#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Farming & Gardening In Thailand >  >  Mushroom Farming

## somtamslap

The preliminary stages of 'Operation Fungi' are currently taking place at Casa de Slap - and I'm not talking about tackling the deep-set yeast infection problem which has been plaguing this village for the past five centuries.

Firstly, you buy one cylindrical bag full of what I can only deduce to be saw-dust with some fungal matter buried in the depths of it. 

This will cost you 10 baht.



Then you water said package, place it in an area which is both dark and sheltered from the elements, pull up a chair and wait.

This sort of material is good for the shading process.



After a few hours you are greeted with a healthy blossom of mushrooms...the packets full of saw-dust actually work. The wizoned old wench at the market wasn't lying.



Finally, you purchase another five thousand of these magical cylinders and spend the rest of your days basking in fungal glory.

At 90 baht a kilo, mushrooms thesedays, are the way forward..

----------


## dirtydog

We used to grow them from those bags, had about 100 of them, last about 2 or 3 months, soon got bored of eating mushrooms though  :Sad:

----------


## somtamslap

I don't intend to eat any. I'm gonna sit amidst the old grannies at the local market of a morning and punt them out.

----------


## Carrabow

> I don't intend to eat any. I'm gonna sit amidst the old grannies at the local market of a morning and punt them out.


 
Where do you get the purple ones?  :Smile:

----------


## somtamslap

> Where do you get the purple ones?


 There's a few places in the area as it happens. Buriram is the Koh Pangnan of the North East.

----------


## Carrabow

> Originally Posted by Carrabow
> 
> Where do you get the purple ones?
> 
> 
>  There's a few places in the area as it happens. Buriram is the Koh Pangnan of the North East.


Groovy Man! Groovy  :Smile:

----------


## Albert Shagnasty

Slap,

I do some business with some dudes here that are minted doing what you're just starting. Don't sell to the local market - grow western mushrooms - say champignons - and sell them to the supermarkets.

----------


## somtamslap

^ Ta, Albert. I'll deffo look into that...in fact I'm looking into it now.

----------


## IceSpike

Kept in the Dark and fed Shite All Day!

----------


## klong toey

Let me know when they are ready,will pop round for a pot of mushroom tea.

----------


## baldrick

Was up at Wang Nam Keiw on Thursday and bought some great snacks - little bags with a mix of Mushroom , Garlic and Chilli - they are made into a ball the size of a big marble and tied up with the ubiquitous red rubber band.

saep lie der

----------


## harrybarracuda

Can you grow straw mushrooms in bags? I bloody love them.

----------


## somtamslap

> Can you grow straw mushrooms in bags? I bloody love them.


 I would've thought so, Harry.

You can grow anything in bag, including dildos..

----------


## baldrick

> little bags with a mix of Mushroom , Garlic and Chilli


the offending items - phone number on the label

----------


## Sailing into trouble

Pine Mushrooms, grow wild very sort after in Asia. The going rate this week end is $40-50 a pound. An average walk in the right areas can have you clearing almost $1000 in a day! Cash no tax! Some of the locals have their patches. They cultivate by going out early in the season and trampling the first crop by stamping the m/rooms so that the spores spread and so they come back thicker for Harvest.

----------


## somtamslap

> Originally Posted by baldrick
> 
> little bags with a mix of Mushroom , Garlic and Chilli
> 
> 
> the offending items - phone number on the label


Cheers, Balders.

Sounds like a mushroom version of those 'Naem' satchets you get?

I'm struggling to think of any other by-products that might be made from mushrooms..

----------


## keekwai

I'm waiting for the bee keeping report.

----------


## somtamslap

> I'm waiting for the bee keeping report.


 Give it a week or two for this one to go tits up first.

----------


## MrMax

Here north from Chiang Mai on the King Project they make those bags with spores as well most the time the Lin-Chi type of mushroom
Want to make a small bamboo "house" for raising several types of mushrooms as well on our new homestay  land so we can serve the guests fresh mushrooms

----------


## boloa

What about Shiitake's  Slap  :Smile: 

In Thai they are called hed hom (เห็ดหอม, "fragrant mushroom")

Then you could dry them and sell them in the Dry Season at a higher price   :Fingersx: 

*Step 1* 

  Wash your shiitake's in a colander under cool running water so that any dirt including insect remnants and other contaminants are removed.


*Step 2* 

 Slice your shiitake's into thin uniform strips. Slicing the shiitake's will help in drying them faster and evenly. Also, slicing ensures easy usage of these ingredients in your recipe.


