Have you noticed more mycelium growing on the surface in the middle of the bed than along the sides? This common problem causes big differences at harvest: differences in the time you harvest, the quantity you pick and the quality of the crop. In this blog post I give you some tips on how to avoid these differences.
Various possible causes
What causes this phenomenon is hotly debated. The temperature in the middle of the bed is higher than along the sides, the watering system can make a difference, it could be caused by air movement in the growing room… and so on. But in 95% of cases the biggest difference is made when the room is being filled and when ‘CACing’ – i.e. adding compost to the casing soil.
Checking the distribution of compost in the casing soil
You can see the differences best if you look at the CAC axis by lamplight or in daylight during filling. Take your time and look carefully at the surface of the casing soil from above, as shown in this instruction video ‘Irregular spawn run’ You will see more compost in the casing soil in the middle than along the sides. The amounts of compost and casing soil in the machine look as if they are very evenly distributed. But there are often differences of just a few millimetres between the amount of compost in the middle and along the sides. The same applies to the casing soil.
Precision adjustment is needed
The compost in the filling machine is supplied by a small slew conveyor. Leaving the conveyor pointing towards the sides for longer to get more compost to the sides can be enough to compensate for these minimal differences. This is and remains a game. The structure of the compost often changes so the settings also have to be changed. The machine operator should ALWAYS be on the look-out for this!
Bron: Mushroom Blog – Mark den Ouden