Line your purse with cash from growing mushrooms
Jan 02, 2009
WHEN I walked into Robbinah Kato’s home, a resident in Luzira who grows mushrooms, I expected to find a garden, but was instead led to store room's. The production room was full of black polythene bags suspended from the ceiling using string. White, gre
BY AGNES KYOTALENGERIRE
WHEN I walked into Robbinah Kato’s home, a resident in Luzira who grows mushrooms, I expected to find a garden, but was instead led to store room's.
“This is as an incubation room where the mushroom balls are kept for two to three weeks before they sprout. The other is the production room where the mushrooms are grown,†said Kato.
The production room was full of black polythene bags suspended from the ceiling using string. White, grey and brown mushrooms sprouted out of balls and looked like flowers.
“From these balls, I harvest 10kg to 15kg daily. I sell a kilogram at sh4,000,†says Kato, adding that her customers are supermarkets, hotels, neighbours and friends. She earns at least sh40,000 daily, which translates to at least sh1.2m per month from mushrooms.
Kato says she started mushroom-growing as an experiment to get medicine for high blood pressure and diabetes. “I could not afford to buy mushrooms daily so I started with a few balls. After seeing how much I could harvest, I decided to make more balls†she says.
“I borrowed the idea from a women group in Biina where I used to buy mushrooms. When I showed interest, they taught me the procedure,†adds Kato.
Besides, Kato adds that with the mushrooms in her backyard, she is assured of soup for her family. She affirms you too can grow and produce mushrooms in your backyard or that vacant storeroom. Below Kato takes us through the procedure of growing mushrooms:
To make 500 mushroom production balls you need:
A dark cool room
10 bags of cotton husks (a bag of husks costs sh10,000)
Mushroom seeds (a bottle of 250g of mushroom seeds cost sh1,000)
Black polythene bags
5kg of lime
10kg of maize bran (A kilogramme of maize bran costs sh500)
Two jerricans of water
Strings to tie and suspend the balls from the ceiling
Metallic drum
PROCEDURE
Soak the cotton husks for 12 hours.
Drain and spread the husks on a clean polythene sheet.
Place a drum on fire. Inside the drum, place three-four stones and pour water. Cover the water with an iron sheet Cover the sheet with a polythene sack.
Mix the soaked cotton husks with 5kg of lime and 10kg of maize bran.
Fill the drum with the mixture of soaked cotton husks, lime and maize bran and steam for three hours.
Spread the hot mixture on a clean polythene sheet of about three meters to cool for about three hours.
Using a plastic plate scoop the mixture and pour it in the black polythene bags, sprinkle a handful of mushroom seeds before adding another plate of the husks and tie like a ball.
Spread the ball on a stand or tie them on a string and hang them to suspend from the ceiling in the incubation room. The incubation room should be at room temperature.
Using a sharp object prick the balls or cut longitudinally to create room for the mushrooms to sprout.
After 2-3 weeks when the mushrooms begin to sprout, transfer them to the production room. The production room should be cool and the floor covered with saw dust to prevent dust and germs from contaminating the mushrooms.
To quicken the sprouting process, the balls are watered twice or thrice a day depending on the weather.
Harvest the mushrooms once the heads are full spread out. Harvesting can be done in the morning and evening depending on how much has sprout.
PRESERVATION TIPS
Kato advises that when fresh mushroom are kept at room temperature for more than 12 hours they rot. So to preserve them, they should be kept in the fridge.
However, care should be taken to avoid getting into contact with water to avoid rotting. You can also sun dry them. Just spread them under the sun to dry thoroughly to avoid growing moulds.
Make mushroom soup at home
Ingredients
7 tablespoons of vegetable oil or olive oil
2 garlic cloves crushed
500g of fresh mushrooms
2 tomatoes skinned and chopped
2 small onions chopped
750ml of vegetable broth
Salt
PROCEDURE
Heat the oil in a saucepan
Add onions, garlic and fry until golden brown
Add tomatoes and stir until tender.
Add mushrooms and season
Add the vegetable broth, salt to taste.
Cover and bring to boil, lower the heat, simmer for 15 minutes and serve hot.
WHEN I walked into Robbinah Kato’s home, a resident in Luzira who grows mushrooms, I expected to find a garden, but was instead led to store room's.
“This is as an incubation room where the mushroom balls are kept for two to three weeks before they sprout. The other is the production room where the mushrooms are grown,†said Kato.
The production room was full of black polythene bags suspended from the ceiling using string. White, grey and brown mushrooms sprouted out of balls and looked like flowers.
“From these balls, I harvest 10kg to 15kg daily. I sell a kilogram at sh4,000,†says Kato, adding that her customers are supermarkets, hotels, neighbours and friends. She earns at least sh40,000 daily, which translates to at least sh1.2m per month from mushrooms.
Kato says she started mushroom-growing as an experiment to get medicine for high blood pressure and diabetes. “I could not afford to buy mushrooms daily so I started with a few balls. After seeing how much I could harvest, I decided to make more balls†she says.
“I borrowed the idea from a women group in Biina where I used to buy mushrooms. When I showed interest, they taught me the procedure,†adds Kato.
Besides, Kato adds that with the mushrooms in her backyard, she is assured of soup for her family. She affirms you too can grow and produce mushrooms in your backyard or that vacant storeroom. Below Kato takes us through the procedure of growing mushrooms:
To make 500 mushroom production balls you need:
PROCEDURE
PRESERVATION TIPS
Kato advises that when fresh mushroom are kept at room temperature for more than 12 hours they rot. So to preserve them, they should be kept in the fridge.
However, care should be taken to avoid getting into contact with water to avoid rotting. You can also sun dry them. Just spread them under the sun to dry thoroughly to avoid growing moulds.
Make mushroom soup at home
Ingredients
PROCEDURE
Add tomatoes and stir until tender.