MUSHROOM GROWING

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLV, Issue 21156, 1 October 1938, Page 15

MUSHROOM GROWING

METHODS OF CULTURE The largest and most up-to-date English mushroom farm is situated at y/ethersfield, near Braintree, in Essex. There are at present 65 long, low sheds in which mushrooms are grown, but the number’ is shortly to be increased to 108, of which 80 will always be in full production. In a vast manure shed, fresh manure is stacked at one end, and after being watered is allowed to stand for about 10 days. When it reaches a heat of 160 F. it is turned and dumped further along the building, the turning process being continued till the manure becomes black and odourless. It is then placed in wooden moulds and allowed to cool to 60F., when it is tipped out on to shelves in the production sheds and planted with mushroom spawn at 6in. to 9in. intervals. Meanwhile, a steam pressure plant, working at 200 F., has sterilised large quantities of soil, which is spread over the newly-planted bed to a depth of Ilin. A fine water spray is used for moistening the beds, but no artificial stimulatives or manures are used. In a newly-made bed it takes about three weeks for the first mushrooms to appear. The whole bed then gradually comes into bearing, and produces a good crop every morning until in five or six months the spawn is exhausted. The old bed is then removed and a fresh one built up, after the whole interior of the shed has been thoroughly sterilised. Two species of fly, the Phorid and the Sciarid, are special enemies of the mushroom, and lay their eggs in the beds if given a chance. An alkaloid nicotine fibre is used as a deterrent, or various destructive powders. These are placed in small heaps on the floor, so that the rising fumes may deal out death to the insects while in no way affecting the mushrooms. Of late years, since modem knowledge has largely dispelled the fear of poisonous types, the consumption of mushrooms in England has increased to an extent that cannot be met by seasonal supplies from the fields. To meet the demand, many ventures have been made in connection with artificial cultivation. In some localities natural caves have been utilised. The main drawback, however, was the difficulty of sterilising the soil after exhaustion by heavy cropping. The production capacity of the spawn usually wanes after five to six months, and the soil becomes so acidic that it has to be removed and the bed thoroughly sterilised before a new one is laid down. The difficulties in the way of doing this in the caves proved Insurmountable, and they had, therefore, to be abandoned as mushroom farms.