Mushroom farming (no not the magic sort

[powerrabbit]

You can buy growing kits from good garden centres and agric suppliers that sell garden stuff. The pack comes in the form of a poystyrene deep box like a fish box with a cardboard lid, in the pack you get a bag of compost that looks like it consists of woodchip bark and horse s**t mixed up, in another bag is a very fine compost with the spore mixed and the instructions tell you to put the couse stuff in the bottom and then put the fine compost (2/3rds) on top, give it a good soak, fold in the corners of the lid from the box so it sits on the top of the box and put it in a dark warm place, like the airing cupboard (Mother would do her nut, smells a bit!) and keep moist. I grew one last year and had a good crop. When the mushrooms tail off, put the rest of the fine compost in an off you go again.

[An Interested Spectator]

Masseysrule,

I would take issue with Markey's comment about not much equipment used.

On what used to be called the yard, where the compost used to be made, were two large mechanical windowrowers, and at least three quarry size dumpers for moving the compost around. There were also a fleet of compost graders.

The farm also had a fleet of six wheeler trucks with hiab arms that used to go to all the large horse racing stables collecting manure, and a second fleet of flat beds for collecting baled straw.

I know they are currently running two or three Fastrac's and a Case with 14 ? ton trailers for delivering spent compost to local farmers for spreading.

They also have a fleet of specialist lorries for moving the growing boxes (beds) around, as well as a number of forklifts to stack and unstack the beds.

They used to have a skip outside each active growing house (the cutters used to cut the stalk off the mushroom into buckets would would then be emptied into the skip), and a tractor permantly on the move with a skip trailer emptying the skips.

They also have a couple of MF 362's and skid steers for general yard duties.

All this plus a fleet of coaches and minbuses for the staff, and i am sure there is other kit a have forgotten !!!!

[super6]

Don't get me started on that one  :D

I buy these Mush locally... but I COULD buy Mushrooms for nearly half the price if I bought imported all the time.... The bloody government does NOTHING to help UK Fruit & Veg farmers 

I am on a quest this year to buy locally and sustainably... I now pay Waaaaaay over the odds for Tomatoes, Peppers, Cucumbers, Mushrooms, Potatoes (yes I can buy Majorican cheaper - work that out) 

The bloody government does NOTHING to help ANYONE

[batcher]

Quick question how,why do mushrooms randomly grow in fields, I remember a farm i worked on we sparyed of a grass lay ready for a wheat crop ,The field went white with little button mushroms they tasted great 

Also a question for marky ,Do you know, remember, or heard about the salyoter (spelt wrong) in a place called siddlesham west sussex where there was a hundred plus of fruit and veg growers all with greenhouses , And a big warehouse in the middle where all the produce ended up , I remember working for one chap during a hoilday once when i was still at school picking toms helping out, And remember a lorry coming around and picking the toms up to take back to the warehouse same time every day 

steve

[Lord Ferguson]

Nope... sorry not heard of them... I have only been in this trade for 11 years of so really... before that I was in cheese 

Not actually "in a cheese" .. but I sold Cheese 

There are quite a few farmers cooperaatives forming again now.. my cucumber grower is doing exactly that with about 8 other growers I believe  \

[Kris]

The bloody government does NOTHING to help ANYONE

it does if your live in the areas they come from or if your on the dole