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GwopGetter
Connected to Source


Registered: 03/01/18
Posts: 20
Last seen: 5 years, 8 months
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Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: Quadman] 1
#25053975 - 03/10/18 08:52 AM (5 years, 10 months ago) |
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This is awesome! I hope this works out even better than you imagine. I will follow along for the ride.
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Metacanna
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Registered: 01/22/17
Posts: 96
Last seen: 2 years, 6 months
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Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: GwopGetter]
#25068752 - 03/16/18 01:02 PM (5 years, 10 months ago) |
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I'm designing the incubation room and came across this question. How much heat does incubating bags generate?
I'm trying to figure out if I should lower the ceiling to 8-9 feet or keep it at 14 feet as it is right now. Thing is, I would prefer to have it higher but than I wonder how more expensive is going to be to keep temperature in the low 70s. In average, here the temperatures indoors fluctuate from 60F in Winter to 72F peak Summer in non climatized spaces. Let's say it's 60F, what happens if I pack the incubation room with bags, will the heat generated by the bags be enough to rise temperature to the 70s or do I need to use a heater?
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MorePies
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Registered: 02/09/16
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Loc: TX
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Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: Metacanna] 1
#25069085 - 03/16/18 03:39 PM (5 years, 10 months ago) |
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Up to 1 btu per bag depending on stage of growth. A lot of growers never turn the heat on in their colonizing rooms. If it's only 60 degrees at the coolest, you will most likely need cooling year round.
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drake89
Mushroom Magnate



Registered: 06/26/11
Posts: 4,168
Loc: TN
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Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: MorePies] 1
#25069241 - 03/16/18 04:53 PM (5 years, 10 months ago) |
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Depends on your insulation but I only turn the ac off in incubation when it gets below 15-20f outside. Also depends on density of bags vs air space. Air circulation in there is important because the top of my shelves at 6.5ft is 5 degrees warmer than the bottom shelves, even with circulation fans.
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Metacanna
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Registered: 01/22/17
Posts: 96
Last seen: 2 years, 6 months
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Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: drake89]
#25069632 - 03/16/18 08:40 PM (5 years, 10 months ago) |
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Thanks for the input.
The incubation room has 130 cubic yards (100m3) and will hold 4-5 cubic yards of substrate incubating in bags. I'm trying to get a more precise figure on the cost of heating / cooling on a total of 200 cubic yards of climatized areas. I pay 13 cents per KWh, I'm expecting 50€-100€ per month on climatization alone.
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Metacanna
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Registered: 01/22/17
Posts: 96
Last seen: 2 years, 6 months
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Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: Metacanna] 2
#25363620 - 08/03/18 04:57 AM (5 years, 5 months ago) |
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A few months later after my initial post I have things going.
Things I learned in the meanwhile:
1 - When growing lots of mushrooms the smell is very strong. At first it's ok but after a few months I don't find it pleasurable anymore.
2 - I found I'm highly allergic/sensitive to spores. When I had my first batch fruiting I got flu like symptoms, 3 weeks in a row. So I got a decent mask and put my FC on negative pressure. Got better but not perfect.
3 - Mice love mushroom farms. Grains and bran are his favorite. Rockwool is perfect for nesting.
4 - Harvested mushrooms take a lot of space in the cooler, compared to any other fresh crops. This is specially true for oyster mushrooms. Shiitake take half the space. I found this to be an issue when storing and distributing. Restaurants also complain about the room it takes in the fridge.
5 - Oysters are a PITA logistically. The caps break easily, too much handling will reduce their marketability. After 3 days in the cooler at 34F-38F they lose much of their appeal.
6 - When looking for new restaurants to sell the product, if I show up without notice they won't care. If I give them a call in advance and ask if they would like to have me passing by to show my product, I will receive much better treatment and the sale is more likely.
7 - I had some mushrooms in the cooler not selling. This happens because I never worked in the food industry, I don't know the right people and the best channels to sell the product. If I would start again, I would invest in networking and market research before throwing my first batch into fruiting. It turns out it's harder to sell than I was expecting.
The list is much longer but this is what came to my mind right now.



