You will find P&L Rogers at the Adelaide Showground Farmers Market every Sunday at Site #94
Produce: mushrooms, compost
Contact Details
Phil and Linda Rogers started P&L Rogers when the couple took over Linda’s father’s farm in 2006. Linda’s father runs Merbein Mushrooms in Victoria and he trucks compost from Merbein in Victoria to P&L Rogers’ Woodcroft mushroom farm on a weekly basis.
P&L Rogers sell around 35 tonnes of mushrooms a week and they are the second largest mushroom farm in SA. They freight mushrooms interstate and to the Pooraka wholesale market. However Phil values his stall at the Adelaide Showground Farmers Market because he says,
“It gives us a chance to see how stock is selling and also allows us to make random checks on the quality of our product to ensure the standard is where it should be.”
P&L Rogers have 24 rooms specially designed for mushroom growing, made from 150ml insulated panel. The mushrooms are grown in stacked wooden growing trays and the rooms are constantly monitored for temperature, moisture and CO2.
Mushrooms take 58 days from composting to picking and then another 6 weeks until the crop is ready for harvesting. The company has chosen to concentrate on two most popular varieties of mushrooms – Swiss and brown. With mushrooms made up of around 96% water, it is a very water intensive industry so the company does it’s best to reduce water usage elsewhere, using bore water to wash down areas.
Mushrooms are commonplace now but they haven’t always been! It is alleged that in Egyptian times, one of the Pharaohs considered mushrooms, “to fine a food to be eaten by the common people,” whilst Julius Caesar wrote laws on who would be permitted to enjoy the unique flavour of mushrooms!
There are great health benefits to eating mushrooms. They have no cholesterol, fat or sodium. They are a good source of fibre and vitamin B and have been promoted for boosting the immune system and preventing heart disease.
The Australian way of consuming mushrooms has changed a lot since the 1970s, when around 75% of mushrooms went into cans! Now around 90% of mushrooms are sold fresh to be eaten raw or cooked. For some great recipes using mushrooms, click here.