*Step 3*

Make a strong saline solution with plain water and salt and then immerse the sliced shiitake's in it.  This will kill the insects and remove the dirt stuck between the gills of the shiitake's. Pat them dry with paper towels.

* Step 4* 

Now you can dry the shiitake's by either using a dehydrator , by air drying ,oven drying them or even drying them with a fan  :shtf: 


Sounds like a shiitake to me but you can read more here  :Biggthumpup:

----------


## Hampsha

As simple as this seems, it seems to simple for me. I'm sure I'd just get a bag of wet sawdust in the end. Somtam well done. I'm still interested in the magical ones. Do they grow in the wild up in Esarn. I'm not to far from you, just over the border in Surin.

----------


## boloa

> Do they grow in the wild up in Esarn. I'm not to far from you, just over the border in Surin.


I live in Surin and my wife goes Mushrooming ,not for the magic ones though ,just ones to eat.You do get the magic ones up here though ,they call the 'Het kee Kwai".The wifes says they have an old lady who knows which ones are OK to eat and which ones too not eat ( the ones that make you see pink elephants )  :Smile: 
This is an interesting read ,its a PDF file,Thailand is page 27 +.... 
http://www.erowid.org/library/books_..._countries.pdf

----------


## Carrabow

> As simple as this seems, it seems to simple for me. I'm sure I'd just get a bag of wet sawdust in the end. Somtam well done. I'm still interested in the magical ones. Do they grow in the wild up in Esarn. I'm not to far from you, just over the border in Surin.


 Do you know where the big forest is just west of Rattanaburi on the south side of the road? They are all over in them woods  :Yikes:

----------


## Hampsha

My wife goes mushrooming on occasion,too. I just never asked about the strange ones. I'd guess she goes into that area you are writing about Carrabow. When I get back home, I'll have to ask her about this. I'll remember that 'Het Kee kwai' Thanks Boloa.

----------


## Carrabow

> My wife goes mushrooming on occasion,too. I just never asked about the strange ones. I'd guess she goes into that area you are writing about Carrabow. When I get back home, I'll have to ask her about this. I'll remember that 'Het Kee kwai' Thanks Boloa.


I thought it was Hed Kee Kwai

----------


## somtamslap

> I thought it was *Hed* Kee Kwai


As phonetically correct as you'll get - เห็ด

----------


## Carrabow

> Originally Posted by Carrabow
> 
> I thought it was *Hed* Kee Kwai
> 
> 
> As phonetically correct as you'll get - เห็ด


I try not to speak the native language, I have been informed that on several occasions I butcher it. Pantomiming is the preferred choice  :Smile:

----------


## Jeremia

> At 90 baht a kilo, mushrooms thesedays, are the way forward..


I would love to know who you sell to at that rate. Selling price for us is 45 to 48 per kilo..Unless you are talking about selling direct at the market in which case you have overheads and wastage of unsold goods...and you aint gonna sell all you produce..

We have 6 huts each with 2 entrances and each entrance has 3000 "Bottles"..Everything is empty now but we have had 4 huts on the go in the past..We have the oven for sterilisation and make our own from scratch..apart from the spore which our neighbour produces..

For sure it aint a money maker but I look on it as something to keep me busy and pay for food and electricity for the family..leaving my savings in the bank..

I shall be home in a month and will start everything up again...Once the water level has subsided!!




A couple of other things...

I have been on Ch 5 showing off our mushrooms and am known at the Immigration centre as Farang tamnan het...and I am sure they are looking forward to my one year visa renewal "house visit" as they go away with a bag of fresh mushrooms!

----------


## somtamslap

> Unless you are talking about selling direct at the market


 That's just the plan and the price tends to fluctuate between 60 and 90.

Very interesting post.

How big are your huts and what materials did you use to construct them?

----------


## Jeremia

> Originally Posted by Jeremia
> 
> Unless you are talking about selling direct at the market
> 
> 
>  That's just the plan and the price tends to fluctuate between 60 and 90.
> 
> Very interesting post.
> 
> How big are your huts and what materials did you use to construct them?


Wooden supports with the same black plastic in your pic...which is green but I think you get my meaning..

How big? Imagine 1500 of your bottles stacked to shoulder height and that is how big they are..I will try to dig some pics out tomorrow for you..

----------


## Jeremia

[quote=Jeremia;1896691]


> I will try to dig some pics out tomorrow for you..


