April Lifestyle Farmer

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SETTING up a little businesswhich might eventually bethe major earner is not anuncommon motivator in people

approaching me for advice on growingmushrooms. But before you join thethrong and walk into the boss office to

give him that rude sign you have beenwaiting so long to do, it is probably bestto first learn a little about the commercialrealities of cultivating mushrooms.

The button mushroom,and its close cousins like theSwiss brown, are the easiestto deal with. There is a wealthof information available onthe buildings and equipmentneeded, how to preparemushroom compost, whereto get the best strains ofmushroom from, and what

pests and diseases arelikely to be encountered.Books have been devotedto the subject and websiteslike Penn State UniversitysMushroom growersinformation site (http://mushgrowinfo.cas.psu.edu/home.htm) and magazineslike Mushroom Business(www.mushroombusiness.com), keep those alreadyinvolved in the industry upto date. However, while it

might appear that all thedetails are available, thereis a significant differencebetween producing afew mushrooms in a pilottrial and the continuousproduction of a consistent,high quality, high yielding,disease-free product forsale to a discerning public.Hygiene and climate controlare crucial to a successfuloperation while failure toprevent and control pests

and diseases can lead tofinancial ruin.

When it comes to thespeciality mushrooms that grow

on wood waste, quarantine restrictionsmay also need to be considered. Forexample, the grey oyster mushroom(Pleurotus ostreatus) cannot beimported into New Zealand because itcould pose a risk to our forest industry.The importation of other mushrooms

new to New Zealand might also have tobe approved by the Environmental RiskManagement Authority. This is often along, slow and expensive process during

which it is determined if a mushroomhas any traits that might make it anunwanted guest. After that there willbe the inevitable problems of growinga new mushroom where expertise isnot close to hand and a fickle NewZealand public that might shy away

from a strange looking mushroom. Afterthat, if it is the plan to also export amushroom, there is competition from thedeveloping countries who are probably

already producing it forperhaps a fraction of theprice we might ever beable to produce it in NewZealand.

Changing regulationshave also been an issuefor button mushroomproducers having to takemore care during the

conversion of straw andmanure to mushroomcompost which producessome disgusting smells.The mushroom farm inour little village of Ovingwas the main reason myfather cajoled us intoescaping England in1965 for our great NewZealand adventure.The problem then wasthat mushroom growingwas classified as an

agricultural operation,even though in realitythe mushrooms werebeing grown in a largefactory that polluted theatmosphere and streams;created excessivenoise and depressedproperty values (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/4810630/Your-dream-home-and-what-lurks-inside.html). Thesame problems have

been encounteredaround the world sincethen, although the balanceseems to be shifting in

Growing mushrooms:the commercial reality

w w w . l i f e s t y l e - f a r me r . co . n z42 L I F ESTYLE FARMER APR I L 2010

Photograph

s:DrIanHall

By DrIanHall

The grey oyster mushroom is widely cultivated overseasbut could harm the radiata pine industry if imported

into New Zealand.

Horticulture


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favour of those who have the pollutioninflicted on them (e.g. www.aaron.ca/columns/2001-09-01.htm). Add tothat the huge cost of establishing amushroom farm, the current trend tocompost in closed buildings and burnor oxidise odours with ozone, intensecompetition within the industry, and

issues such as mushroom workerslung disease (or hypersensitivitypneumonitis), would be enough formost to never consider entering thispart of the mushroom industry.

Other saprobic mushrooms (thosethat grow on dead plant or animalremains) such as enokitake, shiitakeand straw mushroom, are also producedin factories. The Tai Mushroom Farm

Above: Enokitake fruiting out of the top of plastic bottles.Below: Drying enokitake on racks produces an enjoyable snack food.

