Be a Mushroom Farmer
Mushrooms are a product in demand that can be undertaken with little cost to start. All it takes to start your own mushroom growing business is some logs, shade cloth and a willingness to start your own business and watch it grow.
The demand for specialty mushrooms is increasing year after year. But opportunities exist to grow from the simple button mushroom to the more specialty variety’s like the shiitake, oyster, wood ear, straw, enokitake, jelly fungus, bunashimeji and maitaki.
As a new mushroom farmer, the issue is not if you can grow them, you easily can, but you need to focus on how you are going to sell your crop. One suggestion is to sell them at local farmers’ markets if you have some nearby, otherwise start calling vegetable wholesalers and ask them what variety’s are most in demand and how you can sell them to them for distribution. Growing a cash crop is worthless if nobody wants to buy it.
Another idea, if you have a busy marketplace nearby, would be to approach vendors currently selling produce and vegetables and ask them if they would want to sell your mushrooms. If you could afford to do it, one approach would be to give them a small amount of mushrooms for free and let them see what the demand for them is. If customers buy them you have easily demonstrated the need for your product to the vendor. A regular sale of your mushrooms should be easier at that point.
Once you have identified an outlet for your product you need to start thinking about growing your mushrooms. While some mushrooms require a special growing method, let’s look at how to grow the ever popular shiitake mushroom.
Shiitake mushrooms loves to grow on logs about a meter in length. Hardwood logs appear to be the best. Woods like oak, beech, chestnut and others have been used successfully. The logs can be used again and again so once you get your logs ready to go, that step is done.
Next, you need to inoculate the logs with a mixture of mushroom starter mix, sawdust or grain. Be sure to shade the logs from direct sunlight with a large shade cloth. Too much sun will dry them out. Now, the spawning period can run from 6 to 18 months with shiitake mushrooms so be sure to start new crops on a regular basis so you can have a rolling harvert. A single log can usually produce five crops of mushrooms.
The demand for specialty mushrooms is especially high in Asian countries but ever country has a need for and purchases the beloved and often easy to grow mushroom.
Here are a couple of sites with specific mushroom growing information that might be of interest to see all the tools, tips and products available to grow mushrooms. See MushWorld, Field & Forest Products and Fungi Perfect.
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This idea was generously donated by Steve. As a thank you for the donation of the business idea this site and the Myvesta Foundation have helped to fund the business of entrepreneur Phen Thoeun.
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