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SUBSTRATE European answer to Asian bot
Kernser Pilzzucht in Switzerland had developed an efficient machine for bulk substrate production. It requires a lower investment than for comparable Asian machines, results in a shorter cultivation cycle and is also suitable for growing shiitake. A modest revolution. By Magda Verfaillie, Mycelia
Bulk barrel and automatic filling system.
Incubation area for shiitake substrates.
Sepp Häcki is a lignicolous mushroom grower in heart and soul. Originally a pig farmer in Kerns, Switzerland, twenty years ago he decided to transform his pig sties into growing rooms for mushrooms. From the start, he concentrated on growing shiitake, which at the time was considered a very exotic variety, and he was one of the pioneers of its introduction on the Swiss market. He produced the blocks of substrate himself, but due to lack of experience, the results were poor. After a couple of years, Sepp decided to choose a more reliable option and started buying sterilised substrate blocks from Klaus Dieter Hesse (see In Memoriam in this edition), the first West European producer of this type of substrate. This move enabled Sepp to carve out a more permanent position on the Swiss exotic mushroom market. However, relying on a single substrate supplier also had its downsides, so on the quiet Sepp worked on designing his own bulk system. His youngest son Patrick, an energetic and technically gifted young man who joined his father’s company in 2010, assisted him. They based their invention on existing technology applied in
the pharmaceutical industry, combined with their own expertise and experience. Many years spanned the time between concept and completed design, but the result is spectacular.
Blood, sweat and tears “The machine cost blood, sweat and tears, but we hope to earn back the investment within a reasonable space of time. The first gain is the higher yield we obtain in a shorter period, and the second gain should be made in selling our design commercially. I would even go as far as to say that this machine is the West European answer to East Asian bottle cultivation technology. It has some powerful selling points: a lower investment than a fully automatic Korean and similar machines but with an equally high output. And ,moreover, the system is not only suitable for classic bottle cultures like pleurotus eryngii and hypsizygus tessulatus, but also for shiitake, which cannot be grown profitably in bottles. And thirdly, it has a shorter cropping cycle with the same yield”, says Sepp.
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