Shiitake 3782 (Lentinula edodes)

This is one of the most popular shiitake strains. Lots of commercial growers are pleased with this strain and they order it over and over again. This strain has small to mid-large brown-reddish fruitbodies and prefers mid temperatures (70-75 F).

Photo credits: Tyler Case

Pros:

• this is a high yielding strain
• reliable fruiter
• good shelf life

Cons:

• too many fruitbodies on a block (sometimes you can pick up to 100 fruitbodies just in the first flush)
• inconsistency in fruitbody size
• soft-firm fruitbodies
• fruitbody anomalies (present just like in other strains)

Flavor: depends on the substrate but could be light or intense (typical shiitake flavor)

Substrate: mostly hardwoods or soft woods (including aged conifer wood). It is not known to fruit on straw. However, worth trying to fruit it on mixed wood chips and straw.

Spawn run: depends on the substrate used, on alder sawdust takes up to 8 weeks until the popcorn stage and browning

No. of flushes: 2-3

If you are a shiitake grower, get this strain and grow it, compare it to your current strains and see what your advantages are. Since so many growers like it you may find it good for your commercial production.

Interestead in growing this? Place your order for grain spawn or culture here

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How to grow avocado fruit for export market (Persea americana)

Avocado fruit is an important export commodity from Kenya. Kenya has a place in the international markets alongside the other producer countries like Chile, Peru and South Africa. In Dubai 70 to 80 per cent of avocado fruit come from Kenya when the fruit is in season. There is also a specific window for Kenya, due to a longer season which runs from March to September enabling good returns. There is need for agro-enteprneurs to acquire the relevant accreditation including KenyaGap, GlobalGap and ISO compliance certificates to compete on a worldwide scale. The crop takes about 3 years to give the first produce. During this period fast growing crops may be interplanted between rows to ensure sustainability of income generation from the avacado orchard. One acre can give a gross income of Ksh 2Million per year with minimal inputs.

 Avocado Varieties: Fuerte and Hass are the main export varieties. Other varieties include Nabal, Puebla, Pinkerton, Tonnage, Simmonds.

Ecological requirements 
Altitude: 1500-2100 m a.s.l. depending on variety,

Rainfall: at least 1,000 mm p.a.

Temperature: 25-28⁰C,

Soils: Deep, fertile and well aerated, Optimum pH 5.5-6.5.

Propagation: Grafting or budding methods are used for  avocado propagation. Wedge grafting is preferred.

Nursery: Use healthy, egg sized seeds to produce rootstock.

Grafting: when the seedling reach pencil size thickness.

Avocado orchard establishment:

Land preparation: Remove tree stumps, bushes and perennial

weeds and then plough the ground to 30 cm depth.

Planting holes: 60 x 60 x 60 cm to be dug early before planting

Spacing: and 7 x 4 m for high density, 9 x 9 m for conventional planting.

Fertilizer: CAN

Age of tree	Manure (kg/tree)
1-3yrs	45
4-5yrs	45
6-7yrs	60
Over 8yrs	60

Pruning: 1st years pruning is done to encourage lateral growth

and multiple framework branching. Maintenance pruning

done annually after harvesting.

Windbreak: Placed at right angles to the prevailing winds.

Weed control: Manual weeding, cover crops (preferably with

Legumes) or mulching.

Harvesting: Avocado fruit harvesting begins in the 3-4^th year.

Yield: Production of avocado orchard is 250-300 kg/tree/year.

Post harvest: Cool storage within 24 hours

Utilization: Eaten fresh, used in ice cream flavouring,

base for milk shakes and soups. Oil is used for the manufacture

of creams, lotions and soaps.

Marketing: The main export  varieties are Fuerte and Hass.

The CHIEF NIWOT Oyster Mushroom

The CHIEF NIWOT oyster mushroom strain is a reliable strain with a wide temperature range. Several farms that we're working with are pleased with the results of growing this strain. When I asked them if they like better the Hungarian HK, I was told we prefer the Chief Niwot because of this and that.. Just to remind you - the Hungarian HK is considered one of the best oyster mushroom strains worldwide.

Temperature range: 60-80 F

Fruitbody size: small-mid, consistent

Color: dirty-white with brownish center.

Fruitbody consistency: fleshy-firm -good shelf life.

Grow method: works with the hydrated lime method, pasteurization or sterilization.

Substrate: straw, sawdust, or agricultural wastes [not known to grow on conifer wood]

Colonization time: fast colonizer [12-14 days at a 5% spawning rate]

BE: prolific strain with over 100% BE

Flavor: typical oyster mushroom

Marketing: this strain has a good market value especially when combined with other colorful oyster mushrooms in the same package.

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The BRAT Oyster Mushroom

BRAT -is a great strain. First what you'll notice is the fat fruitbody clusters and the dark-blue color. I really reccomend you to try this strain and discover its valuable features.

Photo credits: shroomery.com

Fruitbody size: robust clusters with large caps -what people want to see these days is 'big' and 'beautiful'

Color: when young, this strain has dark fruitbodies that tend to get lighter in color once they mature.

Shelf life: With fleshy-firm fruitbodies this mushroom has a good shelf life and it is suitable to be transported to longer distances in order to be sold.

