- WE DON'T KEEP OUR HARVESTERS IN THE DARK! Mushrooms do not require light to grow because they do not contain chlorophyll; our harvesters work in well-lit, air conditioned picking rooms.
- We harvest 200,000 pounds of mushrooms per week and 10 million pounds per year, and are constantly applying new technology so we can mushroorn even more!
- Our mushroom farm is unique within the industry because our growing rooms contain 3 floors instead of 1 or 2, so more production can occur within a smaller area of land.
- Continental is the second largest family owned and operated mushroom farm in Canada.
- Our Founder's love of gardening and has experirnentation with our spent mushroom compost has resulted in many healthy, green lawns and gardens in the National Capital region.
![[Photo - cooled, packaged and shipped]](images/packnship.jpg "[Photo - cooled, packaged and shipped]")
After the mushrooms are picked they are transported to the packing building where they are rapidly cooled in a machine called a vacuum cooler. They are then further graded, weighed, wrapped and cooled again to ensure their quality and freshness. We deliver 7 days a week, in refrigerated trucks, so our customers enjoy the finest quality and freshness year-round.
A mushroom house is harvested for 21-25 days when the yield is the greatest. After the harvesting is finished, the growing rooms are pasteurized with steam for about 12 hours at 155 degrees F. The compost in the beds is emptied from the growing room and the whole cycle begins again.![[Photo - emptying the finished beds]](images/empty.jpg "[Photo - emptying the finished beds]")
The spent compost, (that the mushrooms were grown in), is wonderful for lawns and gardens. The highly enriched compost that is needed for the mushrooms is a terrific soil amendment and fertilizer. We take from the Earth our compost ingredients and we give back to the Earth to keep it green and productive!
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