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Here I would love to share with you our travels and adventures as international mushroom consultants. MEMOIRS about husband Pieter Vedder, who was a SCIENTIFIC PIONEER in Mushroom Cultivation Education. His practical handbook is in 9 languages and is called the MUSHROOM BIBLE: https://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/2020/08/modern-mushroom-growing-2020-harvesting.html

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

How HOT it was

Dutch CHAMPIGNONCULTUUR 1964-7
A writing by husband Pieter at the BEGINNING of mushroom growing.
Nowadays, almost every mushroom farm has complete airconditioning. 
You sure will understand WHY, when reading these struggles for survival back then!
Vaguely you can read to the right; mush room...
How hot it was

For many mushroom growers, the warm weather of the past period has caused quite a bit of damage. The extent of this damage was illustrated by the greatly reduced supply of mushrooms at the auctions.
At eight auctions e.g. the total average weekly supply in the month of June and the first weeks of July was around 50,000 kg. In the week from 20 to 27 August, that supply suddenly dropped to about 27,000 kg. In the following week, the supply increased again to about 42,000 kg.
A damage of many thousands of kilograms. The strange thing, however, is that there were also a number of growers who have experienced much less or even hardly any disadvantage from the heat. We therefore thought it would be good to take stock of the last summer period to see if there is anything to learn from.
One thing has become clear, namely that most buds have not died due to excessive temperature, but above all because of too high CO₂ levels of growing room air; in combination with a too high temperature. One cannot be separated from the other; when the temperature in the growing room rises, the mushroom mycelium will grow faster. An enlarged activity of the mycelium means that more carbon dioxide is formed and the temperature in the beds increases. This higher bed temperature stimulates the activity of the mycelium again and thus we enter a spiral where one unfavorable factor evokes or strengthens the other.
If the temperature outside is soaring, a mushroom grower can do two things. He can ventilate at night with cooler outdoor air and keep the rooms closed during the day and circulate only to shut out the heat. This means that the room temperature may remain several degrees lower, but it also means that there is no ventilation during almost the entire day. This is despite the fact that CO₂ production, due to the always high temperature, is extra large.
Growers who act in this way often saw that the mushrooms, despite a slightly lower room temperature, still died off, due to lack of ventilation. It has yet to be said that there are also growers who cannot circulate during the day because they do not have air mixers.
A second possibility is; ventilate as much as possible at night (we saw a fan in each doorway) and only at the hottest hours of the day limit ventilation, but keep circulating. Although the temperature in the rooms may be several degrees higher in this course of action than in the first case, the damage is much lower.
In other words, a temperature of e.g. 20ºC in a sufficient ventilation seems to do less damage than 18ºC with insufficient ventilation, i.e. too high CO₂ levels.
The effects of high temperature and insufficient ventilation further seem to be greater when compost and casing are rather on the wet side. Fortunately, 'Ottersum' delivered the compost a little drier in the past period and at this point there were no problems. As far as the casing material is concerned, it turned out to be good in general, and especially between breaks, 
to water a little less, especially after the third break.
The dehydration that occurs when ventilated at night with a fan in each doorway, of course should  be compensated with a little extra watering.
For the first time, and therefore more or less experimentally, a cooler has been installed by some growers in order to keep the room temperature sufficiently low. The first experiences seem to be good. In addition to the lower room temperature, the more or less dehumidifying of the air (which occurs automatically when air is cooled to a certain temperature) appears to work favorably. Some claim that the mushrooms on the beds turn black when the temperature of the inlet air is too low. Furthermore, there is little experience with this matter. The Experimental Station also has such a refrigeration device; As soon as we have gained some more experience, we will come back to this.
Some growers kept the roof on the mushroom farm constantly wet during the warmest days by means of a sprinkler system. Thus it proved possible to keep the temperature in the growing rooms several degrees lower. One can imagine this; such a large roof surface captures a mass of radiation heat and although the ceilings should be extra well insulated, the temperature in the space above the ceiling will certainly affect the cell temperature.
There was also a palpable difference in temperature of growing room exterior walls that were in direct solar radiation as opposed to room walls in the shadow of trees. Also, there is noticeable difference in temperature between normal and whitewashed mushroom farm walls. A dark color of the outer walls causes the heat rays to be absorbed.
We even heard from a grower who had the plan to chalk up the roof of the mushroom farm as market gardeners do with their greenhouses.
We can imagine that it matters a few degrees.
When the warning message of the K.N.M.I. in De Bilt (Dutch weather station) is being announced over the radio next year, we could, based on this year's experience, do the following:
At night and especially in the cool morning hours (this is from 3 to 5 AM) ventilate as wide as possible with everything open. Fans placed in the doorways can promote the flow of cool air. The flow seems to be better when the air mixers in the rooms are stopped.
During the day, limit ventilation, but do not completely close the rooms so that some ventilation remains possible. During the day, the air mixers keep running constantly.
In general, and especially between breaks, give slightly less water. Especially also make sure that the compost is not too wet after pasteurization, better even something on the drier side.
You may be able to do one or more of the things mentioned, whitening the mushroom farm, keeping the roof wet or chalking it.
Soon it will be time to look out for an ascending planting, e.g. of Italian poplars, on the sun side of the mushroom farm.
P.J.C. Vedder

Thanks for your visit and comment!

