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Mushroom Cultivation and Marketing advice as you aim to  “Go Pro”

Mary Ellen Kozak

By Mary Ellen Kozak


Summer shiitake harvest.
Summer shiitake harvest.

Mushrooms are finally getting significant attention in the USA. As a culture, we embrace an expanding variety of fresh produce and are excited to experiment with different flavors and preparation ideas. You may have noticed an uptick in mushroom sales if you already have a small mushroom farm. Farmers we have spoken to who engage in local markets have seen a 40% year-over-year sales increase since the COVID pandemic. While members of Kingdom Fungi are being studied for many attributes beyond flavoring stock in a soup pot, there is no doubt that interest in culinary mushrooms, not to mention their health benefits, remains stronger than ever as we increase our knowledge of cultivation methods for a range of mushroom species and how to prepare them.


Mushroom growing is unique because most edible fungi are recyclers. They convert their food source, usually byproducts from agricultural and forestry industries, to pounds of fresh mushrooms for the table. The goal of the mushroom grower is to prepare a specific byproduct that matches the nutritional requirements of an individual fungus so it can thrive and reproduce. Because of this, mushroom farms have a smaller environmental footprint than most other farms. Low acreage requirements, low water use, low CO2 emissions per pound of mushrooms, and good nutritional value are all great reasons to consider cropping mushrooms on the farm. Most of the environmental footprint information is calculated from indoor mushroom farms. However, shiitake farms based on cropping from natural hardwood logs may be the ultimate recyclers with the lowest environmental impact, relying on the natural environment and nature-made “cured” substrates as the base for producing a densely nutritious food.


 


Growing culinary mushrooms is a combination of science and the ability and willingness to adapt basic equipment to the biology of the mushroom with an evolving goal of efficiency. One of the best things about mushroom cultivation is that it is fun, something we could use more of in our lives! However, mushroom farming, or the cultivation of mushrooms for profit under time and tension, is challenging. Mushroom farming is still farming, and, as with all farming, it comes with its unique set of challenges that you will only learn through experience. Once you see and taste success with your first “grows,” the excitement fuels the desire to grow more. Here is some advice for taking the next steps.


1.             Just starting? Consider a fast-growing mushroom that allows you to enter the marketplace and learn the basics quickly. Growing Oyster mushrooms in buckets of straw or wood pellets is a great place to start, and the same process can be used for different species of Oyster mushrooms with different colors, so you can offer variety without changing your methods very much. It also allows you to experiment with nutritional supplementation and substrate treatment methods before increasing your production.


2.             Expand your product mix with different species. Learn about shiitake cultivation on wood logs if you can access fresh logs and a shaded woodlot to cultivate them. This takes 12 to 18 months from inoculation to fruiting, but the logs are productive for at least several years in commercial production. Shiitake is often the base product for a marketing mix as it has great consumer awareness and is one of the best mushrooms in terms of flavor and shelf life. Make sure to use strains that are suitable for forced fruiting so you can schedule fruiting every week. Shiitake and other log-grown mushrooms are also popular to sell at a farm market if you can bear to part with them. This is the most environmentally sound mushroom production method if good forestry practices are followed. Still, it is physically challenging (inoculating and hauling 3’ logs) and might not be a good fit for everyone. Patience is a virtue with this method.


3.             Choose species that will fit your grow space's environmental parameters. Some of the best-selling mushrooms require very different parameters. They will benefit from growing in separate spaces that you can customize with as little investment as extra lighting, a portable air conditioner and an ultrasonic home humidifier. You can produce all you can sell at a weekly, medium-sized farm market of King Oyster in a 20x20 foot room with a simple portable air conditioner. Maitake needs a similar space, temperature, bright lights, and increased humidity from a basic tabletop humidifier. Shiitake, Lion’s Mane, and Oyster mushrooms are less picky than King Oyster or Maitake and can all share the same space.


4.             Consider growing mushrooms indoors with block cultivation to supplement or eventually replace your shiitake or oyster product mix. If you live close enough to a block producer (there are more producers out there now than ever), this is a way to boost your production and increase your variety of offerings without putting in the work and capital to make your own. Find a producer that allows you to pick up blocks at their facility or will ship using a local carrier, which is usually reasonably priced. Keep the end goal of making your blocks in mind as you work and learn.


5.             Choose mushroom species to invest in cultivation that have a long shelf life. These will allow you to hold mushrooms for longer as you adjust to the seasonal needs of your market. Shiitake, King Oyster, Coral Tooth (a cousin of Lion’s Mane) and Maitake all have excellent shelf life if harvested on a timely schedule.


6.             Seek out local growers willing to supplement your production. While most growers want to maximize profit by selling directly to customers, sometimes the time and energy it takes to plan, launch, and continue a marketing program are simply not a good fit for every small farm. Buying mushrooms at a wholesale price can benefit both farms.


3.             Do your research. Mushroom growing can be simple, but profitable mushroom growing relies on maximizing production and avoiding common mistakes that can be costly in time, labor, and resources. Learn your specific system, the preferences of the mushroom varieties, and do your best to optimize your operation. There are a lot of resources out there that can help at any stage of your development.


Fifty years after shiitake mushrooms were first cultivated on wood logs in the United States, all specialty mushrooms have gained a foothold in the consumer market. Demand for fresh mushrooms continues to be very strong, and niche opportunities for producing and marketing fungi provide a business opportunity for those who have the resources, grit, and determination to make it work.  


 Mary Ellen Kozak is co-owner of Field and Forest Products, marking 41 years of specialty mushroom spawn production and experience in mushroom cultivation. She can be reached at mek@fieldforest.net.

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