Quick Profits from Mushrooms

 Quick Profits from Mushrooms 

   WHEN Laz Lewin made up his mind to start a business of his own he decided to do something different. Learning that mushrooms may be profitably grown in cellars, sheds, barns or garages, Lewin bought a small quantity of mushroom spawn, rigged up a mushroom bed in his cellar, and started to raise mushrooms. This wasn’t a new idea. Home cultivation of mushrooms has been attempted for many years, but during the past few years new methods have been developed which greatly increase the profits in this business. It was a new idea in Memphis, Tennessee, Lewin’s home town, however, and his venture won quick approval from local storekeepers, restaurants, cafes and similar establishments. “I never saw a mushroom grow before I started raising mushrooms,” admitted Lewin. “I was somewhat surprised at the suddenness of their growth, and realized the meaning of the old ‘saw’—‘grows like a mushroom.’ I started with a mushroom bed one hundred feet in area. It cost me two dollars to make this bed, ten feet by ten. Then I ordered the seed, or ‘spawn’ as it is called by mushroom growers. When it reached me, it looked like a mass of tangled white threads. I planted it, carefully following instructions, and two weeks later a white substance, appearing like cobwebs, covered the bed. Over this I spread ordinary back-yard dirt, and waited for another three weeks. One morning, upon going into the cellar to look at this bed, I was amazed to see it covered with baby mushrooms. This was a surprise, for nothing had been there the night before. ,I wondered how long it would take to develop these baby mushrooms for market, but the next day, when I saw the mushrooms had increased in size ten times, I picked them. I averaged a little over two and one-half pounds per square foot for the one hundred square feet in the bed and sold this entire crop to local markets at an average price of forty-five cents a pound. “My investment in spawn was slightly over eight dollars which, with the two dollars for making the bed, comprised my total cost. I received approximately $110 for my crops. “It was then I fully realized what a profit there could be in raising mushrooms. I increased my mushroom beds with the profit from this first crop and soon had one thousand square feet in production. At forty-five cents a pound, I easily sold the entire crop. As I have no rent, overhead, special equipment, or marketing expenses, I enjoy an advantage over the commercial grower. “Up to that time, the local market held up well, and there appeared to be no reason why I should not increase my growing space. Many of the companies from which spawn is purchased are also commission merchants with branch mushroom receiving stations located throughout the country. Some of the companies will agree to purchase all the mushrooms produced by home growers and resell them to local stores. This, of course, helps the grower to secure a ready market for his product at the current wholesale market price. Moreover, they pay the shipping charges on shipments of five pounds or more. With an assured market I increased the size of my mushroom beds, using more of the space formerly wasted about my home. The pure white variety of patented mushroom I have been raising brings top prices for my crops. I was lucky, I guess, when I picked out this particular variety.” Mushrooms are easily raised as they require but little attention. Sunshine not being essential to their development, they will grow as well under the cellar stairs as in a pleasantly lighted room. In fact, bright sunlight is really not desirable according to experienced growers. The market for mushrooms is wide and profitable. The ability to supply fresh stock at all times, and give quick delivery service, insures attractive profits. The cost of “spawn” for raising a pound of mushrooms varies between four and one-half and six cents. Persons shipping to wholesale and commission houses find sufficient profit margin between the prices received and their actual cost, to operate profitably. Generally, the best plan is to sell some of your crop in your own community, at higher prices, and to ship the remainder. Practically any mushroom spawn today will grow in ordinary cellars or sheds wherever it is possible to maintain a fairly even temperature. The temperature should be from 55 to 70 degrees according to the period of growth of the spawn.