I've been considering this as well, seems like a cool hobby. Restaurants probably would be interested in buying reasonably priced gourmet mushrooms. I have been considering doing this in scandinavia, currently in living in the UK where the market is already saturated and mushrooms are widely available.
Justin Thomas
I'm in the US. A lot of the issues I faced were places being uneasy. With laws and liability. Also they want a stable supply. Ie most would want 10lb a week.
You cannot really control the times they fruit. Summer gourmets only have a shelf life of free days. The cold weather ones is 10 to 14 days when stored correctly.
Basically you want a walk in fridge or at minimum a few deep freezers dailed up to be a fridge. 34F is ideal for cold weather storage.
Basically the hardest part was finding customers and meeting their needs. Facebook/ craigslist resulted in nothing other than people trying to get shrooms off you or false reports as people think your doing something illegal.
95% of my Facebook posts were flagged down. Where the guys selling wild mushrooms in the area were not. (In the USA it is illegal to sell any wild mushroom regardless of type unless you are a certified mushroom hunter)
Bentley Miller
Due it of you can grow mushrooms that are hard to find fresh. Like the one in your picture. Go for the medicinal angle and capitalize on the corona scare. Shiitake , lion's mane and turkey's tale have all been shown to boost the immune system for example.
Ryder Hill
I built a grow room in my parent's basement 5 years ago. Churned out like 50 pounds of oysters over a couple weeks, planned to setup at the farmer's market and shill to local restaurants. I ended up getting sick, I think from spore exposure. Tore everything down and went backpacking in new zealand for 6 months. Writing this is now making me depressed
Thomas Cooper
I've grown all the ones you listed and currently have local competition. But right now still living in an apartment. The house I sublimated an offer on has 2 large sheds. Room for me to start up a spawn lab etc.
I'd need to navigate and research local laws. Basically before in my old state there was no restrictions on growing and selling.
Basically after I move in. Have a lab squared away. It will take aprox 2 months to see my first mushroom after starting the process.
I sold or tossed all my old equipment when I moved across the country.
Aiden Bailey
Yeah that is why I'm doing it in a shed. You can get a culture from someone with a sporeless culture. I think one of the EU culture banks have one.
But spores in house will one day result in bad allergies unless you want to vent your basement...
Josiah Rogers
>spore exposure
Former psilocybin farmer here, you absolutely need the air in your grow room filtered and vented outside, slight negative pressure if at all possible, and a full face respirator when you're around fruiting bodies.
Some guys have gotten their sinuses colonized by spores and it is not a pleasant situation.
Jayden Sanders
And I've been pricing things out. Found a local lumber mill that sells hardwood sawdust for 13 per cubic yard. Would need to invest in a truck.
Lucas Miller
I would opt for a shed in the future. But this was a sealed environment with a dedicated vent fan. I even wore a full face respirator whenever I entered. Not sure what happened.
I'd like to give it a go in the future. I think the market is probably much more saturated in the last few years. You mention it takes 2 months to see your first fruit, which species were you growing? My oysters were fully fruited a week after inoculation
