Mushroom farming: Step byste p guide

These mushrooms thrive in nearly all regions of the country, provided there is access to shelter, a reliable water supply, and consistent temperatures ranging from 15-30 degrees Celsius. Not only are they versatile in their growth requirements, but they also offer significant nutritional value, serving as an excellent source of lean proteins, antioxidants, and essential vitamins.

Step-by-step guide

Prepare a Suitable Structure: First and foremost, you’ll need a well-constructed structure, preferably a permanent one. This structure is essential to create an ideal environment for mushroom cultivation. It provides the necessary humidity and protection from adverse environmental conditions.
Obtain Mushroom Spawn: Procure high-quality mushroom spawn, which serves as the starting material for your mushroom cultivation.
Mix Spawn and Substrate: Mix the mushroom spawn with sterilized substrate material. Afterward, pack this mixture into small gunny bags. Approximately 2 kg of spawn mixed with substrate is sufficient to fill around 50 gunny bags.
Plant the Spawn: Create holes in the growing medium and place the spawn at a spacing of 9-12 inches apart. Additionally, sprinkle some spawn on the surface to expedite colonization and minimize the risk of contamination.
Incubation Period: During the incubation phase, store the bags in a dark area, away from direct sunlight, for about 21 days. Once the spawn becomes visible as white, grainy particles on the surface, proceed to the next step.
Casing: Add a layer of about 2 inches of high-quality soil onto the growing bags. This process, known as casing, is essential to initiate fruiting. Cover the bags with a polyethylene sheet for approximately 2 days to eliminate any soil fungi and tiny insects. When mycelium begins to appear on the surface, it will trigger the fruiting phase.
Maintain Humidity: Introduce humidity into the cultivation environment. You can achieve this by using a humidity generator or a knapsack sprayer filled with clean water. Spray the air in the room, as well as the floors and walls, ensuring the water disperses as a fine mist. Adequate humidity is crucial to stimulate mushroom growth.

By following these steps and maintaining consistent care throughout the mushroom farming process, you can enjoy a successful and profitable venture in button mushroom farming in Kenya.

Sequence from	Sequence to	Description
00:00	00:46	Button mushroom farming in Kenya is one of the most profitable yet capital-friendly types of farming. They can grow in almost every part of the country provided there is shelter reliable water supply and stable temperatures of between 15-30 degrees, they are highly nutritious, It is a good source of lean proteins, anti-oxidants, and essential vitamins.
00:47	02:16	To start mushroom farming first you will need a structure preferably a permanent one to create a good environment for the mushrooms, for they need humidity and protection from harsh environmental conditions. Secondly, you will have to purchase the mushroom spawn which you will grow.
02:17	03:21	Mushrooms do not require huge lands to grow all you need is a house to keep them warm and humid, when constructing the structure temperatures need to be below 250degrees Celsius and the humidity level should be above 70%, this does not mean you must have an air-conditioned unit. If you have an iron sheet structure you can attain these conditions by placing purpurus mats underneath them and lining the ceiling with polyethylene to control the heat, further line the floor with polyethylene and on it sprinkle a layer of wood shavings soaked in water.
03:22	04:52	The room does not have to be dark, you do not need to block out all the light you can incorporate either artificial or natural light, to prepare substrates you can use wheat, rice, husks, dry banana leaves, or bean/coffee wastes. It takes an intensive 5 weeks to prepare it before spawning you have to keep watering the substrate and on the 4th day you can add chicken manure to provide the required nitrogen nutrients you can use sunflower and molasses to provide fungi and a cripling media for the mushrooms move it to the shelter to prevent from rain because now you want it to lose water from the substrate for it to start decomposing keep turning the substrate and add nitrogen fertilizer and lime to balance the pH within the substrate.
04:53	05:58	Gypsum is added to absorb the excess water since you do not want the substrate too sticky or too dry. The substrate is taken to a sterile room for 7 days where the steam is used to heat it up at a temperature between 60-65degrees where no contamination can survive, after that, the substrate is ready for broadcast and is put away in gunny bags and then taken to the growing room which must be clean and at a temperature of 23 and 28 degree celsius.
05:59	06:44	One of the advantages of mushroom farming is that it requires little space and a small structure but the output is quite big. In the structure, the climate, relative humidity, temperature and to some extent the air and light moving in are controlled.
06:45	08:15	One of the major pests affecting mushrooms is rats which affect them during incubation by burrowing and as a vector of diseases, slugs are also another pest that is common on the mushrooms because of the use of simple mud structures. Mushroom flies also affects the crop during the incubation period hence the need to control by making sure the environment is free of debris and vegetation and that the substrate is well pasteurized to control the pests larvae.
08:16	09:44	Mix the spawn with the sterilized substrate and pack them in small gunny papers 2 kg of spawn mixed with substrate gives about 50 gunny bags. Make a hole on the growingbag and plant the spawn at a spacing of 9-12 inches then sprinkle spawn on the surface to accelerate colonization and prevent contaminations.
09:45	11:15	During the incubation period put the bags in the darkest corner away from sunshine for about 21 days. Once the spawns are visible as white grainy particles on the growing bag add about 2 inches of good soil onto the growing bag this process is known as casing will trigger fruiting cover with polyethylene sheet for 2 days to kill any soil fungi and tiny insects when mycelium appears on the surface it will trigger fruiting.
11:16	12:12	It is important to introduce humidity into the room when mycelium appears you can do this using a humidity fire or using a knapsack and ordinary clean water. Spray the air around the room and also the floors and the walls ensuring water comes out as a jet of mist, humidity is important to stimulate the mushroom growing
12:13	13:31	Mushrooms are highly perishable hence it's important to have a ready market before harvesting. As the crop progresses it accumulates diseases hence after a cycle of 4 months before you bring in a new crop it is important to clean and disinfect the structure to put an end to the disease cycle.

