Mushroom spawn are then worked into the compost through a small opening of the bag. The opening is filled with cotton to allow a little air and moisture to filter through and ensure the growth of the spawn inside.
The bags are then set on racks in growing rooms and the compost inside each bag becomes filled with mushroom "roots," a network of lacy, white filaments.
As soon as the growing process starts, a white layer of moss gradually spreads over the compost for 45 to 60 days. Bags can be kept in a refrigerated room to delay the growth process, and sometimes thousands of bags are kept in the cold so that supplies can meet fluctuating market demands.
When farmers want to harvest, the bags are transferred to mushroom houses with high humidity and a cool temperature, around 180C to 250C. One end of the bag is opened, and the mushrooms pop out and balloon rather quickly, since they grow through cell enlargement, not by cell division as animals do. The size of Chinese mushrooms, for example, can double overnight and reach maturity within a week.
The outer-space bag is one of the few highly productive agricultural processes that is completely environmentally-friendly. In fact, after four harvests, the bag's compost is turned into organic fertilizer to grow flowers or other plants.
One estimate made by the Council of Agriculture of Taiwan indicates that there are approximately 160 million mushroom-growing outer-space bags supplying Taiwan's high mushroom demand. The tremendous production force enabled Taiwanese farmers to enjoy a booming decade throughout the 1990s.
But there have been setbacks. The 921 earthquake, a 7.2 on Richter scale, hit mid-Taiwan hard in September, 1999, and the damage inflicted upon mushroom-growers was catastrophic. On top of that, the severe competition oflow-quality mushrooms from China and high-quality products from Japan and South Korea have also recently dealt serious blows to Taiwan's mushroom industry.
Mushroom farms are trying to bypass some of these setbacks by linking with tourism. As in other sectors of Taiwan's agricultural economy, the combination of mushroom farms and tourists benefits everyone involved.
Chen Ling-yu (陳玲玉), an aide to Cheng, said excitedly of the tours, "Each time I lead visitors to our mushroom houses, the trip has never failed to inspire once when they see with their own eyes how different mushrooms are shooting up from the bags with extremely bright colors. I hear people, old and young, scream in amazement every time. It is such a breathtaking experience that nobody would want to miss it."
Mushroom pickers fact box:
1. Rich Year Farm:
58, Dongrun Road, Shuitou Li, Puli, Nantou (
Contact: (049) 2926 959; (049) 2926 359; http://www.agaric.com.tw.
2. Lu-Yao Mushroom Garden
120-5, Nangang Road, Nankang Village, Kuohsing Township, Nantou (
Contact: (049) 2450 449; http://www.luyao.idv.tw
3. The Herb Villa:
No.160-2 Zhongcheng Road, Sec. 4, Peishan Vollage, Kuohsing Township, Nantou (
(049) 2450 243; http://www.cj-farm.com
Note: Entrance is usually free.
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