Choosing Ready to Fruit vs Making Your Own Blocks
When thinking about growing mushrooms indoors, it is important to know that most enterprises do not do the entire process of cultivation in-house. Depending on the mission and goals of a cultivator, the involvement in each of these processes may change over time.
There is not just one way to grow mushrooms, nor the perfect place (usually) to do them. A successful grow requires that the environmental conditions are maintained to a level that is achievable and reliable, along with matching the mushroom species, strains, and substrates to perform well in this environment. The environment largely depends on the grower’s climate, location, seasonal temperature variation, and integrity of the building in terms of insulation to buffer temperature swings.
In addition to the environmental conditions, the flow of work and the tasks a grower chooses to do “in house” can have a major effect on the outcome. One of the larger junctions in the many decisions a grower needs to make is: will I produce my own blocks on site or buy them in?
The answer to this question may change over time, and it could be both. For instance, a grower might start with buying in blocks while getting a handle on production protocols. Or, one might buy in blocks to try a new species for markets or to see if their environment supports it to grow well before committing to making the blocks on site.
Before we consider the pros and cons of this important decision, let’s define what a “block” is. In the mushroom production life cycle, there are three important steps:
1) Spawn production from mushroom cultures (liquid, petri dish, live or dried specimen); this is where a culture is grown out initially on grain or sawdust. No mushrooms are produced from this material, rather it is used to inoculate other materials. Must be done with skilled techniques and in a sterile space.
2) Block production from spawn (above) that is inoculated into a mixture of substrate (sawdust, straw, coffee grounds, grain hulls, etc) with the goal of that block or bag fruiting mushrooms. These are typically done in 5 pound or 10 pound blocks - but some growers also use other containers, such as growing oysters on straw in five gallon buckets.
Blocks can either be purchased from a supplier and then put into a fruiting space
OR
Blocks can be inoculated onsite, after the substrate is cleaned of contaminants, and then incubated (for most species, 3 - 4 weeks) before being put into the fruiting space.
3) Fruiting and sales or other distribution of the mushrooms.
For more on these various sectors of the industry, read more about these industry sectors.
The focus in this article is on the block portion of production, with the assumption that the reader is considering fruiting mushrooms indoors from blocks and is considering whether to make their own blocks or buy them in.
Let’s first consider some of the pros and cons of each approach, as neither is “right” in all situations but given the farm context one might be more favorable:
A summary of the above might read:
Buying in blocks reduces labor and infrastructure while increasing the need for cash flow, shipping cost and logistics, and relying on a supplier and any issues they may have.
Making your own blocks will increase labor and infrastructure costs but allow you control over substrate materials, timing, logistics, and the ability to reduce your cost per block over time.
Considering these factors, let's look at grower scenarios from our research to see how these decisions can play out.
