Gourmet mushrooms, such as oyster and shiitake mushrooms, have gained in popularity over the past few years due to many consumers switching over to a healthier lifestyle and diet. Shiitake mushrooms in particular are considered one of the world's healthiest foods, and offer a variety of health benefits like increased cardiovascular health, improved energy levels, and cancer fighting properties.
The increasing demand for oyster and shiitake mushrooms has pushed prices in recent years to over $6.00 a pound wholesale, and over $15.00 a pound retail. The increase in price has caught the attention of many gardeners who are now growing their own mushrooms and realizing great profits. But you don’t have to be an experienced gardener to grow this cash crop. These mushrooms are very easy to grow and require very little space, minimal work, and startup costs.
How Do You Grow Oyster and Shiitake Mushrooms at Home?
You don't need a lot of space to grow mushrooms. In fact, you can grow thousands of pounds of mushrooms a year in the same amount of space you park your car in. Many gardeners turn their garages into indoor mushroom havens. You can also use a small outbuilding or shed as long as you can control the temperature inside. In order for the mushrooms to thrive, the temperature needs to be around 75 degrees year round. A small window air conditioner for summer and a small electric heater for the winter should suffice.
In a very small area such as a 200 sq. ft. room, growers can produce upwards of 5,000 pounds a year. This represents a potential profit of $30,000 a year at the wholesale price.
To get started, you will need to purchase oyster and shiitake mushroom spawn online. This is the inoculate used to begin the growing process. Mushroom inoculate, or spawn, can be purchased online from many different websites and it comes in the form of a sawdust mixture or plugs (wooden dowels soaked in shiitake spawn). It is very inexpensive. You can get 1,000 plugs for as little as $45.00.
Once you have an adequate temperature controlled space and the mushroom spawn, you will need to collect several oak logs. The number of logs you want to use is up to you. Use oak logs at least 4 inches thick and 36 inches long. Logs must be freshly cut from a living tree in its dormant stage (cut during the fall, winter, or early spring) and not dried out. You can also purchase oak logs from a saw mill or through a local Arborist.
Drill several holes in the log approximately 6 inches apart down the length in a diamond pattern. Make the depth of the holes only as long as the wooden dowels, or about one and one-half inches deep. Once all of the holes are drilled, using a mallet, tap the wooden dowels into the holes. If you are using the sawdust spawn, then fill the holes as tightly as possible with the sawdust. Once all of the holes are filled, then cover them well with melted cheese wax. This will keep the inoculate in place and prevent insects and bacteria from interfering with the spawn.
Once the logs have been prepared they can be hung from the ceiling, or you can lean them against the wall. Do not lay them flat on the ground.
Oyster mushrooms will take only 8-10 weeks to mature after being inoculated. Because of this many growers will section off a room into 10 sections and prepare only one section of logs a week so they can have a continual harvest. Staggering the logs in this manner allowd the grower to harvest a crop every week instead of waiting two months in between harvests. Oyster mushrooms will continue to grow on the log for approximately three or four years or until the spawn has used up all of the log’s nutrients.
Shiitake mushrooms don’t mature as quickly. They are prepared the same way as oyster mushrooms, but take approximately 6—12 months to fruit. Luckily, a shiitake log can be forced to fruit after the first six months by submerging the log in ice cold water for 24 hours. This tricks the mushrooms into thinking it is fall or early spring. Once the log is removed after the 24 hour soak, you will see little white pins develop that will turn into thick brown mushrooms in about two weeks time. This process can be repeated every two months if grown indoors in a garage or shed that is temperature controlled. Shiitake mushrooms will continue to grow on the same log for up to 10 years or until the shiitake spawn has used up all of the log’s nutrients.
Where Can I Sell My Gourmet Mushrooms?
Most growers sell their mushrooms directly to local restaurants. Many chefs prefer locally grown mushrooms because mushrooms are difficult to transport and keep fresh. My advice is to create a general letter informing chefs in your area about the high quality mushrooms you are growing and then send the letter with a sample of your goods.
Others have had great success selling at local farmers markets. If you have ever been to a farmers market, then you have surely noticed all of the vendors usually have the same fruits and vegetables for sale. You hardly ever see someone selling fresh locally grown mushrooms.
There is also a potential to sell your mushrooms to local supermarkets. Because mushrooms are difficult to ship, most local supermarkets would love to have a local supplier. Being a local supplier also allows you to undercut the price most larger suppliers charge. They have to pay a lot for shipping; you do not.