Produce enough mushrooms to meet local demand for mushrooms, eliminating the need to buy mushrooms. This should be as low-maintenance as possible and as automated as practical.

If this proves successful, supplying fresh mushrooms to nearby shops and restaurants should be considered, increasing the production accordingly.

After some consideration it was decided to try growing Oyster Mushrooms initially. This is because they are easy to grow, as they grow well in a wide range of environmental conditions. There are several varieties of various oyster mushrooms:

• Oyster mushrooms
• King oyster mushrooms
• Golden oyster mushrooms
• Blue oyster mushrooms

The proposed setup uses 12x5l buckets, spread out in 6 batches of 3 buckets. Each 5l bucket is projected to produce an average of 0.2kg of edible mushrooms every 3 weeks, which is about 1.2g of mushrooms / week. Mushrooms cost EUR9/kg, so each week will save EUR10.80 in mushrooms. Over 1 year it is expected to save EUR561.6, producing 62.4kg of edible mushrooms.

Mushrooms require a stable temperature. Therefore the cellar is an obvious location for the mushroom growing space.

Inside the cellar we want to create a stable environment where temperature, CO₂, and moisture levels can be controlled. This environment should not be contaminated by the outside environment, i.e. prevent spores and microorganisms from outside from entering inside. It should also avoid contaminating the cellar itself, i.e. prevent large amounts of spores and moisture escaping from the enclosed space and degrading the structure of the house.

• Hydroponic grow tent

• 120mm PC fan blowing air into the grow tent from the cellar
• Can be linked up to CO₂ censor to only turn on when needed

• Particulate filter on the fan vent

• Output fan ducted to the outside through the window
• Metal grill to prevent rodent ingress from the outside

• Mister linked to a humidity sensor

• Heater linked to a temperature sensor

• Mushrooms do not need much light, but some should be there.

• Cloths and steriliser to wipe down the inside of the tent and shelving unit
• Brush to clean out the air supply vents

• Rodent ingress through the tent structure
• Maintaining positive internal pressure in a system with an outlet fan
• No response to overheating
• Not currently any system for alerting to abnormal conditions

• Shelving system to accommodate the growing mushrooms. It should be spore and corrosion resistant, and should be easy to clean.

• Buckets with holes drilled into them containing the growth medium

• Straw - it is suitable for the mushrooms we want to grow (oyster mushrooms), and we have an ample supply. Wood chips would also be suitable.

• A large pressure boiler or pot with a heater to heat up the straw in buckets to above 80 degrees. Needs to be large enough to contain a full bucket.

• A table
• A knife
• Container for freshly harvested mushrooms

Spore exposure can initially lead to flu-like symptoms, and then develop into a permanent mushroom allergy. To avoid that, spore contamination of people should be avoided as much as possible. At the same time, when working with mushrooms, the intended growth sites should not be contaminated by things that we do not want to grow. Hence, what is needed is:

• Particle filter masks to avoid breathing spores
• Gloves to avoid contaminating the growth sites
• Clean clothing / coats to avoid contaminating inside
• Hair netting / shower cap to avoid cross contamination
• Keep the growth area shoe free

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Once the above is set up, the procedure for growing the mushrooms is:

1. Clean the bucket
2. Place straw into bucket
3. Sterilise the bucket
4. Introduce mushroom culture into the straw
5. Place bucket onto the shelf in the enclosure
6. Wait for mushrooms to grow (about 3 weeks)
7. Harvest mushrooms
8. Wait for mushrooms to grow again (about 3 weeks)
9. Harvest mushrooms again
10. Place straw into compost
11. Perform maintenance tasks
12. Go back to the beginning

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