Horticulture

LIFESTYLE FARMER APRIL 2010 43www.lifestyle-farmer.co.nz


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w w w . l i f e s t y l e - f a r me r . co . n z44 L I F ESTYLE FARMER APR I L 2010

in Wufeng, Taiwan, produces severaltonnes per week. Like many of thelarger scale facilities, most steps areautomated, including the production ofthe medium, filling the plastic bottles the

mushrooms are grown in and inoculatingthe bottles in a sterile environment.Because these types of mushrooms aregrown on enriched sawdust or straw,pollution levels are minimal, or at leastmore acceptable. Unlike the buttonmushroom, small scale operations arealso feasible particularly in developingcountries where comparatively simpletechniques are often used. Moreinformation on this next month.

The true mycorrhizal mushrooms,such as the truffles, saffron milk cap andporcini, only grow on the roots of treesin a mutually beneficial relationship. The

easiest ways to sample these delicaciesis to forage for them. In fact, for the vastmajority of the mycorrhizal mushrooms(about 99 per cent), this is the onlyway you can get to eat them, becausethey have never been cultivated. Forexample, the billion dollar industries

based on chanterelles and porcini

are entirely dependent on what canbe harvested from the wild. The wildmushroom seller sitting on the roadsidein Hunan, China, is another aspect ofa huge industry that only recently hasbegun developing in New Zealand. Ifyou are in Christchurch on an autumn

morning and cant sleep, pop over to

Growingmushrooms: the

commercial reality

Part of the Oving mushroom farm in the 1970s,in West Sussex, England.

Producing mushroom compost inside a shed can help limit theproduction of disgusting smells.

Checking for contamination after

enokitake has colonised the growthmedium in plastic bottles.

Horticulture

EDIBLEGARDEN

889 Ashhurst-Bunnythorpe Road, RD 10, Palmerston North 4470

Ph: (06) 326 7313 Fax: (06) 326 7314 Email: [email protected] Web: www.ediblegarden.co.nz

LARGE SELECTION OF:Apple, Peach, Pear, Plum

Cherry & Apricot Trees.Nut Trees Vines Olives

Berries & KoangaHeirloom Trees

Free Catalogue Available


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LF

Hagley Park and see if you can see theporcini hunters out with their torches.Others are beginning to harvest thebirch bolete and larch bolete which

seem to be better flavoured than in theUK, perhaps because they are not asbadly affected by insect pests here.

However, as John Fountain and Imentioned in the New Zealand LifestyleFarmerpreviously, poisoning is an ever-present danger for those who haventthe expertise. So, if you are one ofthese, please get professional advicebefore you tuck into a plateful of wildmushrooms.

The few mycorrhizal mushroomsthat have been cultivated are grown inplantations of specially infected hosttrees in areas with the right combinationof climate and soil. More on thisin a future issue of this magazine.Complete failures are not uncommon.These can sometimes be tracked tofatal management errors but there areother instances where instructions havebeen followed to the letter expensivefailures accompanied by considerabledisappointment.

The other side of the coin has seensome splendid success stories. Forexample, in the Bay of Plenty and near

Gisborne, Prigord black truffle yieldshave been spectacular. And it doesnttake a mathematician to determine thatmore than 100kg of Prigord blacktruffles per hectare, per year, and sellingfor an average price of considerablymore than $2000 per kg, produces anawful lot of money.

Similarly, 5kg of saffron milk capper radiata pine tree, per year, nineyears after planting, and selling for anaverage price of $35 per kg, is worth

more in that one year than the standingtimber is worth after 30 years. More onthat too in a future issue.

Additional information on ediblemycorrhizal mushrooms can befound on Truffles and Mushrooms(Consulting) Ltds website www.trufflesandmushrooms.co.nz andfor more on mycorrhizas try MarkBrundretts very informative websitehttp://mycorrhizas.info/index.html

A saffron milk cap glade at Theres and Hannes Krummenachersproperty near Nelson.

Horticulture

LIFESTYLE FARMER APRIL 2010 45www.lifestyle-farmer.co.nz

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April Lifestyle Farmer