Some of the options include growing and selling fresh or even dried mushrooms, which can be used in combination with other dried spices. 

The owner and managing director of Mushroom Guru, Craig Fourie, says one does not need much money to start growing mushrooms. 

He spoke during an online masterclass webinar on mushroom farming that was held by the National Government. 

South Africa produces about 21 000 tonnes of mushrooms per year which are mostly exported to countries such as Mauritius and Namibia.

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According to Peter Nyathi, managing director of Tropical Mushrooms, the total sales of fresh mushrooms reach just under R1 billion each year. He was also one of the speakers at the masterclass.

The South African mushroom industry is growing at a fast pace because one can start growing mushrooms for very little money, adds Fourie.

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Fourie advises prospective mushroom growers to first make a decision on which mushroom they will grow – medicinal, exotic, or button mushrooms.

According to Fourie, each mushroom species has a tempered zone in which it grows – certain mushrooms grow in winter, others grow in summer, while other mushroom species grow in between the aforementioned seasons.

“So, depending on your growing facility or the setup that you have, you would decide on which mushroom you are going to grow. If you want to save money on electricity, you can use a species of mushrooms that will grow in the current ambient temperature that you are experiencing.”

“You would then order the spawn that you will be using and source the material that you are going to use for your substrate… You want to look around your area to find which substrate you can use for your mushroom growing that’s not going to cost you an arm and a leg.

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“Once you’ve found that substrate, you would then process that substrate and learn how to pasteurise or sterilise it, and then you would use spawn to inoculate that substrate and pack it into bags and incubate it.

“When the time is right you will put it in your grow room. You will initiate the growing cycle of the mushrooms, and when they’re ready you will harvest them and either consume them yourself or by your family, or you would make them available to your community.”

Fourie further explains that another aspect to consider when choosing which mushrooms to grow is that each species has its own shelf life.

Dried mushroom products

The mushroom products that cannot be sold due to being deformed because of bad parameters in their growing environment, can be dried and if dried properly, they can then be put into sachets with various types of spices. They can also be put inside different types of grinders like a salt grinder. “You can add salt, you can add turmeric and you can add all sorts of different types of herbs and spices to make a dried mushroom product.

“So, you have various ways to get to the market. You can do fresh mushrooms and you can also do dry mushroom products.”

Mushrooms are a great way to contribute to the health of people

Fourie says that studies have shown that mushrooms are very high in nutrients and that these nutrients are good for the building blocks of the human body. He adds that people are becoming more conscious of what they put into their bodies and as a result, the health industry is growing.

Watch the full masterclass here:

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