Group training

Substrate & wood fungi production course
Fed up with the internet overload of information on mushroom growing? Don’t know who to believe anymore?
Then come and join one of our courses on the production of wood fungi such as Oyster mushroom, King Oyster (Eryngii), Shiitake, Hericium, Nameko and many other species. You will get a state-of-the-art overview of the current specialty mushroom industry.
We can not teach you how to grow White Button Mushrooms! For Agaricus bisporus trainings, check out Mushroom Office in the Netherlands. For Agaricus bisporus spawn production training, check out our spawn production training.
Over the years, many of you have come to our excellent training centre for mycelium and lignicolous substrate producers. Since November 2011, we are organising group trainings on the production of sterilized substrates and lignicolous mushrooms, which cover the whole production cycle from sawdust to specialty mushroom.
The program has been developed in close collaboration with Dipl. Ing. Jürgen Kynast, who has a broad-spectrum scientific background in combination with extensive experience as a grower and a substrate producer of specialty mushrooms. We welcome existing and would-be growers to this in-depth course.
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Details
Next edition: 5-9 September 2022
Location: Mycelia’s premises
Training language: English.
Group size: maximum 21
*VAT, board and lodging not included.
Program
SUBJECT | TRAINER | |
08:15 – 09:00 | Welcome and practical briefing | |
09:00 – 10:00 | Parallel session: Introduction to the course | |
20 min | Group 1: Introduction video + Quiz slides | Jan Van Nuffel |
20 min | Group 2: Mycelia floor plan and visit to the premises | Kasper Moreaux |
20 min | Group 3: Testing hands and air with the help of growing media | Magda Verfaillie |
10:00 – 10:30 | Spawn quality: importance in substrate production. Gas exchange, packing, transport and conservation, quality control | Magda Verfaillie |
10:30 – 11:00 | Coffee break | |
10:30 – 11:00 | Introduction to substrate production: components, mixing, humidification, filling, bag closing, sterilisation, cooling, spawning, incubation, growing systems | Jürgen Kynast |
12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch break | |
13:30 – 15:00 | Parallel session: | |
30 min | Group 1: Applied research | Mihály Vidacs |
30 min | Group 2: Visit to technical floor with overpressure units | Magda Verfaillie |
30 min | Group 3: Design your own substrate | Kasper Moreaux |
15:00 – 15:30 | Coffee break | |
15:30 – 16:50 | Fundamentals of biology for substrate producers | Magda Verfaillie |
16:50 – 17:40 | Building technics: construction materials, water supply, waste water, electricity, energy efficiency | Kasper Moreaux |
SUBJECT | TRAINER | |
08:30 – 09:00 | Multiple choice: true or false? | Magda Verfaillie |
09:00 – 12:30 | Parallel sessions: Substrate composition | |
60 min | Group 1: Practical substrate preparation in Mycelia’s workshop: selection of ingredients, filling of mixer, addition of water, examples of filling and mixing machines, pH and dry matter measurement | Magda Verfaillie |
10:00 – 10:30 | Coffee break | |
60 min | Group 2: Improving the structure of substrates: determination of water- and air-filled pores; characteristics and role of different additives: wood chips, wood shavings, etc; examples of substrate formulations | Jürgen Kynast |
60 min | Group 3: Demonstration of incubating substrates: good and bad examples, discussion | Kasper Moreaux |
12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch break | |
13:30 – 15:00 | Dealing with micro-organisms in substrate production: presence of propagules in the air, cleanroom classes, air quality control, use of LAF, use of overpressure, rules of conduct | Magda Verfaillie |
15:00 – 15:30 | Coffee break | |
15:30 – 16:30 | Biological approach of different production stages: incubation, ripening, fructification | Jürgen Kynast |
