Two brothers from Alberton, Borries and Ryno Bornman, have recently started a mushroom cultivation company and have already started supplying shops and locals in Alberton.
The idea came after Ryno Bornman had a run-in with the law while trying to grow “magic mushrooms” – a variety with psychotropic properties classed as a drug. Up until that point the youngest brother struggled for some time with addiction to hard drugs and matters were not getting any better.
Borries suggested to his family that they make a legitimate business out of Ryno’s knowledge of growing mushrooms; it would give Ryno some focus and help him get off drugs and it was something the brothers could do together.
The company name, Miracle Mushrooms, is testimony to how things turned around in a short period of time.
The RECORD visited the brothers to get a lesson in fungiculture (mushroom production).
The brothers focus on producing the Oyster, Shiitaki, Shimeji and King Oyster varieties of mushrooms of the multitude of variants that exist and can be grown.
Essentially, structures were built on their property, with the sole purpose of replicating what happens in nature when mushrooms grow, but in a much more controlled environment, optimal for maximum yield.
Hard woods (like jacaranda) and grasses are used as a type of “incubator” for the mushrooms to feed off and grow from.
Mushrooms get cloned when a master cell or mother culture is harvested from one of the large and impressive mushrooms and placed in a petri dish where it grows (spawn). The spawn is then placed in one of the “incubators” where a stringent process is followed for optimal growth of the mushrooms, including control of light, carbon dioxide levels, temperature and even humidity. And when it’s time, a “shock” is introduced, like sudden light exposure and/or temperature variation, etc.
The mushrooms grow out of the sides of the bag of medium, which are harvested, and the process begins again (total time depends on mushroom variant). A new master cell is harvested every three months to ensure the quality and genetic integrity of the mushrooms remain good and strong.
Once the medium is exhausted, a deal can be made with farmers whereby they take the medium, which is good for cattle and livestock because of its high levels of protein, and they give the brothers straw, wood or grass to use as a medium to grow more mushrooms.
“Urban farming is the future and a good way to have access to fresh produce, free of pesticides and you know exactly what goes into and onto your produce because you have been involved in every step yourself,” say the brothers.
“We hope to build a thriving business based on local support. Every mushroom has a bit of magic in it; this time the magic of hope.
“May those out of hope not give up and keep pursuing something they love doing. Miracles still happen every day,” adds Borries.
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