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concerned in becoming a mushroom farmer?Shiitake mushrooms are one of the easiest and most profitable places to start .
The pursuit is an excerpt fromFarming the WoodsbySteve Gabriel and Ken Mudge . It has been adapted for the World Wide Web .
( Photographs courtesy of Steve Gabriel and Ken Mudge unless otherwise noted . )
A beech log that has been “forced” to produce a uniform flush of shiitake mushrooms.
A beech logarithm that has been “ force ” to produce a consistent flush of shiitake mushrooms .
The Stunning Shiitake Mushroom
Shiitake ( Lentinula edodes ) is the third most common cultivated mushroom in the world and surely the best - known forest - grown mushroom-shaped cloud in North America .
It is a minute ironic that shiitake mushrooms , one of the most authoritative nontimber timber crops used in North American forest farming , is not aboriginal to the continent .
It is indigenous to Asia and has been naturalise in China since about advertizing 1100 and later in Japan , where the value has principally been placed on its medicinal place .
The Rise of the Shiitake Mushroom
A paper published in 1982 by Gary Leatham1was instrumental in popularizing shiitake cultivation in the United States . Today a half twelve spawn producers be , but the telephone number of growers is cursorily on the rise .
In addition to their delicious taste , shiitake boast a issue of overconfident nutritional and medicinal qualities.2,3
Health Benefits of the Shiitake Mushroom
The proteins contained in shiitake have an aminic acid profile interchangeable to the “ ideal protein ” for man . These mushroom are one of the best germ of protein , peculiarly for vegetarians / vegans looking to eliminate animal proteins in their dieting .
Multiple report deport over the last ten years have demonstrated that an combat-ready factor in shiitake called eritadenine “ significantly decrease the plasma full cholesterol assiduousness , irrespective of dietetic fat sources . . . ”
Shiitake mushroom are moot a honest origin of three B vitamins ( B2 , B5 , and B6 ) ; a very proficient informant of six trace minerals ( manganese , phosphorus , potassium , selenium , atomic number 29 , and zinc ) ; and a far-famed germ of magnesium and vitamin D.
Another document health benefit of shiitake mushroom mushrooms is as a friend of the resistant system . Shiitake also contains the polysaccharide lentinan , a ( 1 - 3 ) ß - D - glucan , which is link up with cancer bar properties of this mushroom cloud .
Shiitake Mushroom Production
Producers of forest - cultivate shiitake mushrooms mountain range in size from “ hobby ” scale ( < 200 log ) , part - time commercial ( 500 to 1,000 logs ) , all the elbow room up to fulltime commercial-grade ( > 5,000 log ) .
Few of these manufacturer bother to produce their own spawn for log inoculation ; instead they rely on companies that specialize in spawn production and also sell a wide range of mushroom - relate supplying .
According to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service ( NASS , 2013 ) , in 2011–2012 there were 151,000 lifelike wood logs in outdoor shiitake output , whereas in 2012–2013 the number of log dropped to 137,000 .
It should also be noted that several experient agriculturalist , and a major supplier of spawn to mushroom growers all over the United States , consider these shiitake - related NASS statistics to be unreliable because they consider most agriculturist do not fill out the annual surveys institutionalise to them by NASS , which may be the reasonableness for the drop in the numbers .
By all indication “ on the earth ” ( attendance at Extension events , sales agreement at spawn producers , involvement in cultivator mathematical group ) , logarithm - groundwork shiitake production is well on the rise .
Beginning Shiitake Mushroom Farming
Shiitake mushroom grown indoors on artificial sawdust “ log . ”
For first granger shiitake is perhaps one of the skilful candidates as a recession crop , at least in the northeastern United States .
The markets are more or less wide open , with consumers and chefs eager to get their hands on this tasty and alimentary food .
Shiitake can be easy sold at farmers ’ market , to restaurants , and through CSA model for $ 11 ( wholesale ) to $ 16 ( retail ) a Irish punt .
A beginner can start with 300 logs , which yield roughly 10 pounds a week , or $ 120 to $ 160 of sales event , and add more log until he is satisfied .
The price to vaccinate each log is $ 1.50 to $ 3.00 , which pales in comparison to the $ 50 to $ 60 of sale per logarithm that will be gained over its life-time .
And other than dry out , the crop is forgiving of deepen conditions condition , floods and droughts , and even the farmer ’s desire to take a vacation .
Notes
Recommended Reads
Composting and Recycling Mushrooms
A Guide to Growing Oyster Mushrooms Indoors
Farming the Woods
An Integrated Permaculture Approach to Growing Food and Medicinals in Temperate Forests
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