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Offlinelargeunits
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Registered: 11/29/07
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Last seen: 16 years, 1 month
Commercial Mushroom Farm Observations To Learn From
    #7693678 - 11/29/07 05:40 AM (16 years, 2 months ago)

Hi, kind of an A.D.D. post here:

I visited a commercial (button) mushroom farm today and noticed a few interesting things that we can all learn from:

1) Their spawned substrate (compost) in the beds is solid like a brick as they flatten it with a hydralic press. Denser substrate yields more - and the ultra flat top ensures even pin set crucial to yield. (They mix their spawn with the compost in a series cylinder that turn - taken off of old contrete hauler-mixer trucks)

2) Their entire water supply for the facility is dosed with pre-set amounts of hydrogen peroxide via a small pump. The pump draws from barrels of h2O2 and injects small amounts of it into the main water line - volume injected based on how much water is passing through line (which it monitors) Called an auto doser. Water bourne diseases can be detrimental to big farms.

3) Their compost pile is airated via a large squirrel cage fan that forces air into air channels (built into concrete) that the compost pile sits on. Air is forced into the compost pile from below. Speeds compost time and ensures an even heating.

4) They send out compost for analysis prior to using it : typical results are as follows:

PH: 7.3
% Moisture: 71%
% Ash: 30%
% Carbon: 71%
% Nitrogen: 2.52
Carbon To Nitrogen Ratio: 13.2
% Ammonia: .12

A lab in Canada will test your compost for a fee - I think they charge $20 to run this test - if anyone intersted I can look into it.

5) They re-claim all their water used in composting (via drains in concrete floor) and pump it all into a huge above ground holding tank. They airate with a water fountain like thing mounted in the middle of the holding tank. They keep using this water for future composting and watering.

6) They had 10 drilled wells on site. Water supply can be a problem on mushrrom farms - hence water re-claiming.

7) Pre-soaking (4-5 days) the straw prior to composting - is crucial according to one guy there.......


Has anyone here verified how cubes grow with button mushroom compost?
I wonder if there are a diffent set of nitrogen,ash,carbon, and ratio numbers that better suit cubes.....

I knew a guy that prepard compost for cubes using straw,chicken manure,bran,molasses and gypsum. Molasses was added in last turns - I remember he claimed as a result the mycelium travelled like lightening and yields went up. Took him 22 days to finish a pile then he pasturized it with steam....

Compost in beds kicks ass for yield - too bad it is talked about so little. If you are going to talk or use compost - stay away from exotic additives or garbage additives like rotting vegitation crazyness - the button mushroom farms do amazing with straw and chicken (or horse) poo alone!

On another note:
Anyone ever heard of an old movie called "Work is a four letter word" where apparently a guy grows cubes in a basement by using city supply steam to pasturize his substrate etc..... Check it out - never seen it.

WHAT DOES PROCARE in the Netherlands use as a substrate???? Check them at: procare.nl





***Link to non Shroomery Vendors site removed***
-Roadkill


Edited by Roadkill (11/30/07 06:27 AM)


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OfflineVisionsToReality
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Re: Commercial Mushroom Farm Observations To Learn From [Re: largeunits] * 1
    #7693812 - 11/29/07 06:57 AM (16 years, 2 months ago)

Pretty cool. Seems like the avg hobby person couldn't do the squish technique unless they had air lines to push air thru their substrate.

It's cool that they are using compost tea & compost.


--------------------
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OfflinePr0_X
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Re: Commercial Mushroom Farm Observations To Learn From [Re: largeunits]
    #7693839 - 11/29/07 07:10 AM (16 years, 2 months ago)

Compressing you're bulk spawn greatly increases the yeild, it may take a few days more for the mycelium to run it but it's defiantly worth it.

Nice little write up, there was a similar thread written by a guy a few months back but it's always good to have someone refreshing it for the new comers.


--------------------
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cause you know, they're so numb anyway.
but I guess it's what I get
for being to fuckin stupid to stay away - Jake

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OfflinePr0_X
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Re: Commercial Mushroom Farm Observations To Learn From [Re: Pr0_X]
    #7693841 - 11/29/07 07:11 AM (16 years, 2 months ago)

IMO, if you use straw in your bulk you can compress it, I wouldn't do it without it though.


