Visiting Dutch Mushroom Grower in Marl Cave

Being the Founder/Principal of the Practical Training College, my then boss, now husband Pieter, did take all of us in September of 1970 to the ONLY existing Mushroom Growing Marl Cave.

That was in the deep south of The Netherlands, in Maastricht the capital city of my Province Limburg.

Here we are inside the Marl Cave, of Mount Saint Peter, studying the mushrooms on those ridge beds ― on the floor!

Just imagine, what a toilfully labor it must have been for growing mushrooms inside a cave...

To the left, only her leg is visible, was a 2nd cousin, then 2nd from the left in the red lacquer coat its me... My sister Diny is standing with her face towards the ridge beds. Pieter is next to her and writing on the wall is my late 2nd cousin... Some other colleagues and the gentleman to the right in the back was our guide. 

Writing on the wall was easy, as this limestone is rather soft!

This is also inside Mount Saint Peter, from an old post card that Pieter saved from long time ago.
Those ridge beds on the floor were covered with ground up marl.

Photo by Lahaye, from P. J.C. Vedder's Moderne Champignonteelt, his Dutch publication.
After WWII some people started growing mushrooms in caves in the southern part of The Netherland; a way of growing at that time already quite common in France...

Also in Mount Saint Peter from one of P.J.C. Vedder's publications...

Hill beds in St. Peter's Mountain. The soil is not always flat and the dams to prevent the flow away of water sprayed, through the paths are extra needed. Cream mushrooms. (Photo "The South")

This photo is from the No. 4 - SEPTEMBER 1957 Champignon-cultuur, the Dutch mushroom magazine (click link for full Pdf from ISMS)

This photo is from the No. 4 - SEPTEMBER 1957 Champignon-cultuur, the Dutch mushroom magazine

Mr. Geijtenbeek studies the first tests with new culture technique inside the caves (Photo ENCI)

Fa. Gebr. Pluymackers, Maastricht

This is HISTORY now!
But grateful for having seen this with my own eyes, so did my colleagues after we'd visited first the ENCI (Eerste Nederlandse Cement Industrie or First Dutch Cement Industry) from 1926.
An interesting video about ENCI: bedrijfsfilm 2016 (in Dutch but still good to see how it all gets done). In July of 2018 they stopped with further digging, they still produce cement but haul it from elsewhere.

Related links:
1978 - P.J.C. Vedder's Modern Mushroom Growing Book Published in English | previous post by me
{My Teacher, Mentor, BOSS & Husband over 44+ Years} | previous post by me
{Angels engraved on lucky calendar coin of 1969} | previous post by me