Filling, three points to focus on
In a very distant past, filling a growing room was done by hand and it took up to a whole day to fill a room measuring 120 to 180 m2. The arrival of filling machines reduced the labour input and the amount of time involved. Nowadays the pulling speed of the net with the compost and casing soil is usually 7 – 8 m/s with top of the range systems achieving up to 18 m/s. The higher the speed, the sharper the focus. All the parameters have to be right. The supply and spread of the compost, the filling weight of the compost, the supply and spread of the casing, the thickness of the casing layer, the extent of CAC, the structure of the casing, etc.
If everything runs smoothly it might look easy, but there is still room for error and any mistakes will haunt you for the entire four or six-week cropping cycle. This tip brings three focus points to your attention.
By Jos Hilkens, AdVisie ‘the mushroom growing consultants’, Herkenbosch
More information about AdVisie can be found at www.champignonadvies.nl or please contact Jos Hilkens by e-mail: hilkens@mushroomconsulting.nl.