GROWING GOURMET - Anto2ni.it

neer systems with mushroom preservation in
mind, paying particular attention to humidity
concerns. Standard refrigeration systems usually
suffice, except that humidity must be kept
between 60-85% rH to prevent sudden dehydration
of the product. Humidity in excess of 90%
often causes mushrooms to"re-vegetate", causing
a grayish fuzz, and accelerating spoilage.
By 1995, freon will be banned as a refrigerant
and non-ozone destroying substitutes will be
used. New refrigeration systems, including
non-mechanical, carbon dioxide based designs,
are being developed. I have no information concerning
their applicability to chilling and
preserving mushrooms. Sufficient air-flow is
essential to effect slow evaporation off the cap
surfaces. Still-air refrigeration systems cause
mushrooms to quickly rot unless the evaporation
rate is increased to compensate.
Enviromnent 7:
Shipping & Receiving Room
Purpose: To transfer mushrooms from the cold
storage to the shipping/receiving area. Many
farms have loading docks at the same elevation
as the beds of the produce trucks picking up and
delivering the product. Most facilities are
equipped with overhanging doors.
Facility: An open, high ceiling room with direct
access to the main corridor, the sorting room,
and/or the refrigeration room.
Maximum Temperature: Ambient
Minimum Temperature: Ambient
Humidity: Ambient
Light: As needed for personnel. Fluorescents do
not need lenses.
Insulation: Minimal
Positive Pressurization: None
MUSHROOM FARM ENVIRONMENT 459
Additional Comments: A high traffic area, the
shipping & receiving room, besides its obvious
purposes, is also used as a buffer, limiting the
impact of environmental fluctuations from the
outside. Mushrooms are usually weighed and
then 10% is added to offset weight loss due to
evaporation during shipment.
Environment 8:
Production/Recapture
Open-Air Growing Room
Purposes: To recapture as many mushrooms
possible which can not be realized in controlled
environment growing rooms .This building can
solve a dilemma constantly confronting the
growing room personnel: to maximize mushroom
yield while not jeopardizing future crops
as contaminants become more common as the
cycle comes to completion.
By the third or fourth flush, yields are in a
state of precipitous decline. Rather than discarding
this mycelium, additional harvests can
be realized, with minimum effort, if the substrate
is placed outside during conducive
weather conditions. In the temperate regions of
the world, these favorable weather conditions
span several months. During these moist
months, Oyster and Shiitake mushrooms produce
prolifically outdoors. I am continually
amazed at the size of mushrooms that can be
harvested outside from "spent" straw or sawdust
that has been exported from the indoor
growing rooms. Two types of buildings serve
this purpose well.
Facilities: Either a hoop frame structure covered
with"bug-out" or shade cloth or a covered
building with walls constructed of the same,
draping from the outer roof joists.
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