Here's what I've been doing this afternoon. I've never tried to grow mushrooms like this before, except from the polystyrene boxed kits you can buy from garden centres. The dowels contain Shiitake mycelium. I doubt I will get a crop this year, but maybe next. If they are successful, they should fruit for 5-7 years! Here's some pics: All I could find were Birch and Willow. Not ideal. I'm on the lookout for recently felled Oak and Beech trees. There was strong winds a few weeks back, so lots of trees have been blown down. Dowels hammered into drilled holes, and sealed with hot wax to stop any unwanted fungus getting in, or moisture from the logs getting out. Anyone tried growing musgrooms on logs before, and were you successful?
Yes, I've grown them using hardwood logs for... I don't know, at least 15 years. They've been a very important source of cash here at my farm. I'm pressed for time right now, but most important advice is, DO NOT LET THE LOGS DRY OUT. Never, ever, ever.... They are the perfect organic crop, you can't fertilize them, or spray them for bugs.... none of that stuff exists. Peace, poor_old_dad
Thanks for the tip. Do you think I should seal the ends of the logs with wax to keep more moisture in? I was going to lay them direct on the ground at the top of the garden, do you think this is a good idea? I could always cover them up with something damp, like a wet hessian sack
I don't wax the ends, just the inoculation spots. And I guess you know to use food grade wax. I would not put the logs on the ground, nor next to the garden. The logs will be around for years and need to be out of the way. They also do not want direct sun, as I'm guessing your garden area has. An out of the way, very shady space, close to a water source is probably best. I would not cover them with a anything. There is a huge amount of shiitake information, after all they've been cultivated for well over 1000 years. Based on my experience, I recommend both: #1 Growing Shiitake Mushrooms in a Continental Climate by M.E. Kozak and J. Krawcyzk #2 Growing Shiitake Commercially by Bob Harris You may not be interested in commercial production(now), but too much info is better than too little. The Kozak & Krawcyzk book is available in Aberdeenshire, Product Code: GRON9, at: Ann Miller's Speciality Mushrooms Greenbank Meikle Wartle INVERURIE Aberdeenshire AB51 5AA 01467 671315 http://www.annforfungi.co.uk/shop/index.php If you haven't visited them, I very strongly suggest you do. My experience is that folks who are "into" mushrooms are very willing to help those who are new. My climate & yours are bound to be very different, so getting local info is important. So you may also get in touch with: Highland Shiitake Growers Association, Kate Thompson, 01381 620692. You may find these PDFs helpful, or at least interesting: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/156712/0042122.pdf http://www.highlandbirchwoods.co.uk/UserFiles/File/publications/Information-Sheets/Info4.pdf I get my mushroom stuff from Mushroompeople [http://www.mushroompeople.com/]. They are a part of Stephen Gaskin's "The Farm" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Farm_(Tennessee)] You may like these pages of theirs: http://www.mushroompeople.com/how-to-cultivate-mushrooms-in-natural-logs/ http://www.mushroompeople.com/wintertime-log-inoculation/
So damn good to see you back! Is the care and non feeding the same for other edibles? Oyster, chanterelle?
I am your humble servant. Oyster mushrooms are [in my opinion] even easier to grow than shiitake because they grow well in softwoods like pine, fir, and spruce logs, as well as in the soft hardwoods like poplar. cottonwood, sweetgum, willow, etc. Shiitake will grow in the softer hardwoods, but really want oak, red oak in particular. Chanterelle is a very different story. As far as I know, chanterelle has never been domesticated. I'll dig further, and let you know for sure. By the way, for those interested in mushroom cultivation and are located near Tennessee, there will be a workshop held on a Saturday in late February or early March at The Solar School of The Farm Community in Summertown, Tennessee. The $55 per person tuition includes a shiitake chili lunch, workshop materials, and hands-on demonstrations. The old saying is a picture is worth a thousand words, I've found that first hand experience is worth a thousand pictures. Peace, poor_old_dad
My further digging into chanterelle is paying off.... I think.... The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse has some very simple web pages starting at: http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/2010/gilberts_jame/index.htm Be sure to check the "References" tab. eHow.com has a few pages, they may be in some order...maybe...anyway: http://www.ehow.com/how_5118479_grow-chanterelle-mushrooms.html http://www.ehow.com/how_5785993_grow-chanterelle-mushroom.html http://www.ehow.com/how_12124552_grow-chanterelle-spores.html Hey, Ripple, how many plugs did you put in each log? Peace, poor_old_dad
I put 16 into each log, which are maybe about 2ft long and 4 inches across. Does that sound about right? I still have some dowels left over and am on the lookout for more logs, but oak ones this time. Is there a way to spread the mycelium on the left-over dowels onto more fresh dowels so I can innculate more logs? That way I could do it for almost free. Thanks for the info on the place in Inverurie! That's about a 40 minute drive from where I live, so I will take a trip out sometime and hopefully speak to them. Will be good to see how they work things here in Scotland. I think I will look into the ones which grow on softwoods, and maybe try them next. It's almost all pine/larch/fir/spruce up here, and there is no shortage of fresh wind blown trees to chop up.
