Mushroom Farming

[gengKeowWaan]

Hi.

Has anyone done any mushroom-farming in Thailand? I'm looking into the feasibility of doing just that on a small-to-medium scale. Mushrooms sell well in Thailand; they go well with most Thai foods, especially Tom Yam.

Anyone got any comments/advice?

[BEENTHEREDONETHAT]

If you google "growing mushrooms" there is a hour long video telling you how to do it. It's free

[fruity]

Quite a few people doing it around where I live. By all accounts quite profitable. Buy a couple of the Thai horticultural / agricultural magazines, there are often articles, photos etc in those on the subject. There are so many types of mushrooms in Thailand & not all have the same requirements. If possible, visit some growers, in my experience, Thai people are always happy to share their knowledge & give advice.

[agudbuk]

Treat the mushrooms like a lot of big companies do their employees do

Keep 'em in the dark and then throw manure over 'em

[gengKeowWaan]

Thanks guys!

Comments much appreciated!

[Gary A]

My wife tried it twice. The first time she got no mushrooms. The second time she tried it she got a few and decided it was cheaper to buy them at the market.

[uptou]

Whats the difference between mushrooms & the thai public?

They're both kept in the dark & fed bullsh!t. HaHaHahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Yes i'll bugger off.

[bubbaba]

If you are near Korat you may visit mushroom houses on my mother in laws farm and many other places here in the same village. Just PM me.

[Lickey]

GKW, ive been interested in growing mushrooms for a year or so now but never really got round to looking into it, your post jogged my memory, ive found this site, http://ecosyn.us/ecocity/Links/My_Links_Pa...ushrooms01.html by reading this there is nothing to stop us trying some mushrooms, we have spare ground, loads of sawdust,about a 1000 banana plants for leaves [rice harvest is finished now] cow crap available,water and plenty of cover if ness, and a good friend of the mrs is a mushroom farmer so perhaps we can get some spores there.

And i thought Wellingbourgh was famous for Weetabix!!! good luck, Lickey.

[seonai]

Hi. I know a woman who grows het nang fah - Angel Mushrooms (or Oyster) and it seems to be easy once you get a routine. She has made a hut and inside there are about four rows all with glass jars poking out of straw. The mushrooms grow in the glass jars and I thinks they are ready in a week or so, so the yeild is high. She sells them for 60 baht a kilo but I'm sure you could make more in a bigger town

[gregb]

Question:

Where is everyone getting the spawn? I have had 2 people tell me it is available at a small shop near corner of Kasetsart on the Phahonyothin side. I have walked all up and down that area and into the sub sois and can not find this mythical shop.

Does anyone know where an interested party could go to get the correct spawn to grow straw mushrooms?

I'd like to experiment a little.

Thanks for any advice.

[seonai]

International Mushroom Society

2306 Phaholyothin Road, Bangkhen, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Tel: 662 579 4418, Fax: 662 561 2591

The organisation provides study tours of mushroom farms, on job training, provides expertise and equipment and prepares project proposals. They can provide free of charge Prof. Auetragul’s manual on the cultivation of oyster, jew’s ear and straw mushrooms, Published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation FAO.

International Mushroom Society of the Tropics

c/o Department of Biology

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Tel: 852 609 6286, Fax: 852 603 5646

[gengKeowWaan]

GKW, ive been interested in growing mushrooms for a year or so now but never really got round to looking into it, your post jogged my memory, ive found this site, http://ecosyn.us/ecocity/Links/My_Links_Pa...ushrooms01.html by reading this there is nothing to stop us trying some mushrooms, we have spare ground, loads of sawdust,about a 1000 banana plants for leaves [rice harvest is finished now] cow crap available,water and plenty of cover if ness, and a good friend of the mrs is a mushroom farmer so perhaps we can get some spores there.

And i thought Wellingbourgh was famous for Weetabix!!! good luck, Lickey.

Thanks v. much for the info and link, Lickey. Most interesting indeed!

Wellingborough WAS know for Weetabix etc., but production has now shifted to neighbouring Irthlingborough. Just for your info

Good luck with the mushrooms!

[LaoKao]

IMO farming shrooms is hard work, the people here that do it have to harvest every three hours. They farm in the balcked out "tents"

[chownah]

IMO farming shrooms is hard work, the people here that do it have to harvest every three hours. They farm in the balcked out "tents"

I've never seen commercial mushroom farming but for home consumption growing straw mushrooms is not much work at all. I'm an organic gardener/farmer and so I buy alot of straw every year. Some I use for mulch right after rice harvest but most I keep for later use. I pile up the straw into big piles while waiting to use it. When the rains come and the piles have been wet for a few months the mushrooms just start to appear. Not every pile will have them but so far every year there have been a couple of piles that did and they have been prolific enough to provide several meals per week of mushrooms and they for sure are the freshest ones I have ever eaten!!! I don't disturb the piles that have mushrooms growing in them and leave them until the mushrooms stop. By then the bottom most layer of straw is in a fairly advanced state of decay which makes it an easy to use fertilizer/mulch which I add to my vegetable garden.....this mulch releases nutrients into the soil every time you water and although I have never had it chemically analyzed I'm reasonably sure that it provides phosphorous and potassium which means it is a great mulch for any vegetables that grow from flowers like eggplant, green beans, tomatoes, peas, etc.

Chownah.

Edited January 29, 2008 by chownah

[LaoKao]

Yes, I have seen the farming method you are describing, and it is my understanding that (where I am) it is a good way of enriching the soil and making some money at the same time. However, the way I have seen the shrooms farmed in the "tents" is a lot more more labour intensive and not the same as when done in the fields, whwre the main aim, as I understand it, is to fertilize

[Thomaskorat]

Hi !

I have been mushroom farmer in Thailand.I had 3 mushroom houses and was growing het faang.It is hard work.It takes around 3 weeks for each harvest and i got 100 to 200 kilos for each house,so 300 to 600 kilos every month.Price was 30 b kilo for big and beautiful ones and 20 b kilo for smaller mushrooms.Wake up every night 2 o clock and start pickup mushrooms,then i needed few ladies from my village to help me cleaning mushrooms.Car came 12 oclock,take mushrooms and pay in cash everyday,then they drive to bangkok talaat thai and sell mushrooms over there.We also buy spore and other stuff from those guys.It is not easy business,i can tell and if you make it small scale like me its not business at all but at least you get couple of hundreds everyday to pay your beers and rice meal.