Mushrooms - A Cash Crop?

[Andyfez]

I keep hearing of people who grow mushrooms. Does anyone here have any experience?

Is it profitable?

Is it reliable?

Where can you get some expert advice?

I'd be interested to hear?

Andy

[Gary A]

My wife wanted to grow mushrooms for our own use. She got the rice straw and chaff and piled it around a tree. She got spores somewhere and then covered up the whole thing. She ended up with no mushrooms. She now says that the spores were no good. I think it is a risky thing that takes some luck to get started. Looking at the small growers it looks like once you get started it can be repeated.

I keep hearing of people who grow mushrooms. Does anyone here have any experience?

Is it profitable?

Is it reliable?

Where can you get some expert advice?

I'd be interested to hear?

Andy

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[Thetyim]

No experience but I did consider trying it as the start up costs are quite low.

You need to build a shed out of bamboo and grass (yaakar)

You can buy the pouches of spores and then just lay them out on racks and keep the whole place as humid as possible.

Timing is important as market prices vary between 10-50 baht.

You won't make money when the mushrooms are freely growing in the forest arond Aug-Sept.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

I keep hearing of people who grow mushrooms. Does anyone here have any experience?

Is it profitable?

Is it reliable?

Where can you get some expert advice?

I'd be interested to hear?

Andy

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Department of Agriculture and Cooperatives or Kasetsart University

[chownah]

Lots of info on the internet.

I piled some rice straw up against a fence...about 1.5 metre deep and about 2 metres on a side. I wanted to save it to feed to my uncle's cows but I didn't get it covered and the chickens came and did their scratching, pecking, eating and shitting thing all through the dry season and into the rainy season....low and behold mushrooms grew and they were great. Not enough to be commercial but enough to give some away at the peak of the season. We ate mushrooms probably twice or thrice a week for a month or a month and a half or so.

Contrary to some people's opinions it does not take luck to grow mushrooms unless you do it the way we did. If you do it with intent and learn how to do it..how to prepare the medium...how to spread the spawn...etc.....then you will almost assuredly have success. It takes a bit of learned skill to grow mushrooms and there are lots of people who have less ability than you who do it every year.

PS I had another pile of straw out in a field and the same thing happened there...no cover...chickens did their chickenly thing...mushrooms grew...so I had two piles in different places, one under some trees and one out in the open...and they both made mushrooms....seems like the chickens are the key ingredient(other than straw) if you want to make lazy man's mushrooms.

Edited December 20, 2005 by chownah

[dr.cruella]

I keep hearing of people who grow mushrooms. Does anyone here have any experience?

Is it profitable?

Is it reliable?

Where can you get some expert advice?

I'd be interested to hear?

Andy

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Department of Agriculture and Cooperatives or Kasetsart University

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives na ya Dr.PP not Department

Go to any research centres of Kasetsart University or Agi-development station in any areas and ask them for help of teachniques , maket or how to join in Mushroom association of Thailand. But now we care about organic plantation , then should to know a bit about laws and reguations. All informations you can get it from the officials. If u live in Korat , my suggestion is go to Agi-research centre at Parkchong.

Or if you have time BTW 30 Jan06-5 Feb 06. At Kasetsart University will have big Agri-Fair. You can learn more about Agriculture like technology, land, plants etc. Welcome u to test ice-cream Mushroom and Mushroom Wine.

[zzap]

We also got lots of mushrooms (het luang), just from piling some straw, 1ft' deep is enough. But with this carefree method, they'll grow only during the season.

[ray23]

We also got lots of mushrooms (het luang), just from piling some straw, 1ft' deep is enough. But with this carefree method, they'll grow only during the season.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sounds like a fun project if nothing else.

[ShingDam]

Hello ray,

its not a fun project, its horrible work and if you wanna do it you need workers you can trust (they have to know about what to do and have to do it carefully).

The most people build small shelter (like above described) and you have to catch the season. Even if you are careful - if you catch a virus and walk from one house to the other, everything is destroyed. The next thing if you do it for a bussiness you produce a lot of trash (old sthinky grass) so if you stay in the middle of a village it isnt so nice.

Further in the cold time, like now, they burn a lot of wood (car tyres too ) to provide the shelters with warm air.

A good idea would be to grow special mushrooms, i though about it because my house has a celler and the clima down there would be exactly right.

But all the thrash and ............. I didnt done it.

I know that the Isan people run in the mountains (small hills) to pick mushrooms in the season and they really like it (if it would be possible to plant this wild kind of mushroom it would be a great bussiness) but all people told me it is impossible.

So thai mushrooms is a bussiness if it is done right. (But not easy, like everything)

Frank

[ShingDam]

sorry i meant " hello andy"

[ray23]

Hello ray,

its not a fun project, its horrible work and if you wanna do it you need workers you can trust (they have to know about what to do and have to do it carefully).

The most people build small shelter (like above described) and you have to catch the season. Even if you are careful - if you catch a virus and walk from one house to the other, everything is destroyed. The next thing if you do it for a bussiness you produce a lot of trash (old sthinky grass) so if you stay in the middle of a village it isnt so nice.

Further in the cold time, like now, they burn a lot of wood (car tyres too    ) to provide the shelters with warm air.

A good idea would be to grow special mushrooms, i though about it because my house has a celler and the clima down there would be exactly right.

But all the thrash and ............. I didnt done it.

I know that the Isan people run in the mountains (small hills) to pick mushrooms in the season and they really like it (if it would be possible to plant this wild kind of mushroom it would be a great bussiness) but all people told me it is impossible.

So thai mushrooms is a bussiness if it is done right. (But not easy, like everything)

Frank

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks Frank I could do wihtout the stink

[chownah]

Actually if you do the mushrooms with straw and cow or chicken manure you will end up with great mulch and fertilizer.

[Buff-horns]

there is certainly plenty of raw bull shit to grow them !

maybe blueberries are better crop . always a world shortage of blueberries.

[all4one]

a friend of mine grows them just outside chiang mai in a several bamboo sheds - she grows a few varieties - including the very small japanese ones. she has thousands of small bags with the compost and special ingrediants in. Takes her about an hour or two a day to cut off the fully grown ones with a razor blade type device...i found it really interesting as its not the type of thing id ever see in the uk.

i would nt imagine the start up costs would be that much but then i wouldnt imagine the profits would be huge either (unless you make them organic and sell them to the west)