Running a business alone could be tough… Everyone needs a team at some point of your life I learned it a hard way! 2021(That COVID Year!!!) After Graduating from Agri-University There were No Internships, No new Jobs, No Research Project I started learning online skills (Graphics, Digital Marketing) I tried to pitch several businesses for my service Unfortunately, No one responded (To be honest, I was not that good at that time😒) Oct 2021 I planned to start my own Mushroom Business🔥 Why was it the best business for me? - I had prior experience as I grew them in the University’s lab - I was passionate about growing micro-organisms and Organic Food - There was demand of Fresh mushrooms because most of them were imported in canned form Growing them in the city was impossible due to the lockdown So i planned to start in the village But growing in the village was a real challenge due to: -Unhygienic conditions -Lack of my presence over there -Transportation and Supply Chain issues But I had no other option There was a team of 3-5 kids who helped me in that(and after testing several things we were successful) I traveled 60 km twice a week to make sure everything stayed smooth The profit margin was great, More than 50%(in the Winter season) But it was just a seasonal cultivation Dec2021 It became profitable💲 Not just money, People started noticing me Got some great referrals My Network started increasing Feb 2022 I was invited to a University Conference I also went to the Farmer’s Market and some local events It was cool to travel, connect with like-minded people and share my knowledge March 2022 I lost everything During my absence, a disease in that mushroom room destroyed the whole crop My Business depended entirely on me I failed because of -No Sustainability -No Systems -No Team I was completely burnt out and lost hope Due to all those travelling, there was no savings left to support me That why i decided to Quit and jump in the Digital world I don’t know i was right or wrong

For anyone wanting to send your mushroon pics, wether it is cultivation or ID requests or showing your mushroom catch, you will need to convert the image to a pdf then it can be sent on the group.

Welcome everyone to your very own mushroom community! Here you will be surrounded by a community of likeminded mushroom enthusiasts!

If you are completely new to mushrooms, I am going to explain the basics of mushrooms and mushroom cultivation so that when you go to the other channels to ask questions you atleast know what others may be talking about. 1. First things first, not all mushrooms can be cultivated indoors. There are parasitic, mycorrhizal and saprophytic fungi. Some parasitic fungi we have had success with cultivating indoors, such as Tremella fuciformis and Cordyceps species, but we largely only cultivate Saprophytic fungi(fungi that feed on dead or dieing organic matter) e.g. Oyster mushrooms, button mushrooms, lions mane, turkey tail etc. Then we have mycorrhizal fungi, Truffles, Boletes, Aminita muscaria, Chanterelles, etc. Which are cultivated outdoors. Farms will inoculate roots of trees or gardeners will make spore slurry's that they throw onto shaded areas of their lawn and hope that the solution will inoculate the roots in that area. 2. Now that you know there are different growing types on fungi you should also know that in the category of Saprophytic fungi there are sub type. Primary, Secondary and tertiary decomposers. Oysters, Reishi, Lions Mane etc. are primary and secondary decomposers, where as wood blewits and Cubensis mushrooms are secondary/tertiary decomposers and Button mushrooms, Almond mushrooms and many other species are tertiary decomposers or soil dwellers. as you can see there is a little bit of a overlapping area when we get to secondary and more so tertiary decomposers. 3.Lastly, when you are growing mushrooms you are also creating the perfect environment for a variety of other types of microbes. So you need to keep this in mind when you are adding easy access nutrition to your substrate. More easy access food you add the more sterile you need to be. This is also why we use grain as the initial substrate for growing mushrooms. We ensure that the grain is very sterile and perfectly hydrated before inoculating them with the mushrooms spores or mycelium and then once the grain is 100% colonised you add it to the substrate. The grain acts as inoculation points and already capture highly nutritious food source for the mushrooms mycelium to grow and colonize the fruiting substrate faster.