--------------------
It's okay to hurt my feelings
cause you know, they're so numb anyway.
but I guess it's what I get
for being to fuckin stupid to stay away - Jake

- Support the FSR at www.fsrcanada.com and www.fsre.nl


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Invisiblemycocurious
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Re: Commercial Mushroom Farm Observations To Learn From [Re: largeunits]
    #7694232 - 11/29/07 10:01 AM (16 years, 2 months ago)

Quote:

largeunits said:
Hi, kind of an A.D.D. post here:

I visited a commercial (button) mushroom farm today and noticed a few interesting things that we can all learn from:

1) Their spawned substrate (compost) in the beds is solid like a brick as they flatten it with a hydralic press. Denser substrate yields more - and the ultra flat top ensures even pin set crucial to yield.  (They mix their spawn with the compost in a series cylinder that turn - taken off of old contrete hauler-mixer trucks)

Compost in beds kicks ass for yield - too bad it is talked about so little.  If you are going to talk or use compost - stay away from exotic additives or garbage additives like rotting vegitation crazyness - the button mushroom farms do amazing with straw and chicken (or horse) poo alone!




I've been a fan of composting for a long time but have only recently started using it as a substrate and thus far I can say that the performance rivals - if not outperforms - bovine/equine based manures.  I've also, by accident, noticed that (thoroughly steam-pasteurized) anaerobically composted compost tends to be much more resilient in fighting off contaminations - although it also tends to have a greater tendency to ferment during incubation so you have to keep the temperatures much lower than you would for other types of compost/manure based substrate.  I didn't even know compost-based substrates _could_ ferment until this point...

The composition of my compost is mainly comprised of shredded oak leaves, grass and garden clippings, used coffee grounds, fruit and veggie scraps (no seeds) as well as a myriad of other ingredients that you'd normally throw away - dryer lint (not the fabric sheets), hair clippings from humans/pets, plain brown cardboard, newspaper shredding, pulverized-baked egg shells, etc...  (you have to bake egg shells @ 200(F)+ for 15-20 minutes to kill any dormant bacteria such as salmonella)

---
Definitely a good read though because there are some useful parallels between the two species in regards to substrates and how the composting should be done.  One of the things I would have liked to seen is the specifics on how far along they allow the decomposition of the compost to go before harvesting it.  Rationally, fully-composted humus would have the majority of it's available nutritional content already digested by the aerobic decomposer's within the pile...not leaving much for the mycelium to consume.  I've taken to harvesting my compost at about 1/2 - 3/4 way complete... :justdontknow:


--------------------
:justdontknow: Don't mistake my tone for a "matter-of-fact" attitude.  I'm just presenting what I believe to be correct, until I'm corrected...

- How Myco-Curious Prepares Coir & Compost Substrates
- How Myco-Curious Builds A Bulk Humidifier
- How Myco-Curious Builds An Automated Greenhouse
------------------------------------
figgusfiddus said:
Keep in mind that inoculating or whatever in front of a flow hood won't help your bad substrate, your bad inoculant, your bad sterile procedure, etc. etc. etc. It's not a +3 flowhood of magic, it's just a tool.


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Invisibletahoe
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Re: Commercial Mushroom Farm Observations To Learn From [Re: mycocurious]
    #7694252 - 11/29/07 10:08 AM (16 years, 2 months ago)

cubes grow great on the same compost as buttons.

You can get this guy to sell you some premaid compost. I plan on buying some from him this weekend.
mushroomadventures.com






***Please don't post links to non Shroomery Vendors***
-Roadkill


--------------------
Stop experimenting half way through your first grow. Grow it to maturity, watch it, learn from it. Do this a few times then experiment with different ideas and figure out what works best for you.


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https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/22140987#22140987

Teh=The
I need to proofread


Edited by Roadkill (11/29/07 02:08 PM)


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OfflineWorkmanV
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Re: Commercial Mushroom Farm Observations To Learn From [Re: tahoe]
    #7694534 - 11/29/07 11:53 AM (16 years, 2 months ago)

I've been using one of these for small batches indoors.