16:30 – 17:00 | Incubation and ripening phases: climate conditions, temperature vs. time | Jürgen Kynast |
SUBJECT | TRAINER | |
08:30 – 09:30 | Pasteurisation process for substrates of lignicolous mushrooms: theory and practice, advantages and disadvantages | Jürgen Kynast |
09:30 – 10:30 | Low cost production of substrates for specialty mushrooms in sea containers | Orazio Tietto |
10:30 – 11:00 | Coffee break | |
11:00 – 12:30 | Autoclaving process: theory on steam production and heat transfer, correct autoclaving procedure, F- value, what happens in the substrate bags? | Jürgen Kynast |
12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch break | |
13:30 – 15:30 | Parallel sessions: Practical inoculation, machinery | |
40 min | Group 1: Practical substrate inoculation in Mycelia’s technical lab: essentials of small-scale production inoculation, particle counting and air speed measurement | Jürgen Kynast |
40 min | Group 2: Practical substrate inoculation in Mycelia’s cleanroom: essentials of large-scale production inoculation | Kasper Moreaux & Mohammad Al Shukor |
40 min | Group 3: Autoclaves and steam generator: practical use of steam, valves and sterilisation cycle schematics | Magda Verfaillie |
15:30 – 16:00 | Coffee break | |
16:00 – 17:00 | Pests and diseases: prevention and solutions | Jürgen Kynast |
SUBJECT | TRAINER | |
08:30 – 09:00 | Cooling and heating: technical approach | Jürgen Kynast |
09:00 – 09:20 | Breathing bags: techniques and gas exchange | Jan Van Nuffel |
09:20 – 09:50 | Racks and shelves | Jürgen Kynast |
09:50 – 11:10 | Parallel sessions | |
30 min | Group 1: Construction and maintenance of laminar air flows: filter types, practicalities, dangers, practical review of LAF’s, build and efficiency | Kasper Moreaux |
10:20 – 10:40 | Coffee break | |
30 min | Group 2: Bag sealing: difficulties, problems and solutions | Roel Van de Heyning |
11:10 – 12:00 | Fructification techniques: aeration systems, humidification systems, hygiene in fructification room, harvesting, mushroom quality, post-harvest care, spent substrate | Jürgen Kynast |
12:00 – 13:00 | Lunch break | |
13:00 – 13:45 | Drive to Inagro, Research Station for Mushroom Cultivation | |
13:45 – 15:30 | Visit to Inagro: introduction to bulk production of Pleurotus substrate | |
15:30 – 15:50 | Drive to Patrick Devroe | |
15:50 – 17:00 | Visit to Devroe: professional Shiitake producer | |
17:30 – 18:30 | Shiimake (Belgian) beer tasting, delivery of USB stick and training certificate |
SUBJECT | TRAINER | |
08:30 – 09:15 | Fructification techniques: humidification, mushroom harvest and conservation, rules of hygiene | Jürgen Kynast |
09:15 – 10:30 | Climate conditions, specified per mushroom species | Jürgen Kynast |
10:30 – 11:00 | Coffee break | |
11:00 – 12:00 | Parallel sessions | |
30 min | Group 1: Make the layout of a substrate and mushroom production farm | Jürgen Kynast |
30 min | Group 2: Mapping air contamination in substrate production. How to evaluate infection pressure in your premises with the help of an air quality map. Evaluation of Petri dishes made on day 1 | Magda Verfaillie |
12:00 – 13:00 | Lunch break | |
13:00 – 13:30 | Drive to De Kromme Boom | |
13:30 – 14:30 | Visit to De Kromme Boom: cultivation of Pleurotus ostreatus on bulk-pasteurised straw-based substrate | |
14:30 – 15:30 | Drive to Le Champignon de Bruxelles | |
15:30 – 17:30 | Visit to Le Champignon de Bruxelles: substrate production and cultivation of a series of lignicolous mushrooms on individually packed and pasteurised wood-based substrate | |
17:30 – 18:15 | Drive back to De Steenhove, or start your return journey homeParticipants can be dropped at a metro station, which will connect them to the Brussels Airport or to a train station |
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Sign up below and we’ll let you know as soon as the new dates are available.
