GROWING GOURMET - Anto2ni.it

APPENDIX III
The Growing Room:
An Environment for
Mushroom Formation &
Development
T
he first attempts at growing mushrooms indoors were in caves
in France late in the 18th century. They provided an ideal environment
for the Button Mushroom (probably Agaricus brunnescens):
constant, cool temperature and high humidity. To this day, cave culture
for the button mushroom is still widely practiced. One of the largest
mushroom farms in the world utilizes an extensive network of caves in
Butler County, Pennsylvania. Cave culture has one major drawback for
gourmet mushroom production: darkness.
The Button mushroom does not require, nor is it sensitive to light. In
contrast, all the mushrooms described in this book are phototropic. This
major difference—the need for light—presents a financial obstacle to
the retrofitting of Button mushroom farms into gourmet mushroom
production facilities. Many gourmet mushroom farms must build cus-
tomized growing rooms. But, in many cases, other types of structures
can be retrofitted for commercial production. Here are some examples:
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