 1,590
Loc: UK Flag
Trusted Cultivator
Re: Grow House - But what to grow? [Re: Ashroom22]
    #23988638 - 01/07/17 06:31 AM (7 years, 1 month ago)

Lots of potential there.

The evaporative cooler (wet blanket!) is great, perfect for mushrooms.
Use whatever is cheap sheet wise locally for the walls and insulate if possible. I am Uk based so not much point in suggestions.

I would stick to pasteurised sub - there is no point in expensive to grow LM, shiitake or nameko as the local undeveloped market will likely not pay extra for them. Pinks/Phoenix/Yellows/summer strain of oysters. Change in the winter.

You will need to do some small experiments with locally available substrate - just the straight sub, don't be tempted to be making some wierdo mix up of voodoo juice, pampas grass and vegemite just because it worked in someones bedroom. At least for the first 3,000kg of mushrooms anyway.

Natural light is OK but brings heat with it and that will be your enemy. Personally I would just chuck up some cheap flouros to start and look at LED once the money starts coming in.

Don't use the trays and hang/stack tubes on the racks.
You will need to make a seperate, dark area for incubation - keeping that down to 24c might be a struggle. Calculate the sizes based on your fruiting area and a fruiting cycle. (see the link in my sig for some hints though it is a bit out of date you get the idea)
You will need an extra area for packing and chillers.
You will need an area to process, treat and load the sub into containers/bags.

If you can get spawn pre-made that is the best plan. You will also need a plan for the spent substrate.

Get a copy of Stamets Book (GGMM) and study it hard.

Oh and you will need a fair wedge of cash!

Source -I grow 80-100kg Oysters a week.


--------------------
Commercial exotics farmer for 8 years - now sold up!

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
OfflineAshroom22
Permaculturalist
Registered: 01/05/17
Posts: 8
Loc: NSW, Australia
Last seen: 7 years, 1 month
Re: Grow House - But what to grow? [Re: solarity]
    #23990898 - 01/07/17 08:54 PM (7 years, 1 month ago)

Solarity, thanks heaps for the advice mate, its exactly what I need to keep me thinking practically and economically.

I would stick to pasteurised sub - there is no point in expensive to grow LM, shiitake or nameko as the local undeveloped market will likely not pay extra for them. Pinks/Phoenix/Yellows/summer strain of oysters. Change in the winter.
    Great advice - thank you.  Our winters at the place of the hot house are very mild - 15-20 degrees during the day, dropping a bit at night (but nothing near freezing, typically about 5 degrees) and I have had good success growing oysters during winter in un-controlled (temp) rooms.

You will need to do some small experiments with locally available substrate - just the straight sub, don't be tempted to be making some wierdo mix up of voodoo juice, pampas grass and vegemite just because it worked in someones bedroom. At least for the first 3,000kg of mushrooms anyway
    Ha, Vegemite... No in my early endeavours I will be keeping it extremely simple and following the proven methods/materials out there.  What is not shown in these photos is a large 3 bay shed (i.e large enough to build 3 yachts in) next to the hot house where my father keeps loads of bales of hay.  Id be going straight for quality straw.  My father is a cattle farmer, so I have some access, and a good area for storing.

    Ill be seeking advice on current opinion on pasteurisation methods later - steam, boil, hydrated lime etc. 

Natural light is OK but brings heat with it and that will be your enemy. Personally I would just chuck up some cheap flouros to start and look at LED once the money starts coming in.
    Id like to experiment with the natural light initially - anything natural is always good.  If I stay natural, I will consider going the core flute walls again (some insulated properties) as it was used with this house originally for other purposes, and from my polyhouse experience, the large exhaust fans and evaporative cooling should be able to keep temperature below 24 degrees at the hottest, possibly lower. 

I was worried about the costs of artificial lighting, so its nice to hear that I could get away with cheap fluros.  Ill read up on the light requirements/hours/cycles required.

Id consider making the walls out of the ceiling material (see the thick foam) if I decide to bypass natural light.  I might be able to salvage from a old dairy farm where they use it as wall material.

Don't use the trays and hang/stack tubes on the racks.
    Copy that.  I thought this would be the case.  Do you know if there is any good studies, records etc of the yield results of hanging vs stacking?  I could certainly get more tubes in if they were stacked.  That said, space for the fruiting tubes is not probably an issue for me at this stage - more just me trying to optimise everything.

