Growing oyster mushrooms in a cave for off-season sales brings considerable profits

Liu Xiaoyuan's wife, Zhang Meiling, is observing the shape of a new flush of oyster mushrooms.

The trials of starting a business turned Zhang Meiling from a delicate young woman into a tough "tomboy" who can drive a forklift.

Liu Xiaoyuan and his wife are adding spawn to the mushroom sticks.

Giving up a white-collar job with an annual salary of more than 200,000 yuan, Liu Xiaoyuan returned to his hometown to grow mushrooms. In a cave in Fen Village, Xitiangezhuang Town, Miyun County, Beijing, the reporter met this successfully transformed "professional farmer."

As soon as one steps into the cave where Liu Xiaoyuan grows mushrooms, neatly stacked oyster mushrooms growing well on steel racks on both sides look like blooming snow lotuses.

Why choose to grow oyster mushrooms in a cave? Liu Xiaoyuan explained that oyster mushrooms are a low-temperature edible fungus, and once summer arrives, their yield drops sharply. This cave has 4 levels, upper and lower, and its special structure creates a microclimate that is warm in winter and cool in summer. The natural conditions of ventilation, weak light, constant temperature, and constant humidity are exactly the environment oyster mushrooms like. Compared with traditional greenhouse cultivation, cave cultivation has more advantages: it does not occupy a single inch of land, does not consume a single drop of drinking water, and is not disturbed by pests and diseases. Such "original ecological" growth makes the oyster mushrooms here good in shape, bright in color, thick in flesh, and delicate in taste. So as soon as these mushrooms hit the market, they were snapped up.

In 2010, Liu Xiaoyuan, who was already the head of the quality control department at Sanyo Energy Beijing Company, saw the broad business opportunities contained in agriculture and resolutely quit his job to begin his entrepreneurial path. In the past few years, he either went out to visit and learn from others, or stayed holed up in the cave, testing temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide concentration, and other values. Soon, he went from a layman to a half expert in oyster mushroom cultivation.

This original cave cultivation model overcomes the drawbacks of traditional seasonal concentrated market supply and plays an "off-season card" in sales, naturally raising income. At present, the daily output of oyster mushrooms here is close to two tons. Calculated at a price of 10 yuan per kilogram, "conservatively estimated, monthly sales revenue is more than 500,000 yuan," Liu Xiaoyuan said happily.