Yer Tiz...Um..Yer Tiznot..I can't post attachments... ::chitown::

----------


## somtamslap

Try this, Jeremiah

https://teakdoor.com/how-to-use-stuff...a-picture.html

----------


## Carrabow

> Try this, Jeremiah
> 
> https://teakdoor.com/how-to-use-stuff...a-picture.html


It is a pain in the butt, you would think they could improve the software  :mid:

----------


## Jeremia

> Try this, Jeremiah
> 
> https://teakdoor.com/how-to-use-stuff...a-picture.html


Sorry mate my brain switched off mid way through the first line....

----------


## alwarner

have you already got the pics hosted online?

----------


## Jeremia

> have you already got the pics hosted online?


They are in a little brown folder on my PC entitled "picture of Mushrooms".....and that just about sums up my knowledge of PCs...

----------


## ootai

Two years ago the missus grew some mushrooms and while it would not make anyone rich, it certainly didnt lose her any money. Before she moved back to Thailand she was successfully running a business we had in Australia so I am sure she understands how to determine whether it makes a loss or not. She kept records and in total spent about B40,000 to build a shed, buy the spores etc. She had 4000 of the spore containers and paid B8 for each one. They produced mushrooms OK but didnt last as long as she expected only 3 months instead of 5. However they produced just over 1200kgs of mushrooms. The best single days harvest was 220kgs.

She had organized a market for all she could grow and then some, so she would buy from a few others in the area and then usually every second day drive a load (anywhere from 200 to 400kgs) down to her customer. She bought at B40 per kilo and sold at B55 per kilo. The B15 per kilo she made on other people's mushrooms was usually enough to pay for the cost of fuel and the running costs of the pickup and it meant that we got B55 a kilo for our mushrooms.

Therefore she made around B25000 in the 3 months (at B55/kg) or B8000 (at B40/kg) and repaid the cost of building the shed. She didnt grow any last year but is setting up to grow some this year. She was lucky, I suppose, in that she was the only one who had a car and a licence so she was able to be the middleman as well as the grower.

As for environment she was told to try and keep the temperature down below 30 degrees C and the keep the interior as humid as possible. When I was there for a few weeks on holiday I set up some mist sprays which we could connect to the bore pump, seemed to work OK.

Anyway heres a few pictures of the enterprise.











Sorry to thosde with slow interent connections as I thought I had made the pictures a bit smaller than they are. Been a while since I posted anything.

----------


## somtamslap

Great post and pics..thanks very much for the info!

----------


## Jeremia

> Great post and pics..thanks very much for the info!


Totally agree...the pic of the inside of the shed is the same as mine.

Bottles stacked either side gives about 3,000. Two entrances gives 6,000 per hut. 4 huts on the go gives 24,000 of the buggers but in different stages of production. Plus another 2 sheds worth on shelves outside that have the spore just put in...

Good idea with the sprinklers...we do it by hand twice a day.

----------


## somtamslap

Got 1000 of these now - just testing the water. If they continue to produce they way they currently are for another month or so, I'll quit my job at the nuclear power plant and become a full time mushroom guy..

----------


## Rural Surin

Good on ya, Slap!

Hoping this isn't yet another novelty project, but a serious vocation.

Glad to see other Farang-types venture out into the steamy side of horticule....

----------


## withnallstoke

Good luck with this slapper.
A bit more civilised than jungle chopping.

----------


## Albert Shagnasty

> Got 1000 of these now - just testing the water. If they continue to produce they way they currently are for another month or so, I'll quit my job at the nuclear power plant and become a full time mushroom guy..


Onwards and upwards pal.. onward and upwards  :Smile:

----------


## somtamslap

> A bit more civilised than jungle chopping.


 But not as much fun.






> Onwards and upwards pal.. onward and upwards


 This time next year, Rodney...

----------


## ootai

somtamslap
Good luck for your future enterprise, hope you have a market for the produce or are they grown for home use?

the missus, or rather the MIL has started growing some again. Of course we are the financiers of first and last resort, but that's OK I don't mind helping(or giving to) her as she is a marvellous woman.
Anyway 4000 "bottles" at 7B each (don't know what else to call the containers) were purchased and stacked in the shed. A few days later they harvested 180kgs but since then, about 9 days now they have had very little. A few kilios here and there which have been sold around the village. She (the MIL) is now getting worried that she ended up with a dud batch, the missus reckons she is stressing out about how she is going get enough to repay us.
Anyway here's a few pictures.

----------


## withnallstoke

> She (the MIL) is now getting worried that she ended up with a dud batch,


Take them back to the suppliers.
The bags are covered in fungi.

----------


## alwarner

How many times will each bottle deliver a crop?

----------


## somtamslap

^ Each pot is supposed to have a three month life-span.

