country, growers have come out of their old sheds and now take a far more professional approach. That’s the level we should aspire to with our mushrooms, higher consist- ency, a better regular supply, maybe a wider product range. The mushrooms I produce are not offered frequently in supermarkets, they’re mainly destined for restaurants and wholesalers. We need to progress to a higher level, regarding both cultivation and marketing.”
Cultivation
Koert Pleunis grows three different mushroom varieties in three growing rooms on the old mushroom farm. All the substrate is bought spawned from CNC Exotic Mushrooms. The shiitake has been spawned
run for 12 weeks at CNC, after which time the packs are placed on shelves at the farm. The growing room temperature is then taken to 14-15 degrees, and three to four days after being placed in the room the substrate packs are opened. Harvesting begins on day 10, and picking continues until about day 20. The yield, in one flush, is about 22% of the substrate weight. The variety used is Mycelia 3790. Weekly production of this variety is approximately 800 kilos. The packs of pleurotus erengii, in which the spawn has grown for four weeks, are only opened two weeks after coming into the growing room so the CO2 is kept high under the plastic covering. About three days after opening, the first- and on Pleunis’ farm, the only flush
‘Growing exotics is not as hectic as growing white button mushrooms.’
- starts. This lasts for about 5 days and yields 15%. According to Pleunis, further flushes are not interesting enough, also due to the risk of bacterial blotch. The spawn used for the pleurotus is Mycelia 2603, and production totals some 250 kilos weekly. The third exotic variety grown by Pleunis is mai-take. Production is still
(advertisement)
in the experimental phase. Cultivation of this variety started earlier on this year. Here too, one flush is picked from substrate packs that have been allowed to spawn at CNC for four weeks. About 5 weeks after arrival at the farm, the mushroom harvest begins. This variety produces clusters of mushrooms. Weekly production is currently about 20 kilos. The building, part of the former mushroom farm, has seen hardy any conversion for growing exotics. Ground water is used for cooling and electric units for heating so no cooling units or boilers are used. Pleunis has installed a misting system. His farm has Fair Produce and Bio certifica- tion. He employs one fulltime employee and his wife helps part-time.
INT.BV
MUSHROOM BUSINESS 45
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
