Larisa Teslenkova, consultant-technologist, author of the website and YouTube channel “Oyster mushroom expert”.
https://youtube.com/@oystermushroom_expert-tech?si=WPFm7LUETjL0bDXn
https://veshenka-expert.info/en/oyster-mushroom-cultivation-technology/
In this article, I will describe the strengths and weaknesses of working with purchased substrate in the context of using production facilities.
Advantages of Working with Purchased Substrate:
- Time-Saving: By equipping just 3-4 growing rooms and not yet having a substrate production, you can start producing mushrooms while simultaneously working on installing equipment and renovating other facilities.
- Cost-Effective: Building your own substrate production and purchasing equipment for pasteurizing/sterilizing the substrate is the most expensive part of the project. Moreover, regardless of whether you build a substrate section or use a part of existing building, commissioning this structural unit takes a long time. Purchasing and delivering a steam generator, autoclave (if choosing the sterilization method), or tunnel ventilation equipment (for the pasteurization method) and other necessary equipment can take up to 2-3 months.
- Setup Requirements: Setting up a substrate facility and clean zone involves not only installing specific equipment but also laying out water, sewage, and electrical lines.
- Regulatory Approvals: Due to the use of a steam generator, you will need approval from authorities (such as the environmental inspectorate or boiler supervision), which grant permissions to start operations – this also requires time.
- Simplified Workforce Management: You do not need to simultaneously hire and train people for two production sections. By working with purchased substrate, you only need to train pickers, a technologist, and mushroom growing operators.
- Reduced Storage Needs: You do not need a warehouse for storing straw, hay, or sunflower husks.
- Experience-Based Decisions: You can work through one season, calculate all expenses, and make a decision on whether to build a substrate section based on your own experience and circumstances, rather than solely on theoretical profitability calculations.
What Disadvantages Should Be Considered?
Regarding the facilities, there is only one disadvantage – you will have to install shelves suitable for placing the purchased substrate, which may not be suitable for your own production concept later on. For example, if you make small blocks using the sterilization method, while the supplier’s substrate comes in rectangular blocks weighing 17-20 kilograms. Of course, this is an extreme scenario; usually, many compromise solutions for shelves can be found.
The other disadvantages are not related to the facilities, but I will list them:
- Quality Dependency: The quality of the substrate depends solely on the supplier. Therefore, the contract for supply must carefully detail the conditions for accepting claims regarding quality. This should include defining what constitutes “substandard substrate.” If you purchase unsprouted substrate, a whole section on incubation conditions and monitoring should be included. This is because the substrate can develop green mold not due to the quality of its processing, but due to non-compliance with the incubation technology.
- Lack of Control Over Mycelium: You cannot control the percentage of mycelium added and, in most cases, cannot choose the mycelium strain.
- No Experimental Flexibility: You cannot experiment with the substrate formula, nor can you prove whether the supplier truly added all the raw materials listed as ingredients in the substrate.
- Supplier Dependence: Even if you have a strictly defined delivery schedule, you might find yourself at the mercy of situations where the supplier does not adhere to this schedule. Include penalty clauses for such cases in the contract.
If you are certain that you need a substrate workshop, I will discuss it in detail in the next article.