You will need to make a seperate, dark area for incubation - keeping that down to 24c might be a struggle. Calculate the sizes based on your fruiting area and a fruiting cycle. (see the link in my sig for some hints though it is a bit out of date you get the idea)

    Ok cool - id use the large 3 bay shed next door for this, possibly make a dark room inside there if needed, though this shed does not receive any naturanl light unless the doors are opened. Mid summer temps in here could be an issue, ill have to consider this more.
Thanks for that link, ill check this out.  im all about calculations!


You will need an extra area for packing and chillers.
You will need an area to process, treat and load the sub into containers/bags.

    I like the youtube video of David from NY who loads his sub tub in another room, then rolls it into his tube packing room and the tub hydraulically lifts, opens and turns into a table with an outlet for tube filling.  Fairly efficient.  Chiller, pasteurisation equipment - im predicting these will be my main capital outlay costs.
   
If you can get spawn pre-made that is the best plan. You will also need a plan for the spent substrate.
    Im certainly sold on buying pre-made spawn.  I have too much respect for the guys that have been doing this for years, and I certainly don't want to take too much on or complicate my plan.
Plan for spent substrate - send it 50m down the track to our organic garden on the property. 

Get a copy of Stamets Book (GGMM) and study it hard.
Will Do!

Thanks man!  your 80-100kg a week oyster production is inspirational.  Do you have a website?  Id be very interested in the efficiencies of your enterprise, economics etc.

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
OfflineForresterM
aspiring sociopath
Male User Gallery

Registered: 02/05/13
Posts: 9,351
Loc: Northeast USA Flag
Last seen: 1 month, 26 days
Trusted Cultivator
Re: Grow House - But what to grow? [Re: solarity]
    #23990905 - 01/07/17 08:55 PM (7 years, 1 month ago)

Glad Solarity showed up!

My advice, listen to anything and everything he says.  You'd be hard pressed to find anyone on here with more commercial growing experience and knowledge.  He's one of the ones I was referring to when I said "others will be able to help you more".

:thumbup:


--------------------
Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability to lift an eye to heaven, conscious of his fleeting time here.
-------------------

Have some medicinal mushrooms and want to get the most out of them?  Try this double extraction method.

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
OfflinepoofterFroth
Feel Like A Stranger
 User Gallery


Registered: 03/15/14
Posts: 1,012
Last seen: 1 month, 25 days
Re: Grow House - But what to grow? [Re: Forrester]
    #23991693 - 01/08/17 07:03 AM (7 years, 1 month ago)

If you can utilize natural lighting it's by far superior to having artificial lighting. Better fruit quality and no costs...:rocket:  You really wouldn't need much more then a thin strip of windows, out of direct sun.

The closer and more streamlined you can have your setup will make everything easier. Don't underestimate the advantage a proper workflow can provide. From incubation down thru processing/storage/delivery etc.


--------------------

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Jump to top Pages: 1

Shop: Kraken Kratom Red Vein Kratom   MagicBag.co All-In-One Bags That Don't Suck   North Spore Bulk Substrate   Mushroom-Hut Liquid Cultures   Left Coast Kratom Buy Kratom Extract   Bridgetown Botanicals CBD Concentrates   Original Sensible Seeds Autoflowering Cannabis Seeds   PhytoExtractum Maeng Da Thai Kratom Leaf Powder


Similar ThreadsPosterViewsRepliesLast post
* getting spor Syringe's in australia zdude 1,209 4 03/01/04 04:31 AM
by fruityshroom
* Truffles found in Australia psyconaut 1,442 11 01/13/03 06:14 PM
by zeronio
* growing portabella diff than P. Cubensis? friggin wigga 5,331 11 12/28/02 10:40 PM
by psyconaut
* Easy to grow, easily salable and profitable mushroom? asdfghjkl 7,663 11 07/27/03 02:37 PM
by Baby_Hitler
* Friends Oyster growing Bavet 2,819 6 01/08/03 09:43 AM
by Bavet
* Growing Morels without cultures Chief_ 9,140 5 03/04/02 10:25 PM
by Azure
* How to grow Morels, Shiitake etc... Anonymous 3,539 2 05/20/02 09:26 PM
by Anno
* growing on a slightly larger scale stan 3,139 9 06/04/02 05:13 PM
by stan

Extra information
You cannot start new topics / You cannot reply to topics
HTML is disabled / BBCode is enabled
Moderator: RogerRabbit, Pastywhyte, Forrester, Stromrider, SHROOMSISAY01
340 topic views. 1 members, 11 guests and 9 web crawlers are browsing this forum.
[ Show Images Only | Sort by Score | Print Topic ]
Search this thread:

Copyright 1997-2024 Mind Media. Some rights reserved.

Generated in 0.024 seconds spending 0.004 seconds on 12 queries.