Royal Champignon 1954 Inside Marl Caves in France

A piece of history and a very rare video from that era when lots of people in France still grew mushrooms (champignons in French and in Dutch!) in the many caves.

From the Middle Ages to the late nineteenth century, the limestone was extracted for the construction of many buildings like castles, churches and mansions.

Yes, a mushroom doubles its size every 24 hours... You see the brown variety of Agaricus above.
Picture shows such Perfect quality mushrooms grown in a marl cave in France! Click link.
In the old quarries people started bringing in compost for growing mushrooms inside those caves where the climate is perfect for HIGH QUALITY mushrooms!

The only disadvantage is the high labor intensity and also the rather slow growing cycle due to the constant lower temperature.

Instead of making ridge beds on the floor inside those marl caves, Royal Champignon in 1954 used wooden trays to fill those with the compost.
Transporting those trays inside the caves...

Harvesting them off the tray beds by twisting them out of the casing layer on top of the compost. YES the French and also the Italians harvest their mushrooms with the roots left on!
Watch the interesting video about Royal Champignon 1954 by clicking link.
Royal Champignon got created in 1941 by Georges Guilbaud and was a powerful holding company, including cannery.
It used to be a very important employer in the French Saumur region.

They now seem to be under Bonduelle.
The above screenshot is in funny English, translated from French and not always perfect.
You can click through here for original: Saumur Royal Champignon is well and truly over... but at least they are still employing people!

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Pieter Visiting Marl Cave Mushroom Grower in Bordeaux France

Together with friend Harry Hollander and his wife Suzette, Pieter visited the Drouillard family in Bordeaux, France.

They too were Marl Cave mushroom growers and this photo is from 1978 or 1979.

Pieter still got his shoes and upturned pants stained by the marl covered ridge beds on the floor.

Friend Harry Hollander made this photo where they enjoy a glass of champagne with the Drouillard family, on their patio.

P.J.C. Vedder
culture moderne des champignons
This French version of Pieter's book got published in 1974

Related posts:
1965 Pieter visiting French Mushroom Grower Sarrazin near Historic Compiègne | previous post
French Claron Antique Postcards of Marl Cave Mushroom Growing | previous post
1958 Tragedy for Pieter's Mushroom Friends in Zichen-Zussen-Bolder in Belgium | previous post
Husband Pieter visiting Mushrooms in the Cave - Bradford-on-Avon in England | previous post

1965 Pieter visiting French Mushroom Grower André Sarazin near Historic Compiègne

Together with Belgian Spawn representative Guy de Man, Pieter went to French mushroom grower André Sarazin in Cuts, near Compiègne.

Husband Pieter left and André Sarazin to the right who is holding his sunglasses as this was on a sunny day in France.
André Sarazin did organize the 3rd ISMS Congress in Paris in 1956

They also for the first time had simultaneous translation! 
Wearing a headphone and some professional translators did translate...

Guy de Man was quite a character for capturing Pieter this way and writing in the corner: How beautiful and signing off with Guy de Man...

One more of such photos by Guy de Man...

But Pieter truly was admiring the excellent quality of these brown and white 'Champignon de Couche' inside their wooden boxes!
See their broad stems?! 
Hard to find such quality nowadays.
The quality that is grown inside those marl caves always looks excellent!

Here Pieter is with André Sarrazin at his compost place in Cuts.
This was the first grower to also have some kind of tunnel. Pieter walks on the concrete edge of a kind of cellar that was aerated from below.
Nowadays we call it a bunker, not a tunnel...

Bottom left you see Paris and to the north east you see Compiègne and Cuts where the mushroom farm from André Sarrazin was located.
André Sarrazin's marl cave business at six locations, once was the largest private owned mushroom business in France... He started it in 1958.
Sadly, André Jr. and the successor, got killed in an accident and André Sr. succumbed to grief...
The company got sold but ceased to exist as it is very difficult for mechanizing inside those rather low ceiling caves... To continue growing in bags is hard physical labor!
~
André Sarrazin did take Pieter to Compiègne, the historic location where on November 11, 1918 the Armistice agreement was signed to end WWI.

But a nasty revenge by Adolf Hitler in June of 1940...

The untold story of the 1918 Armistice just click it for a 2 minute video right at the top.
~
One year while traveling in France, Pieter did show me the area as well.

History lessons we ought to all learn from!