GROWING GOURMET - Anto2ni.it

462 DESIGNING AND BUILDIN G A SPAWN LABORATORY
profound implications on the integrity of the
entire operation.
The growing of mushroom mycelium in absence
of competitors is in total contradiction to
nature. In other words, the laboratory is an artificial
environment, one designed to forestall
the tide of contaminants seeking to colonize
the same nutritious media thathas been set out
for the mushroom mycelium. This was a frightening
state of affairs for most would-be
cultivators until books like The Mushroom
Cultivator by Stamets & Chilton (1983) and
this one offered simple techniques for making
sterile culture practical for mushroom cultivators.
These volumes represent, historically, a
critical step in the passing of the power of sterile
tissue culture to the masses at large.
Before the advent of HEPA filters*, sterile
culture work succeeded only by constantly battling
legions of contaminants with toxic
disinfectants, presenting real health hazards to
the laboratory personnel. Now, the use of disinfectants
is minimized because the air is
constantly being re-filtered and cleaned. Once
airborne contamination is eliminated, the other
vectors of contamination become much easier
to control. (Please consult Chapter 10 for the
Six Vectors of Contamination.)
Most people reading this book will retrofit a
bedroom or walk-in pantry in their home. Large
scale, commercial operations will require a
separate building. In either case, this chapter will
describe the parameters necessary for designing
and building a laboratory. If you are building a
laboratory and pay strict attention to the concepts
outlined herein, contamination will be
* HEPA = High Efficiency ParticulateAirFilters
eliminate particulates down to .3 microns with an
efficiency rating of 99.99%. ULPA (Ultra-Particulate
Air) filters screen out particles down to .1 u m with
99.9999% efficiency.
minimized. Like a musical instrument, the laboratory
must be fine tuned for best results. Once
the lab is up and running, a sterile state of equilibrium
will preside for a short time. Without
proper maintenance, the lab, as we say
"crashes". The laboratory personnel must constantly
clean and stay clean while they work.
Since the laboratory personnel are the greatest
threat to the lab's sterility, they must shoulder the
responsibility for every failure.
The laboratory should be far removed from
the growing rooms, preferably in a separate
building. The air of the laboratory is always
kept free of airborne particulates while the
growing rooms' air becomes saturated with
mushroom spores. The growing rooms are destined
to contaminate. Even the spores of
mushrooms should be viewed as potential contaminants
threatening the laboratory. If both
the laboratory and growing rooms are housed
in the same building, contamination is much
more likely. Since the activities within the
laboratory and growing rooms are distinctly
different, separate buildings are preferred. I
know of several large mushroom farms which
built their spawn laboratory in amidst their
growing rooms. Their ability to generate pure
culture spawn is constantly beingjeopardized
by the contaminants coming from the growing
rooms. Every day, the laboratory manager
faces a nightmarish barrage of contaminants.
A good flow pattern of raw materials
through the laboratory, and of mature cultures
out of the laboratory is essential. Farms with
bad flow patterns must constantly wage war
against seas of contaminants. The concepts are
obvious. The positioning of the growing room
exhaust fans should be oriented so as not to direct
a "spore stream of contaminants" into the
laboratory filtration system. Furthermore, the
design of a mushroom farm's buildings should
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