Hardwood Sawdust

[rafezetter]

First of all, I assume as a commercial operation you will want cubic metres of growing medium. You need a chipper so you can source your own hardwood, and make chips out of it. I think it may be easier to find entire trees to chip, rather than rummage around looking for offcuts from joinery shops, especially as they will have things mixed in that you don't want.

Secondly, do you have a market for your produce? Any old Silly person can grow food - it takes a rare genius to sell food at a profit. Know how to make a small fortune out of farming? Start with a large fortune. X

After Tris's comment about "whole trees" TN's comment above seems a much more likely option - trees are being cut down all the time, and with "Ash dieback" being a current concern you might want to consider reaching out (fingers again) to local err... guys who cut down trees... err tree surgeons (that took too long to recall...).

Does it help if the wood is still "green"? I'm guessing the natural moisture of a freshly cut down tree would help alot in the process.

Might be worth considering that if you can get your hands on a regular supply of large logs to chip - the sheer quantity of usable mulch medium might offset the fact that the species isn't as efficient for mushroom growing as others.

You can always "fine tune" the selection system for more efficient specific species later on, once you've got a good selection of tree surgeons offering you wood.

As with all businesses, I've learned spending too much time trying to remove all possible obstacles for "best efficiency" takes time you could be using to MAKE a product and make money, and to understand that working on the efficiency of the system will make more sense as factors change and your business evolves, instead of second guessing "what might be" now.

 

[Woodcrafts]

I am based in Surbiton, SW London. I generate a fair amount of sawdust and planer shavings which I used to be able to dispose of to a company for compost making. Sadly they can no longer take it, so it goes to landfill. Too dusty for animal bedding. I work mainly with beech, so the sawdust/shavings are at least 90% beech with perhaps some oak, sapele and other hardwoods. NO MDF. By January I expect to have about 6 black bin liners, possibly more. If any use to you please contact. Thanks, Ray

 

[MushroomMan]

Hi Woodcrafts,

Thanks for your offering, I've sent you a private message.

 

[MushroomMan]

Does it help if the wood is still "green"? I'm guessing the natural moisture of a freshly cut down tree would help alot in the process.

I believe it does when trying to grow on logs but not so much if its chipping or sawdust, in fact it being slightly aged can be beneficial. I'll need to look into this a bit further though. Thanks for the advice, it makes sense starting first and foremost is the most important part and fine tuning can come later.