Production

What sets Heereco apart are its cultivation methods, which are 100% organic, along with the use of 100% organic straw and 100% organic chicken manure. Our cultivation methods are as follows:

The organic basis to the process

Cultivation of organic mushrooms starts with the mixing of organic straw, organic chicken manure and natural gypsum to make organic compost. After being left to ferment for a week, this mixture is transported to the polytunnels in Broekhuizen, where it is pasteurised and then inoculated with the mushroom culture (spawn). At Heereco, the compost is distributed over the growing beds and covered with a layer of casing soil, which is made up of different types of peat.

Natural growth

Mushrooms are cultivated on tiered growing beds in dark cells. For the first six days, the mushrooms are given 15 to 30 litres of water per square metre at summer compost temperatures of between 23 and 27 degrees Celsius. Following on from a short period of warmth with air temperatures of between 20 and 22 degrees Celsius, the temperature is reduced to approximately 17 degrees Celsius (autumn temperature). The mushrooms then start to form. We are able to control the number of mushrooms that form by adjusting the temperature, humidity and CO2 levels.

In line with customer requirements

Just two to three weeks after the growing beds have been filled, the first mushrooms are ready to be harvested! The mushrooms are harvested in 'flushes', with only those mushrooms that have grown to a sufficient size and quality being harvested at any one time. Once harvested, the mushrooms are immediately packed into boxes. The boxes are weighed twice in two different ways in order to ensure that each unit contains enough produce.

The mushrooms are then packaged using pre-labelled plastic film or a lid, fully in line with the customer's requirements. At the end of the cycle, the beds are disinfected using steam (heated to 70 degrees Celsius for a period of 12 hours) and cleaned, ensuring optimum hygiene for the cultivation of the next harvest.