Sequence from

Sequence to

Description

00:00

00:46

Button mushroom farming in Kenya is one of the most profitable yet capital-friendly types of farming. They can grow in almost every part of the country provided there is shelter reliable water supply and stable temperatures of between 15-30 degrees, they are highly nutritious, It is a good source of lean proteins, anti-oxidants, and essential vitamins.

00:47

02:16

To start mushroom farming first you will need a structure preferably a permanent one to create a good environment for the mushrooms, for they need humidity and protection from harsh environmental conditions. Secondly, you will have to purchase the mushroom spawn which you will grow.

02:17

03:21

Mushrooms do not require huge lands to grow all you need is a house to keep them warm and humid, when constructing the structure temperatures need to be below 250degrees Celsius and the humidity level should be above 70%, this does not mean you must have an air-conditioned unit. If you have an iron sheet structure you can attain these conditions by placing purpurus mats underneath them and lining the ceiling with polyethylene to control the heat, further line the floor with polyethylene and on it sprinkle a layer of wood shavings soaked in water.

03:22

04:52

The room does not have to be dark, you do not need to block out all the light you can incorporate either artificial or natural light, to prepare substrates you can use wheat, rice, husks, dry banana leaves, or bean/coffee wastes. It takes an intensive 5 weeks to prepare it before spawning you have to keep watering the substrate and on the 4th day you can add chicken manure to provide the required nitrogen nutrients you can use sunflower and molasses to provide fungi and a cripling media for the mushrooms move it to the shelter to prevent from rain because now you want it to lose water from the substrate for it to start decomposing keep turning the substrate and add nitrogen fertilizer and lime to balance the pH within the substrate.

04:53

05:58

Gypsum is added to absorb the excess water since you do not want the substrate too sticky or too dry. The substrate is taken to a sterile room for 7 days where the steam is used to heat it up at a temperature between 60-65degrees where no contamination can survive, after that, the substrate is ready for broadcast and is put away in gunny bags and then taken to the growing room which must be clean and at a temperature of 23 and 28 degree celsius.

05:59

06:44

One of the advantages of mushroom farming is that it requires little space and a small structure but the output is quite big. In the structure, the climate, relative humidity, temperature and to some extent the air and light moving in are controlled.

06:45

08:15

One of the major pests affecting mushrooms is rats which affect them during incubation by burrowing and as a vector of diseases, slugs are also another pest that is common on the mushrooms because of the use of simple mud structures. Mushroom flies also affects the crop during the incubation period hence the need to control by making sure the environment is free of debris and vegetation and that the substrate is well pasteurized to control the pests larvae.

08:16

09:44

Mix the spawn with the sterilized substrate and pack them in small gunny papers 2 kg of spawn mixed with substrate gives about 50 gunny bags. Make a hole on the growingbag and plant the spawn at a spacing of 9-12 inches then sprinkle spawn on the surface to accelerate colonization and prevent contaminations.

09:45

11:15

During the incubation period put the bags in the darkest corner away from sunshine for about 21 days. Once the spawns are visible as white grainy particles on the growing bag add about 2 inches of good soil onto the growing bag this process is known as casing will trigger fruiting cover with polyethylene sheet for 2 days to kill any soil fungi and tiny insects when mycelium appears on the surface it will trigger fruiting.

11:16

12:12

It is important to introduce humidity into the room when mycelium appears you can do this using a humidity fire or using a knapsack and ordinary clean water. Spray the air around the room and also the floors and the walls ensuring water comes out as a jet of mist, humidity is important to stimulate the mushroom growing

12:13

13:31

Mushrooms are highly perishable hence it's important to have a ready market before harvesting. As the crop progresses it accumulates diseases hence after a cycle of 4 months before you bring in a new crop it is important to clean and disinfect the structure to put an end to the disease cycle.

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Mushroom farming: Step byste p guide

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