CULTIVATION TIPS MUSHROOM SIGNALS Growers wanted!
I often get asked whether I ‘know any good growers’. Obviously, I know loads of good growers, but the question is really whether I can ‘recommend an experienced grower’ and preferably someone with plenty of practical knowledge. However, those growers are elusive. If your aim is long term continuity, training a new grower is a better investment than hiring an experienced one.
Local for local An experienced grower with no social or geographical links to the region will often leave again within a few years. But nurturing and training the talent already at your farm forges a closer bond, especially if they are local people. And these growers will generally stay on for a long time, sometimes even until retirement.
Selection Take a good look at the people you already employ. There is almost always someone in the team with potential so give them the opportunity to shine and develop their skills. Employees given the opportunity for personal development will really appreciate this and will be less inclined to change jobs and move on. Another key benefit is that you can train them to grow mushrooms in the way you prefer and transfer the skills you consider important. So what steps can you take to encourage someone to become a grower? 1. Be honest and open right from the start: growing mushrooms is not a nine-to-five but a 24/7 job. 2. Nowadays, farms are often large enough to be run by two or more growers. This gives the advantage of being able to alternate evening and weekend shifts, so growers don’t have to work seven days a week. 3. Make sure the new grower is a good match with the existing team. They have to work closely together. 4. The background and previous training are not always that relevant, provided the person is eager to learn and shows potential. Seasonal or temporary employees who work on the farm during the holidays or their studies are often the ones who develop into good growers later on in life.
Getting started Once the above points are clear, the new employee can get started. Week 1: In the first week, the new grower shadows the other grower. They can observe the processes, but without having a deeper understanding of precisely what needs to be done and when. Week 2: In addition to accompanying you or another grower on the daily rounds, the newcomer can also perform practical tasks. Encourage them to make notes about what and how tasks should be done (place thermometers in the room after filling, complete the growing charts, etc.). They can also do some less critical tasks to familiarise themselves with the processes. Week 3: Give the newcomer some more responsibility this week to manage the first days of growing, under your guidance. Inspecting the rooms is still a joint task, but instead of adjusting the settings using all your experience as a grower, let your new colleague make the decisions and change any settings. They will soon ask questions about what to do and if they make an incorrect setting ask why they made that choice. Allow them to find out what would go wrong in this case and how they can
remedy or improve the situation. Giving them more responsibility each day allows them to gradually get accustomed to their new role. This approach is highly effective if you use homogeneous compost that is very similar every week. If the compost you use is very variable, it is more difficult to ease someone into their role in this way. In that case, the new grower should be allowed to work with one specific type of compost first. Other types of compost can be introduced later. It is important to gradually give them more responsibility. For a blueprint of growing, see the article ‘The value of a blueprint’ in MB 107. This article clearly details all the main aspects and processes and can be a valuable tool as it offers new growers firm guidelines and simplifies the learning process.
Pitfall A common pitfall of enthusiastic, experienced growers is trying to explain all the exceptions to the rules. This is usually an information overload for new growers and can make them feel insecure about their own abilities. One of the most crucial things new growers must be aware of is that they can always fall back on the expertise of an experienced grower in situations that seem unusual. During their first weekend shift they may come across many challenges. This shouldn’t be seen as a problem and is all part of the learning curve. Once the new grower starts to gain more experience, their confidence will grow and they can deal with more issues. Even experienced growers occasionally call a colleague to discuss things and as a way of reducing stress. Cooperating and communicating remain essential, regardless of the level of experience.
Courses It is also an excellent idea to follow specific training courses. Courses (e.g. the Essentials or Extended Course) have a dual purpose: they create structure in the knowledge acquisition process of new growers and provide more background and insight into why certain actions are necessary during mushroom growing. The student’s progress is assessed in a series of tests, which helps identify any gaps in their knowledge. This enables growers to gradually develop into full-fledged professionals.
By Mark den Ouden
52 MUSHROOM BUSINESS
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