Black termite mushrooms grown in cold rooms: 'You get what you pay for'

TIEN GIANG Grown in a cold room, 'in air conditioning', black termite mushrooms have excellent quality, the retail price currently ranges from 270 - 350 thousand VND/kg but still attracts buyers.

Arriving at Giong Lanh 1 hamlet, Tang Hoa commune (Go Cong district, Tien Giang ), asking for Mr. Tran Quoc Bao's house (born in 1991), everyone here knows and clearly shows the way to this young man's house. He has been known to more people since growing black termite mushrooms, an economic model that is still quite new in this locality.

Black termite mushrooms are popular in the market thanks to their delicious quality and guaranteed safety. Photo: Minh Dam.

Black termite mushrooms are grown by him in a closed room with air conditioning. The product is very popular in the market because it is produced according to organic processes, without using any chemicals, so it is guaranteed to be safe.

Taking us on a tour of the mushroom farm, he shared that the mushroom growing process is very simple. First, buy a bag of mushroom spawn, tie it tightly, put it in a cold room at a temperature of 28 - 29 degrees Celsius, do not turn on the light (dark incubation), about 3 weeks will produce mushrooms, then open the bag, put in coconut fiber, water, light (light incubation), 2 weeks later start harvesting. Every day, just water the spawn bag with a spray bottle to keep the humidity just right.

During the care process, if moldy mold is found, it must be removed from the room. In addition, if ants or flies are found, spray the wall with insecticide to treat it, but do not spray directly on the mold.

When the mushrooms emerge from the coconut fiber layer, they need to be harvested promptly. They must be harvested every 8 hours or they will quickly wither. When harvested, the mushrooms need to be cleaned of their stems, put in bags, vacuum-sealed and stored in the refrigerator. The mushrooms can keep good quality for 7-10 days.

Watering black termite mushrooms. Photo: Minh Dam.

From the time of picking the first mushroom, the grower harvests continuously for 3.5 months, each bag will yield 300 - 350g. After that, they need to be removed to clean the farm, isolate the fungus for 2 months, and prepare for the next batch.

Currently, Mr. Bao has 6,000 spawn bags producing mushrooms. Every day he harvests 3 batches, from 5 to 6 kg, and on special days when the mushrooms grow abundantly, they can be over 10 kg.

The mushrooms are sweet and crunchy, and are rated by many consumers as 70-80% more delicious than natural termite mushrooms (gray termite mushrooms). Therefore, although black termite mushrooms have been on the market for a long time, their value has not decreased. Currently, the retail price of black termite mushrooms ranges from 270-350 thousand VND/kg, depending on the location and quality. The wholesale price for restaurants and eateries is lower, however, Mr. Bao revealed that after deducting expenses, the monthly income ranges from 13-15 million VND.

According to him, black termite mushrooms are easy to grow but require a fair amount of investment capital, including the cost of building a farm, buying shelves, air conditioners, misting fans, mushroom spawn (14,000 VND/spawn)...

Harvesting black termite mushrooms. Photo: Minh Dam.

“The first time I spent 200 million VND. Every month, the electricity cost is 2 million VND, the coconut fiber is 2 million VND. The cost is quite high but in return, I have income every day, I don’t need to work for hire,” Mr. Bao shared.

However, he also said that although black termite mushrooms are easy to grow, they must have a ready outlet because the price of mushrooms is high. With the accumulated experience, in the near future, Mr. Bao will expand the scale of the farm to 19,000 embryos to increase production and meet market demand.

Mr. Tran Quoc Bao, with his diligence and hard work, has succeeded in growing black termite mushrooms. In the locality, he also participates in the Youth Union and is willing to share his mushroom growing experience with the people and friends around. Currently, in Tang Hoa commune, another black termite mushroom farm has been expanded.

Currently, the black termite mushroom growing model is being researched and tested by people, so the mushroom spawn is also in high demand.

Mr. Huynh Van Cuong, Director of Huynh Cuong Production - Trading Company Limited in Tan Phu Dong District (Tien Giang) said that the company has been supplying black termite mushroom spawn to people since 2016. Currently, the company supplies 20,000 - 30,000 spawn bags to farmers in the provinces from Binh Thuan to the South each month. Because the spawn needs to be incubated in a cold room for about 2 months, people in need need to contact in advance to get the goods.

Source: https://nongsanviet.nongnghiep.vn/nam-moi-den-trong-trong-phong-lanh-dat-xat-ra-mieng-d388030.html