Most folks use 30 plugs on 4 ft logs, so 16 on each 2ft log, sounds good. I know of no way to spread spores from your dowels onto or into fresh ones. The next phase for your logs is the most critical. It is called the "spawn run". It is when the mycelium colonizes the entire log. You'll be able to tell when it is done when the ends of the logs look "milky". From my electronic journal/scrapbook: Spawn Run: Stack the logs in a shady spot, convenient to a water source, leaving some room for air circulation. Evergreen trees make an ideal shade, or the logs can be shaded using 60-80% shade cloth. The most common cause of failure is dehydrated logs. During the nine-month spawn-run (incubation), soak your logs with a sprinkler or soaker hose for 2-3 hours once or twice a week, or by immersing them for 12-24 hours about every two weeks, depending on the weather, rainy, dry, hot, whatever. The idea is to maintain 45-60% internal log moisture content. It is equally important to ALLOW THE BARK TO DRY BETWEEN SOAKINGS to discourage weed fungi. Do infrequent deep soakings and frequent light ones. Roll and flip the logs end-over-end every few months to reduce the accumulation of moisture in one end or side of the logs. As best I can tell, where you are the winter temperatures are from 10 to 20F or -12 to -6.5C, is that right? Oyster mushrooms, correction... SOME oyster mushrooms are grown in softwoods like pine, fir, and spruce logs, as well as in the soft hardwoods like poplar. cottonwood, sweetgum, willow, etc. These are Phoenix Oyster [Pleurotus pulmonarius] is one. It is a heat loving variety, but there are many, many oyster varieties. Ann Miller's Specialty Mushrooms caries oyster and others & could save you shipping charge. Peace, poor_old_dad
Hey POD, thoughts on sawdust v.s logs? And Chantarelle isnt commonly cultivated but threr have been some sucess stories, just very few. Symbiotic or parasitic with a live host tree involved.
I've not had any first hand experience with sawdust. I've been living the "simple life" (which ain't so simple, it turns out) here on my current (third) farm for about 16 1/2 years and got into shiitake 16 years ago. The folks I was learning from were and are "log people" and if you mention other than logs or other than shiitake, they get a look like you just kicked their puppy. Another factor is that I have lots of room outside, under a dense canopy, with high humidity.... perfect place for logs. No indoor space for large scale sawdust production. Also, I also have lots of free access to trees for logs and no access to sawdust. I also gained access to a market for wholesaling log raised shiitake. I've been making my living and supporting my farm life style from what I do here on the farm, so profit (dirty word) had to be considered. At my peak production I had about 180 logs going. 60 per year, 3 year production life, etc. Another factor was that the shiitake (here, on logs) are in full production over the fall-winter-early spring when there isn't much else going on, and when you are doing it all, all alone, things like that are important. So to make a long story short (too late for that), for me, here, logs were best. I have read a lot about sawdust shiitake, both the sawdust bricks and loose sawdust, and the claimed productivity is impressive. I have not seen anything to prove the claim that logs produce better mushrooms than sawdust. Maybe if my health continues to improve, I'll get back into some level of production and try both.... that would be interesting. Peace, poor_old_dad
From what I gather, the difference between the two is simply a matter of the mycellum being more able to traverse the bulk of sawdust more easily than it grows through the layers of pith in a log, thereby giving the mycellial mass more access to the nutes it needs from the wood. Maybe something to do for poops and giggles next time you have the pressure cooker out and get some firewood cut or pass somewhere they're logging white oak or similar varieties? :cheers2: I can understand the "Kicked dog" look as I'm sure there is some difference in the two, one taking more time to mature on it's log like a fine wine, the sawdust is more for meant for fast startup and bulk end results. I have heard foodies prefer the logs, ut maybe "China Buffet" and those sorts may like the idea of bulk?
Yea, some where I read a comparison between sawdust and logs that said the sawdust was similar to well tilled soil and the logs were like compacted soil. In well tilled soil roots spread more easily than in compacted. The reason I was trying to grow as much as possible is that after disappointing results at attempting direct marketing, I struck up a deal with another grower who is about half way between me and Atlanta. He has many customers in Atlanta and paid me $30 per pound for dried shiitake [7lb fresh = about 1lb dried]. Some months, when they were fruiting, I was able to USPS him maybe 5 or 6 lbs. He would only use log grown, sent me a check each month.... sweet, no marketing hassles, traveling, or cost. I think you're right, it would be interesting [for poops and giggles,lol] to try the sawdust grown. My health has improved enough I'm thinking of starting some for the first time in a few years. Maybe I'll try both, side by side comparison type, and see what happens. I want to try Oyster mushrooms too. Now that I'm "retired" I want to try things just for me. Peace, poor_old_dad
Found this in the garage today: I had forgotten all about my little experiment. I had a few dowels left over from when I innoculated the logs earlier in this thread, so months ago I added them to a container full of dowels bought from the 'hardware store' (American English, I feel weird using it!). I boiled the fresh dowels first to make sure they were clean, then added them - still damp- to a container along with the spare dowels with the shiitake spores on them. I left them in a cool dark garage, forgot about them for 3 months, and this is what has happened. Looks like I now need to get some more logs!
Do any of you dry your mushrooms for personal use or for sale? I knew of one lady who had half her bookshelves filled with jars of dried mushrooms, but she was not trying to sell them.
Yes, I've dried shiitake. It is very easy to do, it gives you shelve life, and is easier to ship. The ratio is 7lbs. fresh = 1lb dried. I built (many years ago) a drier built from an article in The Mother Earth News. I had very good luck, here, selling the dried & NO luck at all selling fresh. This is only my result, & I found a marketer of dried shiitake to the Atlanta area. He would buy all the dried I could come up with & selling fresh was in many ways much more expensive (considering time & transportation costs). You may be much closer to a much better market... health food stores, restaurants, etc. Peace, poor_old_dad
Look up the folks who are running the Greenside Mushroom Project out of Bradford. I have a friend who's a member and they're doing some fantastic permaculture work. I have recently discovered that we may be able to grow truffles in California. Almost anywhere that you can grow the right sorts of oak trees you may be able to grow truffles. Interestingly enough it's Napa and Sonoma that have the ideal truffle growing conditions, just as they do for many wine grapes.