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Inocybe
Stranger


Registered: 01/16/17
Posts: 328
Loc: Spain
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Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: Metacanna]
#25383152 - 08/12/18 09:08 AM (5 years, 5 months ago) |
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Nice to hear from you again!
Thank you for sharing what you learned! I'm scaling up to probably reach the 10-20kg per week in order to gain more experience with mushroom growing, and I would like to sell to friends and neighbours, but also to some small restaurants and consumer groups. The problem is that I'm not freelance and don't have any license yet, and this is a problem when trying to sell...
Are you doing it legally right? Could you give more tips about this topic?
What kind of cooler do you use for store the harvest? I'm trying to find some chestlike fridge but there are a lot of chest freezer but not fridges, I guess the chest-like fridge is more efficient and I could fit and stack the plastic boxes with the mushrooms nicely.
If you are having problems with mushrooms sitting on the cooler, maybe you should try to dry them to save them and sell like a value added-product, or make flour or something different with them.
Thank you and good luck!
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Quadman
Challenged


Registered: 04/23/16
Posts: 2,529
Loc: IL
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Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: Inocybe]
#25383302 - 08/12/18 10:20 AM (5 years, 5 months ago) |
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You can use a thermostat controller on a chest freezer to make it a refrigerator. Condensation can be a problem.
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Metacanna
Stranger

Registered: 01/22/17
Posts: 96
Last seen: 2 years, 6 months
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Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: Quadman]
#25384290 - 08/12/18 07:00 PM (5 years, 5 months ago) |
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Most people growing in small scale don't have a license, you don't need it to start selling.
I'm using multiple fridges, in second hand they sell for dirt cheap. I might fit 30lbs (15kgs) per fridge. I don't use chest fridges because they take more space and are harder to find in second hand. I use 10'x 13' plastic milk crates for storage, they pile nicely. I would like to use larger crates but they wouldn't fit in the fridge.
Yes, I will start drying to reduce what goes to waste but the kind of demand that exists for this product concerns me.
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Reditkind
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Registered: 06/06/21
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Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: Metacanna]
#27623450 - 01/18/22 11:16 AM (2 years, 10 days ago) |
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Interesting! Thanks for sharing
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rizhomushroom
Stranger



Registered: 05/03/21
Posts: 200
Last seen: 7 months, 11 days
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Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: Reditkind]
#27624181 - 01/19/22 05:36 AM (2 years, 9 days ago) |
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Awesome work man! I'm on the same page as you just a little behind you. i cant believe how cheap rent is for a warehouse is, for what your renting would easily be 2x-3x that here in the US at least in my area. building a 55 gallon automated sterilizer was the best decision i ever made, down fall it takes forever to run a cycle. I'm starting in a small one car garage with MINIMAL space. I'm cycling through basically ever issue your running into to. I will be monitoring this thread and i wish you the best!
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Stromrider
This must be the place



Registered: 06/02/13
Posts: 7,326
Loc: Dept of know what I'm say...
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Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: rizhomushroom]
#27624965 - 01/19/22 06:50 PM (2 years, 8 days ago) |
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It's a 3 year old thread he bumped
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rizhomushroom
Stranger



Registered: 05/03/21
Posts: 200
Last seen: 7 months, 11 days
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Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: Stromrider]
#27625452 - 01/20/22 07:53 AM (2 years, 8 days ago) |
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oh lol
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glanmit
Stranger
Registered: 02/01/23
Posts: 54
Last seen: 13 hours, 38 minutes
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Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: Metacanna]
#28557411 - 11/26/23 03:46 PM (2 months, 1 day ago) |
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How is your business faring in today's market landscape? I'm curious to know how things are going for you. Utilizing sms for business communication can be an effective way to stay connected and informed. Whether you're navigating challenges or enjoying successes, I'd love to hear more about your current business endeavors and any updates you might have.
Edited by glanmit (11/30/23 04:52 AM)
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