How many oyster mushrooms can you really get from one mushroom block?
I met on the Internet promises of 100% yield.
Therefore, some seriously believe that 10 kilograms of mushrooms will be harvested from a 10 kilogram bag.
On other sites it is written that with two waves about 25% of the mass of the substrate is obtained. There is also the expression “mushroom yield 25%”
This means that in two waves, in two months from the beginning of the development of the block, you will collect 2.5 kg of mushrooms from a standard ten-kilogram block.
And this is a real number.
Why is there a difference in the definition of yield?
Only because when they say about 100% yield, they mean the taken dry vegetable raw materials, with a moisture content of 0%.
Let’s calculate: if we have a 10-kilogram bag and its moisture content is 72%, then the water in it is 7.2 kg, the mycelium is 300 grams, and the rest – 2.5 kg – is dry plant material.
Therefore, having picked two and a half kg of mushrooms, we have a 25% yield from the weight of the substrate and at the same time we get a 100% return. That is, we took 2.5 kg of DRY vegetable raw materials – we got 2.5 kilograms of oyster mushrooms.
However, in most cases, for ease of calculation, they talk about the yield as a percentage of the mass of the substrate block.
Thus, both expressions will be correct if after the words “100% return per block” add “in terms of dry matter.”
It is also necessary to understand that growing mushrooms take food from the substrate for their growth, and after the third wave, the yield drops sharply.
Blocks are thrown out after the second wave. Because it is not cost-effective to maintain a microclimate for the sake of a small amount of mushrooms. There are strains of oyster mushrooms that are cost-effective to grow in one wave in industrial production.
How many mushrooms can be collected from 1 kg of mycelium
This is the question newbies ask. Experienced mushroom growers understand how many factors play a role here and it is difficult to answer this question.
But I’ll try.
On average, 1 kg of mycelium is placed in three bags of 11 kg of weight.
If you follow all the conditions of the microclimate, instead of waving a wet broom over mushrooms for moisture, from the first wave you can get 17-20% of the weight of the block. Or 1.9-2.2 kg of mushrooms from each bag.
If the bags are placed in a damp basement with the simplest ventilation, at a temperature of at least 11 and not more than 18C, you will get from 1.3 to 1.8 kg.
Will the yield of oyster mushrooms increase if more mycelium is put into the block?
The amount of oyster mushroom mycelium affects the rate of its growth, the block becomes white faster.
Primordia leaves a couple of days earlier. But the yield will not increase.
You can increase productivity with a dose of mycelium quite a bit, but only if you have a poor substrate.
For example, straw grown in a dry year, when mycelium is added in an amount of 7%, will give you not 10% of mushrooms, but 11.5-12%.
This straw is so low in nutrients that adding more of the mycelium’s grain base works like a food store.
And here you have to consider – will such an increase in yield give you profit? After all, the mycelium itself is quite expensive.
If the substrate composition is balanced, then the increase in mycelium will only cause the appearance of primordia a couple of days earlier, and will not affect the yield of oyster mushrooms.
The yield of oyster mushrooms (yield of mushrooms) is affected by:
- availability of properly calculated ventilation. About ventilation.
- maintaining an optimal moisture regime in the growing chamber (85-89% depending on the strain and temperature)
- cultivation in temperature regimes optimal for this strain.
- The stuffing density of mushroom bags affects the yield indirectly. At low density, hyphae cannot transfer nutrients, and moisture evaporates at an increased rate. Therefore, the first wave will be simultaneous and with high returns, but the second wave will not form.
If the substrate is too densely packed, gas exchange is disturbed in it, areas appear that are not overgrown with mycelium. It is also very likely to develop mold and bacterial lesions. In this regard, the weight and quality of mushroom clusters is low.
How many kilograms of oyster mushrooms can be obtained from a certain area of the growing room
Knowing the answer to this question, you will roughly calculate the profitability of growing.
Oyster mushroom yield per square meter
I made a table that shows the consumption of mycelium, raw materials (sunflower husks or straw), electricity for mushroom production, depending on the area of the mushroom room.
It also contains information about the output of products in different areas of rooms with different productivity – from 14 to 25%.
Using this data, you can calculate the yield of mushrooms per square meter.
To understand how profitable it is to engage in this business, I recommend taking the lowest productivity in this table, namely 14%.
Electricity is calculated only for the distillation room itself – fans, humidification, light.
Without steaming raw materials and heating costs.
When viewing on mobile, rotate the screen.
|
Growing chamber, sq.m. |
Required per month: | Average yield of oyster mushroom per month, kg from two waves |
||||||
|
Mycelium, |
Raw materials, kg (husk or straw) | Electricity, kV per month |
14% | 16% | 19% | 22% | 25% | |
| 20 | 65 | 600-650 | 80-90 | 200 | 230 | 270 | 320 | 370 |
| 25 | 75 | 800-900 | 85-110 | 330 | 380 | 450 | 440 | 500 |
| 35 | 100 | 1200-1350 | 200-250 | 450 | 540 | 660 | 770 | 875 |
| 50 | 150 | 1700-1900 | 350-400 | 720 | 825 | 980 | 1130 | 1300 |
How to increase the yield of mushrooms
There are two ways to increase the yield of oyster mushrooms:
- raising the nutritional value of the plant mixture with hay or legume grass straw, more on this;
If you are very lucky and there are cotton products in your area, the yield on this substrate is very high. Many mushroom growers in Turkey, for example, harvest 27-30% of oyster mushrooms in one wave and discard the substrate. - adjust the operation of microclimate systems in such a way as to avoid drying, wetting, condensation, and, as a result, the death of primordia and young mushrooms. The fewer mushroom clusters die, the more productive your work will be.
Read about the optimal microclimate.
How to reanimate old mushroom blocks
Soaking dry spent substrate will not revive mycelium fruiting. If the mushroom blocks are dense and heavy, you will be able to harvest a small crop of oyster mushrooms. How?
Read the article What to do with waste bags.