Mushroom farming could benefit CEA growers

It seems to be a different type of farmer that grows mushrooms, but essentially the skills are an extension to planting a seed in a substrate on a shelf, then controlling and monitoring the temperature, humidity, airflow and lighting schedule until harvest. The difference is that the seed is a spore and you inoculate the substrate with the tiniest involvement of water. The life cycle of the crop can vary but once cropping begins, several flushes of mushroom fruiting are possible.

Of course other mushrooms may take slightly longer but with energy costs rising fast, growing high value medicinal mushrooms could be an additional revenue for CEA farms with an easy adaptation of current farming technology.  Dare I say it, switching off the lights to save energy to get farms through lean periods isn’t the worst idea either.

‘Right tech for the market’  —Chris Higgins 

Mushrooms belong to the kingdom of fungi, which is separate from plants and animals. They are part of a huge 100,000 range in species. Approximately 2000 of these mushrooms are edible and more than 500 can be described as having significant health benefits. Wow, how many do you eat or even have access to? I know my larder was limited until I discovered their anti-inflammatory and nutritional value.

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Photo: Reishi (Cropping cycle twice in 90-120 days)* Image courtesy of our friend, mushroom expert Dr Ardalan Ghilavizadeh, at Veggitech, UAE. Ardalan is a leading expert in the field of Reishi, Lion’s mane, King Oyster and is the author of several books on the subject.

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