Sarah Njeri Maina is among the kenyan farmers who are reaping alot from Button Mushrooms Farming. She is a highschool teacher who does farming in Gachie, Kiambu County. In this article we will explain to you what you need to know about Button Mushrooms farming.
What is Button Mushrooms Farming?
The best growing medium for button mushrooms is a mixture of composted manure and straw. This provides the necessary nutrients and structure for the mushrooms to grow. The composted manure should be aged for at least six months to ensure that it is free from harmful bacteria and pathogens.
Materials for Button Mushrooms farming.
The substrate on which button mushroom grows is mainly prepared from a mixture of plant wastes (cereal straw/ sugarcane bagasse etc.), salts (urea , superphosphate / gypsum etc), supplements (rice bran/ wheat bran) and water. In order to produce 1 kg. of mushroom, 220 g. of dry substrate materials are required.
How much do I need to start Button Mushrooms Farming.
The cost of starting mushroom farming in Kenya is about Ksh. 230 thousand for a 1/8 of an acre of land. The Subsequent cost is approximately Ksh. 150,000.29.
Read more:Profitable Macadamia Farming: How Kenyan Farmers are Making Millions Of money
For Sarah, she started the farming with Ksh. 420,000. She said that the first thing a farmer needs is a structure, for her she has rented a structure, then compost manure is needed, and should be chicken manure, you need polythene bags, gypsum , molasses and many other small things to make a perfect start-up.
For Sarah the farming has been giving her enough profits to even enable her to provide employment to people in the community and also live a lavish lifestyle.
She said that there is market in Kenya, and on a bad market, after every three months she makes ksh.750,000. However when the market is high, then there she is sure of making ksh.1.2 Million every three months. That is the money she is sure of. Despite several challenges, Sarah said that Mushrooms farming is the way to go and she encourages youths to join the field.
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