Like other careers, you need training before you start practicing farming. Although there is no sure method to guarantee success, you can do something to avoid making a loss.
In most cases, people only look at one side of the coin: Successful mushroom growers, and dive into the sector without adequate training. They forget that reputable farmers have had an equal share of challenges before making it in the industry. If you want to avoid common problems, investing in learning about mushroom growing is paramount.
While growing mushrooms isn’t a sure deal, you can elevate your chances of reaping big by avoiding some things. Here are things to avoid.
1. Poor Hygiene
The first thing you should prioritize in mushroom farming is cleanliness. Contamination can be disastrous to your business. Maintain high hygiene standards in the fruiting room.
If the room is not always clean, you will harvest blotch or mold instead of mushrooms. For that reason, it is prudent to frequently sterilize your tools properly anytime you want to do a transfer.
Additionally, it would be best if you learned more about contamination before starting your business. Learn what kind of contamination occurs at each stage, how to identify contamination and the appropriate solutions.
2. Being Impatient
One common mistake among numerous novice mushroom farmers is impatience. Mostly, beginners are over excited and want to make a kill overnight. In that process, they fail to observe essential details and end up doing several things wrongly.
You need to be both patient and persistent to succeed in mushroom growing. Beginners need to know that everything can’t fall in place in a twinkle of an eye. Implement the three-step approach to avoid making mistakes.
3. Inoculation
Inoculation plays a significant role in mushroom farming. A vast percentage of farmers make losses because of missing inoculation. And all these happen as a result of being impatient. For example, some farmers inoculate a substrate minutes after sterilization. Inoculating the substrate a few minutes after sterilization produces a lot of heat, which kills the mycelium.
Another mistake many farmers make is using the wrong amount of spawn. If you use too little spawn, your substrate will be contaminated. On the other hand, if you use too much spawn, your substrate will overheat. Besides, it is prudent to make sure that inoculation methods are not counterproductive.
4. Poor Understanding of Mushroom Species
Everything narrows down to learning about mushroom growing before venturing into it. A considerable number of people start mushrooming farming with little or no idea about different species. Basically, if you don’t know what type of species you are growing, you will not know how to treat them.
The most notable mushroom species are the white oyster and the grey oyster. Both species belong to the same family. However, the species grow differently due to variations in genetic composition.
Before venturing into mushroom farming, it is imperative to understand a variety of species and their genetic origin. When you have a deep understanding of your species, management is a walk in the park.
5. Lighting
Lighting is an important element in mushroom growing. Although this element is not always necessary, some species need moderate lighting to flourish.
On the flip side, moisture is pivotal when growing all types of mushrooms. The main challenge is that a significant number of farmers have no idea about the amount of moisture needed to grow mushrooms.
A little amount of moisture on the substrate has detrimental effects on the mycelium growth cycle. On the contrary, too much moisture will lead to contamination.
The secret to succeeding in mushroom farming is taking time to learn about how they are grown. With adequate training, you will reap big.
