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Before the 1st flush about 18 l/m2 is sprayed, and after the flush 9 l/m2. The 1st flush yields an average of 18 kg/m2. This flush (1535 m2) is harvested in two hours with a maximum of two and a half hours. Filling on Fridays means cutting the first flush on Mondays, the second flush on Mondays and the third flush on Wednesdays. The second flush yields an average of 12 kg/m2 and the third produces 4.5 kg/m2. A total of 16 l water/m2 is sprayed on and after the second flush, but the third flush is not sprayed at all. The company harvests 10.5 million kilos of mushrooms each year.
Family portrait. Grandfather and grandmother van Asseldonk, Peter and Dianne, daughter Michelle and son Hannes.
seeds in the casing soil?’
Cultivation and production Four growing rooms are filled each week with 88 kg/ m2 incubated compost from CNC and 4.0 m3 casing soil per 100m2 from Euroveen. The supplement is added at the composting plant at a dosing rate of 18 kg per ton of compost. The spawn variety is Sylvan 520. The rooms are filled by Wieman, a specialised contractor, two on Fridays and two on Saturdays. On average 18 l/m2 of water is sprayed at the moment over four days as follows: day of filling 1 x 2 l/m2; 3 x 2 l/m2; 4 x 2 l/m2 and 1 x 2 l/m2. Following a 15-hour recovery period, cool down commences and the air temperature is lowered to 18 degrees Celsius and the CO2 to 2000 ppm in two days. For the first two days, the RH is lower to encourage the mycelium to bunch together, and then it is increased to around 92%. When the pinheads appear the RH is lowered to 88-85% and the CO2 to 1700 - 1400 ppm. The drop depends on the number of pinheads.
Harvest and market Unique to this company is the ultra-modern grading and processing line. Together with GEGE machine- bouw the grading section and positioning and cut- ting sections were redesigned and vastly improved compared with the old grading unit. The benefits are mainly found in the increased accuracy of grading, less quality loss and greater precision when cutting the stalks. A major investment, but one that will earn itself back. The machine grades into six cap sizes va- rying from 28 to 65 mm. After grading and removing the stalks, the mushrooms are stacked, palletised, weighed, labelled and prepared for transport per grade. The average processing capacity in the first flush is 12.5 tons per hour. Many visitors were ama- zed just by the sight of this installation, but seeing it actually working is even more amazing! The majority of the mushrooms are destined for the deep freeze industry, a small part goes to conser- ving factories and the smallest amount is reserved for special products, such as deep-fried mushroom snacks.
Everyone was hugely impressed by the extent of the farm, the speed of harvesting, the neatness, the grading line and the thermal energy storage system. Drinks and a variety of mushroom snacks were on offer, and children were kept amused with colouring pictures and making make their own mushroom snacks. A fine example of promoting the sector! ◗
Plenty of attention for the highly advanced grading installation.
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