Temperature range: Peferred temperature range is low-mid (50-75 F).

Photo credits: shroomery.com

Substrate: grows practically on any plant that was once alive [has not been tested on conifer substrate though]. 

BE: 100-150% or higher depending on a complex of factors. 

Flavor: typical, oyster mushroom

Grow Method: substrate may be treated with hydrated lime, pasteurized or sterilized.

Marketing: this strain has marketing value especially when combined with random other colors: yellow [AM2], white [Chief Niwot], pink [VDE1] or brown [213].

Interested in growing this one? Place your order here.

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Strain spotlight: The Salmon Oyster Mushroom -VDE1

The salmon oyster mushroom strain VDE1 is what i usually recommend farmers instead of Pleurtous djamour. There are few important differences that you will notice when you grow the salmon and the dajmor. First you will notice that the salmon has somewhat thicker fruitbodies which means that it doesn't dry out fast (quite common in djamor). Another important aspect is the warm salmon color which will simply amaze your clients and invite them to buy more. I had clients telling me that they really need this strain in their production because it attracts buyers. In combination with the blue BRAT, dirty-white ElmA, and yellow AM2 this pink oyster will offer your clients a colorful and flavorful pack. 

This is an exotic mushroom and once you receive a spawn bag you'll need to keep it at room temperature until usage [not in the fridge like some other oyster mushrooms]. The pink is an extremely fast colonizer, in many cases you'll notice fruitbody formation before full substrate colonization.

Flavor: it is an ornamental mushroom with a rubbery consistency.
Grow method: works with the hydrated lime method, pasteurization or sterilization
Substrate: straw, sawdust, paper or agricultural wastes.
Temperature range: 70-85 F

Interested in growing this one? Place your order here.

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Strain spotlight: AM Brown 15 (Pleurotus ostreatus)

The AM Brown 15 is a great strain that produces large heavy clusters with a BE that passes 160%. In addition, it is one of the few strains that seems to be resistant to contaminants such as molds or bacteria. A quick colonizer this strain produces consistent sized fruitbodies, light-grayish in color with a good shelf life. This strain has a wide temperature range: 60 -75 (80) F and is suitable to be grown in different parts of the US. We highly recommend this strains for commercial production purposes.

Substrate: straw, hardwood sawdust, paper, coffee grounds or agricultural wastes.
Flavor: typical oyster mushroom
Grow method: it was successfully grown with the lime method [the one in the picture has been grown with this method], pasteurization or sterilization.
Fb. consistency: fleshy-firm

Interested in growing this one? Place your order here.

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Strain Spotlight: The COLUMBUS strain (Pleurotus ostreatus)

What you see in the picture is growing on white sorghum grain, simply imagine how powerful this strain is: it broke up the plastic bag and came out to shine -we just placed it in the fruiting chamber and enjoyed the view. Several customers are very happy with this particular strain and currently it is part of their production line. Flavor, color, consistency, and power this are the basic features that characterize this strain. 

The pilei in this picture have a trumpet shape, however this fungus has typical flabelliform pilei -what you see is the reaction to the environmental conditions present in the grow room. Moreover, the color tends to be lighter in higher temperatures (turns dirty-white).  It is a s strain that tolerates well low and mid temperatures [60 -75(80)]. Feel free to experiment with it before growing it on a large scale. The BE varies depending on several factors but for this strain is over 100%. If you don't get this BE than probably there is something wrong with the ingredients or applied growth methodology.

Flavor: typical oyster mushroom flavor
Substrate preference: straw, sawdust, agricultural wastes, paper, etc [not conifer substrate]
Consistency: fleshy-firm
Fruitbody size: small-mid
Color: at first light blue (pearl) then dirty white at maturity
Grow method: may be grown with the hydrated lime method, pasteurization or sterilization

Interested in growing this one? Place your order here.

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Strain Spotlight: The Golden Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus citrinopileatus AM2)

The golden oyster mushroom originates from environments with warm climates. This makes it suitable for cultivation in the warm season of the year. Paradoxically, the AM2 golden oyster mushroom strain is a special one: it simply fruits to lower temperatures [65 - 85 F] than its normal for this type of oyster mushroom. Another special feature of this strain is the robust and consistent size of fruitbodies. They are not only consistent in size but also firm (compared to what this mushroom is like -it is known to have fragile and soft fruitbodies) -this feature is very important for shelf life. Prolonged shelf life is what farmers need when they want to sell their mushrooms in order to keep them fresh for their clients. This means that this particular strain may be transported to longer distances. As you can see this has also the advantage that can be grown all year long and together in the same grow room with other oyster species that prefer low temperatures.

AM2 -photo credits: Simply Manna Mushroom Farm

This cold tolerant strain may be grown on various substrata: straw, corn cobs, sawdust, or other agricultural wastes. Many farmers simply like it because it's easy to work with. The caps are light yellow with darker spots in the center. Color and taste are important features too. The warm yellow color of this strain combined with other colorful strains such as BRAT (dark blue), ElmA (dirty white), salmon VDE1 (warm pink), COLUMBUS (light blue) will form an excellent bunch ready to go on the market. It has a typical flavor (even better that most common oysters).

If interested in this one you'll find it here in the form of culture or grain spawn.

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