NatureMill Automatic Composter

They have a new model that I wish I had.


fixed your link


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Edited by Prisoner#1 (11/30/07 01:24 AM)


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Offlinelargeunits
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Re: Commercial Mushroom Farm Observations To Learn From [Re: largeunits]
    #7697305 - 11/30/07 12:07 AM (16 years, 2 months ago)

A few more facts and observations regarding compost etc: Long but I hope interesting. Composters please weigh in.

1) Farmers regularly treat wheat crops with anti-fungals in form of spray. Straw from such crops does not pose a problem for use in compost piles or fruiting crops. I cannot say the same for the wheat or rye kernels but maybe someone else can answer that.

2) If you pasteurize your compost - an excellent indicator of proper microbial conversion comes in the form of Humicola. It looks like a growth of whitish-grayish fine hairs that form on the compost surface a few days after you pasteurize and spawn. Spawn seems to grow with the Humicola rather than consume it. The same can be said for actinomycetes (firefang) (appear as whitish flecks) - which spawn loves as well (consumes it actually). Fire fang forms only at higher temps (140deg+) - as a result of nitrogen rich additives. I get firefang in the compost pile but only little after pasteurizing it - mostly due to turning the pile until nitrogen exhaustion occurs - which seems to work for me....

3) Many growers cover their spawned beds with light plastic sheets for spawn running. I have seen a new idea using heavy paper (comes in rolls) to cover the beds. When plastic is used, a lot of condensation occurs between it and the compost - water forms and sits (like water on a waxed car) on top of the mycelium run compost - leaving it susceptible to waterborne contam etc. The paper breaths and wicks off accumulated moisture - as well it has a nice fine spawn growth that permeates it.

4) Mycelium is the most resilient thing ever. For example. I took some cedar beds apart that were part of old fruiting trays and stacked them outside in fall. After a -30degC winter - I took the boards in (the mycelium grew on the boards and were white covered when I brought them in)- pressure washed and bleached them - built new boxes from them - pasteurized the boxes with compost in them - then watched as the mycelium came back alive and started growing again. I have also seen mushrooms grow THROUGH WOOD that was nearly 1 inch THICK. No joke. Seems the mycelium penetrates the wood through the odd knot here and there - and subsequently fruits on the other side. I have seem large mushrooms form like this with only a pen-tip size attachment to the wood.

5) Frappa industries in Ormstown Quebec makes the best fogger available - they had a bad name when they first came out but now are built rock solid.


Can anyone help:

1) Can anyone point to a quality digital display humidistat control? (to turn on-off humidity fogger)
2) How thick should casing be laid on 6inches uncompressed compost?
3) What percentage of the casing do you let run through before you fruit??


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InvisibleJewelessCaesar
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Re: Commercial Mushroom Farm Observations To Learn From [Re: largeunits]
    #7697425 - 11/30/07 01:00 AM (16 years, 2 months ago)

Nice composting advice, the movie talk led me to find this..:)


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Offlinelargeunits
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Re: Commercial Mushroom Farm Observations To Learn From [Re: JewelessCaesar]
    #7697524 - 11/30/07 02:21 AM (16 years, 2 months ago)

The only thing that is going to sell that movie is the title..... Which is the reason that I will likely see it when it comes out!

The movie -Work is a four letter word- ( with a mushroom storyline) that I was trying to find info on was made nearly 40 years ago....

Here is the synopsis:

Work Is a Four Letter Word (1968)
Overview

Cast: David Warner, Elizabeth Spriggs, Zia Mohyeddin
Rating: NR
Review Summary

Set in a futuristic world where man and machines compete, this comical fantasy centers upon a rather eccentric man who prefers raising his special giant, euphoria-producing mushrooms to working and spending time with his fiancee. He means well, for he believes that his funny fungus will help combat the increasing dehumanization of society. However, unable to withstand his bride's pressure, he finally takes a real job in a power plant. There he knocks out the power and then feeds his mushrooms to the authorities. While they walk around in a hallucinatory daze, he and his fiancee take a baby carriage filled with mushrooms and hightail it out of town. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Now there is a story line we all had daydreams about at one point or another.!


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