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As the demand for Wasabi increases there are more and more people who are interested in growing this perennial herb.
Getting involved in the growing side of things is not a way to get rich quickly, it takes time. 🙂
The growing of Wasabia japonica is regarded as difficult. In some places they say that it is the most difficult herb to grow properly. The reason this is true is because the plant requires very specific growing conditions to give you the extreme snort up the nose when you eat it.
Since 1990 we have been growing Wasabi, and probably at this point in time we can claim to be the Worlds experts on finding ways to kill Wasabi. That said, we are also still growing it commercially and selling as much as we can produce.
So is growing Wasabi for you? It takes nerve, and the ability to wait because it can take up to three years to get to a harvestable size. That isn’t always true; we work on a 600 day cycle now we can avoid killing the plants. 🙂
You also need a decent amount of cash, and be able to spend all your time molly coddling the plants.
Once you have done all this waiting and investment, now comes the really interesting part of the operation – Marketing. We will deal with that aspect in later articles in the Wasabi Growers Club.
The demand for wasabi is not slowing down, and because of the growing difficulty factor the cost of entry is high = fewer people will do it. This leaves more opportunities for those of you who do decide to become a Wasabi Grower. Is that you?
If you are interested in growing, then sign up for a membership of the Wasabi Growers Club. More information can be found here.
Michel Van Mellaerts (The Wasabi Maestro) is the recognized World authority and expert on the practical Growing, Processing and Marketing of Wasabia japonica. He and his wife have been commercially growing Wasabia japonica longer than anyone else outside Japan.
Trained as a Mechanical and Electrical Engineer he has invented and installed many improved growing systems into their farms. These enable high quality Wasabi to be grown anywhere in the World.
The Wasabi Maestroes have set up commercial Wasabi growing farms from the Arctic Circle to Southern New Zealand, including the Equator. They have worked with individual growers, national governments, and investment groups on four continents.
These growing systems have reduced growing times by nearly 67%, improved yield and quality of the Wasabi rhizome, and increased the levels of active ingredients by nearly 100%. It is these active ingredients that independent scientific studies show kills cancer cells and improves human health.
They pioneered the use of Wasabia japonica in the Nutraceutical and Medical industries. They are at the leading edge of research into the benefits of Wasabi on human and animal health.
The Wasabi Maestroes offer a Training and Consultancy service for potential and actual Wasabi growers who only want to learn from the best. Others spend their time floundering around trying to find out what information is useful and what isn’t.
The Training has been proven and improved over the last 20 years plus of personal commercial Wasabi growing. This has been hands on, getting wet and dirty work – not guesswork from behind a desk.