14
CANADA
Sometimes you see more snow than compost.
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bunker, where they have some degree of protection from the harsh outdoor climate. After a couple of days stay in the phase zero bunker, the wet bales are moved outside where the twine is removed. Chicken manure is then distributed over the straw before a Double T mixing machine blends all the raw materials used by Loveday. The blending process is repeated a few times before the mix is filled into a bunker. Interestingly, des- pite the severe winter weather, (heated) goody water is still added to the blend. However, if there is a moment when the process comes to a standstill, the sprayers keep on running to prevent acute freezing. I will never forget that – after squeezing a handful of compost with my bare hands to assess the moisture content – I touched the metal strip at the side of the conveyor belt with one of my damp hands. Straightaway I felt my hand start to freeze to the incredibly cold iron! Visibility is very limited when the bunker is being filled; every- thing is blanketed with snow and hidden by swirling clouds of mist caused by the temperature difference between the warm to hot compost and the extremely low external temperature. The speed at which the compost in the bunkers heats up is comparable to that on plants in more temperate climates. The compost temperature rises high, but for obvious reasons, there is no more aeration than strictly necessary. The outdoor temperatures are too low in winter to enable outdoor preparation of the compost after the bunker stage for the development of micro life for the phase II process. Therefore, there is no other option in Manitoba than to fill the compost straight from the bunker into the tunnel. During transportation by lorry to the new tunnels, the extreme cold cools down the compost sufficiently so that it is no longer too hot when it arrives at its destina- tion.
The new tunnel facility Christiaens Group from Horst in the Netherlands was responsible for engineering and constructing the seven tunnels. Remarkably, the motors that drive the
Despite the severe climate, Loveday produces excellent compost.
outdoor conveyor belts and the hopper parts were gi- ven an oil change on arrival, replacing the oil with one able to withstand the extremely low temperatures. After spawn run in the new tunnels, the compost is taken to the two farms. On the old tray farm (total surface area 7200 m2) the trays are filled with phase III compost using the old tray filling line, while on the new farm the compost is filled into beds. There are 16 growing rooms here (total 8000 m2) built by Geraedts Constructions (now part of GTL Europe in The Nether- lands) replicating the Dutch shelf growing system. Since the new tunnel project became operational, this new part of the farm has also been filled with phase III compost and Canadian casing soil via a head filler. The new tunnel facility signals a complete transforma- tion for Loveday Mushrooms, as alongside the fact that they now produce high quality compost, the entire ope- ration – old and new sites – are being converted from using phase II compost to filling with phase III compost.
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