----------


## Hunter28

Please don't even try thinking growing mushrooms.
Reasons: 
1. your intended area is too less to do anything economically viable.
2. Marketing of mushrooms is a big, big headache.
3. It requires lots of time and dedication.

But still if you need proper and authentic information/ training please get into touch with MITCON people. They run short term courses also.

Best of luck if you decided to do the same.

----------


## alwarner

> ^ Each pot is supposed to have a three month life-span.


And how frequently do they grow mushrooms?

----------


## somtamslap

> And how frequently do they grow mushrooms?


 Consecutively. Once they've been harvested you clean the opening thoroughly and they start growing again pretty much immediately.

----------


## alwarner

i might have these figures wrong like, but I think someone said they got 180kg from 4000 bottles, so you're looking at 45kg a go from 1000 (roughly) with a minimum selling price of 60b per kg that's 2700b.

How long would 3 - 4 cycles take to perform?

----------


## somtamslap

> How long would 3 - 4 cycles take to perform?


 Still new at this mate but they seem to grow fucking rapido..

----------


## alwarner

I've been thinking about having a bash at this and the crickets.  It's fucking boring here and even when I'm doing a bit it's all in the afternoons and evenings.  It's difficult keeping off the ale with nothing to do. Will wait to see how you get on!!  :Smile:

----------


## somtamslap

^somtamslap, street name 'The Guinea Pig"

----------


## alwarner

ha ha! I think i'll have a bash at the crickets first then, I'll go guinea pig for that.

get my visa run out the way and I'll give it a bash.

----------


## somtamslap

> I think i'll have a bash at the crickets first then


 Not heard you talk about that - what's the go?

----------


## alwarner

Looks very low cost: https://teakdoor.com/farming-and-gard...t-farming.html (Thailand : Cricket farming)

----------


## forreachingme

Takes quite a volume to make a kilo, then a kilo is not much worse, specially in Thailand, mushrooms are cheap ! 

I know of 2 foreigners that failed in this venture, in the Korat area.

One converted is saw dust from past carpentry to mushrooming in his 1 rai big covered factory...
He was not that well setup as seen on this thread and had only bags on the floor not multi storey as in the shed !
He had about 10 employes to wait for the mushroom to pop out, then deliver those few kg, 6 to 12 kd daily, far away. I made a quick calculation and warned him that it goes on loss, well he liked loosing apparently...That multi level system with 10 x output could eventually have worked.

We get daily a few next fresh mushies next to one big palm tree in our garden, they are quite good.

Could be a good business in Phils as it is really difficult to find fresh mushies over here... There is a farm that grows tree bark mushroom as we have on our palm tree not far way from our place, tourist spot, they sale Mushy Burgers and are quite sucessfull !

Remembers me of my late father that wanted make a Mushroom world chain, some 25 years back, to have suppliers all over the world for rich markets to receive always fresh any time of the year... But i guess in US or Europe the mushies are now available round the year, fresh...

----------


## forreachingme

I guess key for you growers shall be how to get new spores for new bags, to be self generating the whole cycle...

Good luck and keep us posted, love to see this ventures...

oooh got a few truffles few month ago here in Phils quite good black ones from the mountain, but had no idea how to freight this to Europe where it goes from the 200 pesos a Kg here to eventually 100'000 Pesos a kilo there...

----------


## ootai

please bear with me as I am trying to respond to a whole pile of post with this one and I don't know how to use mutiple quotes. 

*Somtamslap said:*
Each pot is supposed to have a three month life-span.
_The missuss first lot 2years ago lasted about 3 months but she was told they would produce for up to 5 months_

*Hunter28 said:*
Please don't even try thinking growing mushrooms.
Reasons: 
1. your intended area is too less to do anything economically viable.
2. Marketing of mushrooms is a big, big headache.
3. It requires lots of time and dedication.
_Whether anything is too small is in the eyes of the beholder(ask my missus), if you want to get rich on mushrooms think again no matter how much space you have due to point number 2. As for point 3 that is true no matter what you do!_

*Alwarner said:*
And how frequently do they grow mushrooms? 
_Do you mean the Thais or the pots?__If the pots then see Somtamslaps answer below_ 

*Somtamslap answered:*
Consecutively. Once they've been harvested you clean the opening thoroughly and they start growing again pretty much immediately.

