Cultivation is the basis for an effective medicinal mushroom product
Premium quality and effective medicinal mushroom products can only be produced if the raw material itself, the mushroom, is of the highest quality. And that begins with its cultivation.
When growing mushrooms, the following aspects are important to get right:
- The location and the quality of the soil
- The growing material or substrate
- The maturation time
- The experience of the farmer
To achieve our own high requirements for the quality of our products, we do not purchase medicinal mushrooms on the open market, but only from our selected partners.
Take a closer look at our cultivation methods in the video below.
We rely on the tradition of medicinal mushroom cultivation in China
We attach great importance to finding the best growing areas for our medicinal mushrooms. Crowing them in China allows us to combine the ideal climate with the millennia-old knowledge of mushroom cultivation according to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
Many of our mushrooms originate from the Asia region, where they have been valued and consumed for their nutritional value and medicinal properties for thousands of years. The cultivation methods were also developed there, so it makes sense to grow our mushrooms in this part of the world.
We have personally selected experienced and trustworthy farmers in the unspoiled natural areas of the Chinese provinces of Fujian and Jiangxi, far away from industrial areas and other pollution sources.
We cultivate with mushroom-specific growing material
Choosing the right growing material is important to ensure that the mushroom develops all of its vital ingredients.
We rely on the experience of our Chinese partner farmers. They know the exact substrate requirements of the different mushroom species.
The selected substrate is first heat sterilized, cut, and finally hand-packed into a protective casing. This process allows us to grow the mushrooms without the use of pesticides.
The inoculated cultures are then placed on long wooden shelves in greenhouses to regulate sunlight, air circulation and temperature.
Certain mushrooms, such as chaga, are foraged from trees.
Take a look at the growing materials we use for each mushroom
Quality in mushroom cultivation takes time
Like good wine or cheese, mushrooms need time to fully ripen. Only then can the valuable ingredients fully develop.
The ripening time varies depending on the mushroom type. For example, shiitake takes about five months to ripen and reishi even up to eight months.
When the time is right, the farmers harvest the fruiting body of the mushrooms. We use only this part of the mushroom in our powders and extracts to obtain the maximum amount of valuable ingredients. We never use any mycellium or growing material in our products.
Follow the the journey of our mushrooms
After harvesting the medicinal mushrooms are carefully dried and either ground into a fine powder or made into an extract.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below you can find answers to some of the most popular questions about our cultivation methods. If you can’t find the answer to your question below, you can take a look at all our FAQs or give us a call or send us an email.
Why don’t we grow functional mushrooms in Germany or Europe, but only in China?
Thanks to the long tradition with TCM, our Chinese farmers have a sound knowledge of mushroom growing and cultivation from which our customers can benefit. We Europeans lack this know-how, as the knowledge about mushrooms has been largely lost in the course of industrialization and modern medicine.
Studies have even shown that medicinal mushrooms from countries with a tradition of producing TCM functional mushrooms, such as China, are of better quality than mushrooms from countries without this tradition.
The import of medicinal mushrooms from China is therefore a decisive criterion to ensure the high quality and effectiveness of our raw materials.
Are the Chinese farmers paid fairly?
Fair treatment of our Chinese partners is very important to us. This includes fair payment for the work they do, regardless of how much harvest is yielded.
This philosophy is also an important building block of our quality system, as fair payment ensures the loyalty of our farmers.