Growing mushrooms for a profit is becoming a popular way to make some nice money. Best of all, no full-time commitment is required. You can have a full-time job or other commitments and still be a successful grower. Can you spare 12 hours a week? Here’s how you can make $600 growing oyster mushrooms.
Oyster mushrooms are a type of exotic mushroom. The popularity of exotic mushrooms is continuing to climb. Over one and a half million pounds of exotic mushrooms were consumed just last year in the U.S. So why oyster mushrooms? Simply put, they are one of the easiest exotic mushrooms to grow. They can be fully grown in about six weeks.
Growing mushrooms for profit can be a new career or a way to make some extra cash. You decide. If you have 12 hours a week, you have enough time to run and maintain a successful mushroom-growing business. Growing oyster mushrooms for profit is certainly not a get-rich-quick scheme, but it can lead to a nice income.
So let’s do the math. Oyster mushrooms are currently selling for about $6 a pound. That’s the wholesale price. Retail prices, like selling at the farmer’s market, can bring $12 a pound.If you’d like to make $600 a week growing mushrooms, that means you’ll need to grow about 100 pounds a week. How much room will you need? To grow 100 pounds a week you’ll need a growing area that is about 200 to 250 square feet. Using the “hanging bag” growing method, that’s all it takes.
Once your mushrooms are ready to be sold, you have several options. Maybe you’d like to try the local farmers’ market. These usually draw big crowds that are eager to spend money on the top locally-grown produce. Reserve a stand or booth and get selling. Spots fill up fast, so if this happens, consider asking another grower if you can share their stand with them.
Restaurants are big buyers of mushrooms. Talk to some local restaurants, and see if they might be interested in your exotic mushrooms. Hand out free samples to chefs. Most chefs love oyster mushrooms for the delicious taste, and the fact that they “pair” well with many foods.
Grocery stores are another market for oyster mushrooms. In particular, upscale grocery stores are the ones most likely to carry exotic mushrooms, such as your oyster mushrooms. Chances are good that you can beat out an out-of-state distributor for business if you can offer your mushrooms at a better price than what the grocery store has been paying before. Plus, the grocery store might even allow you to put on demonstrations. Handing out free samples is a great way to drum up business for your mushroom-growing business. Just a taste is all it takes.
If you can spare 12 hours a week, then you have enough time to become a successful mushroom grower. You can make about $600 a week with 200 to 250 square feet of space. Soon you could be selling to grocery stores, restaurants and at farmers’ markets. Before long, you could be growing oyster mushrooms for profit and making the type of money you’ve always wanted. To learn more, read Growing Gourmet Mushrooms For Profit.