*Alwarner asked:* _Full of questions isnt he? Which is good because thats what this forum is about dumb farangs helping other dumb farangs_
i might have these figures wrong like, but I think someone said they got 180kg from 4000 bottles, so you're looking at 45kg a go from 1000 (roughly) with a minimum selling price of 60b per kg that's 2700b.
_we sold them for 40B/kg she was not happy as that was the price 2 years ago. Our customer did drive up and pick them up though._
How long would 3 - 4 cycles take to perform?
_See somtomslaps answer above, however they dont all produce evenly so every morning was a surprise as to how she would get that day. As I said in an earlier post she had 4000 pots before and they produced about1250kg over the 3 months she harvested them. After that they produced virtually f all. So each produced on average produced 312.5 grams which at 40B/kg gives a return of 12.5B. Each pot costs 7B._

*Somtamslaps answer:*
Still new at this mate but they seem to grow fucking rapido..
_Couldnt have explained it better._

*Alwarner (again!!)*
I've been thinking about having a bash at this and the crickets.
_She took me to have a look at a cricket farm, very interesting. She was going to set one up but so far shes too busy doing other shit._

*Forreachingme: (a doom and gloomer?)*
I know of 2 foreigners that failed in this venture, in the Korat area.
and:
I guess key for you growers shall be how to get new spores for new bags, to be self generating the whole cycle...

_Depends on how you define failed if it keeps people busy then it may be a success in some eyes._
_The new pots are purchased(7b/pot) as it requires a good setup as things need to be kept sterile. If not they wont produce much after the first bloom which is why she thinks this batch may be badas it is taking too long to get the next large harvest._

----------


## alwarner

^ good post, thank you.  I did have the figures wrong.

----------


## Albert Shagnasty

> Please don't even try thinking growing mushrooms.


Rule No#1

Never EVER listen to the competition.

----------


## somtamslap

^ I didn't, Albert..twas a bunch of unfounded dogshit..

----------


## somtamslap

I'll stick some pics up in a bit..bought another two thousand today. 'He who dares, Rodney'.

----------


## Albert Shagnasty

^ damn fookin right bro

----------


## withnallstoke

> 'He who dares,


Given the game away there slapper.
Now everyone knows you're ex SAS.

----------


## somtamslap

> Now everyone knows you're ex SAS.


 Remember the Iranian Embassy siege?  I was the bloke who kicked the facking window in. I regale the story on an eveningly basis at the local shop - the lads lap it up.

----------


## Ghost who Walks

> Originally Posted by Hampsha
> 
> 
> My wife goes mushrooming on occasion,too. I just never asked about the strange ones. I'd guess she goes into that area you are writing about Carrabow. When I get back home, I'll have to ask her about this. I'll remember that 'Het Kee kwai' Thanks Boloa.
> 
> 
> I thought it was Hed Kee Kwai


Bit pedantic,,,  Hed---- Het--- who cares ?? :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

----------


## BigRed

> if you need proper and authentic information/ training please get into touch with MITCON people.


How and where? I haven't heard of MITCON and googling didn't throw a lot up.

----------


## OhOh

> Given the game away there slapper.
> Now everyone knows you're ex SAS.


He told me he was still "active", beware. He even showed me is "scars"

----------


## Jeremia

> I'll stick some pics up in a bit..bought another two thousand today. 'He who dares, Rodney'.


How much did you pay for the 2,000 new bottles and had the spore already started to react.... i.e. had they started to go white..?

----------


## somtamslap

^ Six baht a bottle for that amount, anything smaller is usually seven..yes they were just about ready to blow when we bought them.

----------


## Rural Surin

> Originally Posted by Hunter28
> 
> 
> Please don't even try thinking growing mushrooms.
> 
> 
> Rule No#1
> 
> Never EVER listen to the competition.


Yep.
They'll do you wrong every time.. ::chitown::

----------


## Carrabow

> Originally Posted by Carrabow
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Originally Posted by Hampsha
> ...


It was for educational purposes, I am learning to speak monkey  :Smile:

----------


## alwarner

^been away mate?  havent seen you post for a bit.

----------


## Carrabow

I found some mushrooms in the forest near the house, ate too many and went on a trip for 2 weeks  :Smile:

----------


## alwarner

ha ha mushrooms are ace.

----------


## Carrabow

> ha ha mushrooms are ace.


Groovy man, groovy  :Smile:

----------


## afraidcrrazy

Very nice information shared

----------


## NanThaiGuy

Newbie here.  In the process of setting up my new market garden project growing organic veggies and fruit for self-sufficiency ish in Nan.  Can anyone please tell me where I can buy these charged mushroom bottles/bags in the North.  In Nan most of the mushrooms are Oyster type - which are OK if young - but I want to try chestnut mushrooms and other varieties if possible.  Any info appreciated - fully expecting to have to collect in CM province.

----------