22 comments:

  1. Liebe Mariette,
    sehr gut!
    Alles Liebe
    Elisabeth

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Liebe Elisabeth,
      Ja, so wird man besser verstehen wie die Pilze sich fühlen!
      Lieber Gruß,
      Mariette

      Delete
  2. Molto dipende dal tempo per i funghi!Buona giornata OLga

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cara Olga,
      Sì tutto dipende dal tempo che il uomo crea per i funghi!
      Un abbraccio,
      Mariette

      Delete
  3. Li capisco i funghi, anche io non sopporto questo caldo africano.
    Buona giornata.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Caro Giancarlo,
      Ma gli umani spesso creano l'ambiente per i funghi e li lasciano soffrire...
      Abbracci,
      Mariette

      Delete
  4. Hello Mariette, I find it surprising that people will grow mushrooms on a commercial scale, knowing that they are one of the most exacting of plants, and then refuse to supply the mushroom's special growing conditions. Especially when so much expert advice is available. I'll bet that after their crops failed, these growers blamed the weather as the sole factor, or their bad luck in general.
    --Jim

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dearest Jim,
      You are so right in your observation. A lot of so-called growers still think that growing mushroom is more like the 'industry', turning out huge volumes with modern equipment. They forget that still they need to fully understand the life cycle of a mushroom, its optimum range and create that. For that they must be in the growing rooms, checking and correcting ahead of disaster. That's the only way to keep a mushroom happy and that shows in good piece weight and broad stems and high quality with market value. Jim, both of us could fill an entire book with 'excuses' used in defense of a crop failure on commercial mushroom farms worldwide and that in seven languages!
      Hugs,
      Mariette

      Delete
  5. Buena información sobre su cultivo. Resulta delicioso, acompañado a otros alimentos.

    Besos

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Querida Antónia,
      Sí, hay un mercado de setas de buena calidad que son firmes y con buen peso de pieza. Pero las personas a menudo se vuelven perezosas en el suministro de los alimentos y el agua, en el que los alimentos se vuelven solubles para su transporte desde el sustrato a los cuerpos frutales.
      Abrazos,
      Mariette

      Delete
  6. Well that was so interesting Mariette! Living in a country that gets extremely hot in summer as I do, the cooling method for mushrooms is very similar to the ways we keep cool, re the opening everything up in the early morning hours to let in the cool air and closing up as the heat gets stronger 😊

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dearest Grace,
      Thank you and yes, using common sense one can real easy understand how any living organism reacts to the environmental changes.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

      Delete
  7. Hello dear Mariette !
    Pieter’s sketches are admirable so as his article’s too, in the magazines!
    Thank you for sharing! Have a lovely day! Stay safe! Hugs!
    Dimi...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dearest Dimi,
      Thank you and yes, Pieter always has been a very passionate teacher and writer who was gifted in transferring knowledge in the best possible way.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

      Delete
  8. I am very grateful to the things I learn about Mushrooms from caring to the market through you dear Mariette. I learn a lot from you about them and much more, learned now how sensitive they are to changing weather and extremes. I hope the weather will be better soon out there in the US. My boss in Rhode Island told me it's been a week of very hot weather there and they all pray for rain I am with you all in better weather wishes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dearest Stevenson,
      Thank you and yes, at times we all can learn and we do so till we die.
      All living organisms are sensitive to the environment and water is crucial for life.
      Farmers that face extended drought often live through stressful times and might lose part of their crop and income because of it.
      We all ought to remember that, when we eat our next meal. It is not always easy to produce.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

      Delete
  9. It's a struggle for survival indeed! You have to take various and delicate measures to control temperature. Air conditioner must have made a big improvement, but I bet you can't forget delicate approach and need to keep improving.

    Have a wonderful day, Mariette!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dearest Tamago,
      It always is quite a struggle for the little pinheads, growing up in their own microclimate. It a grower does not understand what they need for survival, a lot of them will die. Most important is to remove the too high CO₂ concentrations by enough circulation. All this needs to be understood for doing a good job and making profit.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

      Delete
  10. I wouldn't mind if it cooled off a little. It has been so hot. The kids don't want to play outside and our pool is still closed. Though we did take them to the aquatic center here in town. Sorry you weren't able to find toilet paper at Costco. It is a hit or miss these days. I couldn't find any corn at Costco. So weird! Anyway, hope you get your book situation straightened out soon. Frustrating.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dearest Kelleyn,
      Well, here we do have a bit of relieve as it is windy and cloudy with rain and thunder in the forecast every day.
      It is so tough on kids during this crazy time, pool closed is like torture to them.
      We found the toilet paper but not the paper towels! But I've just ordered them on line. It said only 1 per customer... what a strange world indeed. So many restrictions all around us.
      Yes, self publishing is quite a challenge and you still depend on others. Not yet there, still waiting on them...
      One day, that too will be over with.
      Safe travel to your Winston!
      Hugs,
      Mariette

      Delete
  11. Dearest Mariette, it is so hot in Athens today, and while I was reading Pieter's paper, I was feeling like a badly treated mushroom needing an extra cooling! Thank you so much for all this very interesting information about the mushroom culture!
    I wish you a happy month of August!!! Keep safe!
    Many hugs!
    Marie-Anne

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dearest Marie-Anne,
      Yes, we're still in the heat of summer here as well.
      Enjoy your August month with family and stay 'cool' and well!
      Hugs,
      Mariette

      Delete

Thanks for your visit and comment.

Mariette...

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MARIETTE'S BACK TO BASICS © 2009. All rights reserved - Text and images may not be copied for distribution or sale.

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