My brother, who lives in Upstate NY and has been a vegetarian, organic gardener
and gourmet foodie for 30+ years, started growing Shiitake mushrooms some 5-10 years ago. After visiting him several
years ago and seeing first hand, and mouth, the wonderous Mushroom harvest, I wanted to try to grow them too. I had a
head start by having him as a coach and thus avoiding the mistakes he made when he first started out.
I started by buying plug spawn from a place called Fungi Perfecti,
these are wooden dowels inoculated with myciluim from which the mushrooms grow. I bought a high speed drill motor
(this REALLY helped-300 holes os ALOT of holes to drill and the high speed motor made a big difference),
a special drill bit with a stop collar (also available from FP), some cheese wax (also avaiable from FP), something to
melt the wax in
(I bought a small electric fry pan) and a metal turkey baster with a metal needle that threads onto the end to seal
the plugs into the holes ...then I cut down a white oak tree about 8 inches in diameter around the bottom.
You have to use a fresh cut logs so no other organism have a chance to colonize the wood before the Shiitake mycilium
has a chance to colonize. Red or White oak is used because of it's open grain, making the migration of the mycilium growth
within the length of the log more successful. Beware of trees that have poison ivy vine growing up them, I never found out
if this would truly taint the mycilium or the mushrooms but thought-NOT a good idea!
I cut my tree into lengths about 40 inches long, I came to this length based on the number of plugs I bought and
the spacing needed for the holes. You drill holes around the circumference of the logs starting about 2 inches
from the end and 2 inches between holes and then around again at about 8 inch intervals down the length of the log,
the last row of holes around the circumference will be again 2 inches from the end. This allows the mycilium to grow
lengthwise along the inner grain of the logs.
I then tapped the plugs into the holes using a small hammer, using another dowel to sink them just below the bark to allow room for the wax.
Then you use the baster/needle to fill this indentation with melted wax.
The logs should be stacked in fairly deep shade, one end on the ground and other end on the next logs 'ground' end.
The ground contact helps them retain moisture. Cover the log stack with a tarp, again to help retain moisture. Keep an
eye on the logs to make sure mold or other fungus doesn't form, if it does partially or fully uncover.
You will see some mycilium growth within a couple of months if not sooner at the plug sites and at the end of the logs.
It takes 6-12 months for the logs to 'bloom' or 'fruit'.
I plugged my logs April of 2002, I didn't have any blooms by end of May 2003 so I soaked them to force fruiting.
I lined my 10 cuft garden cart with a tarp, weighted down the logs with concrete blocks and filled the cart with water
until the logs were completely covered. I soaked 2 logs each for 7, 16 and 28 hours to see if there was any difference
in the amount of mushrooms in relation to the soak time-there was no difference. Below is a chronological pictorial
augmenting all this verbage.
Other Things of Interest......
-------Using the Harvest--------
Using the mushrooms fresh picked is best of course,
use them the same way you would use the 'regular white shrooms from the grocery'. Pizza, Spaghetti Sauce, Stir Fry, etc.
or just sauteed in olive oil and garlic...mmmmmmmmmmmm!
Don't wash the mushrooms until you are ready to use them, brush off any dirt or bugs with a soft brush or your hands under
running water. The stems are really too tough to eat, I feed them to the worms, but I have heard that they are good for soup stock.
You can store them in the fridge for a couple weeks, you'll know when they get to old to eat won't you?? I store them in a paper
bag to keep them from getting slimey and eventually they will dry out. Yes, you can dry them too, and rehydrate several hours
before using. You can partially cook them by sauteeing then freeze them for later use.
-------The Mouse and Ant Attack----------
When I discovered the 'unwanted growth' described in pics below, I also discovered several rather sassy field mice
appeared to be living under the tarp. They were very brave, dashing back and forth and pausing right there to look me in the
eye when I uncovered the stack! WELL!! I cursed them vehmently, didn't do any good except relieve my frustration momentarily.
There were also TONS of ants carrying what looked like eggs on one log. The Mycilium on end of ant log looked nibbled upon.
Had just read an article in Smithsonian about ants actually 'farming' fungus. Didn't those ants know that thats MY fungus
farm???? I wondered what kills ants that won't poison the shrooms or me?? Well, I found out that ants don't like alot of
water so I soaked the logs and surrounding area with the hose and never saw them again.
The mice may still be living out there, but they don't seem to eat the shrooms so..they can stay (like I have a choice there).
Actually removing the tarp took care of the ants, the mice and the 'unwanted growth'.
Chronological Pictorial
Shiitake Plugs April 2002
You can see the grains of whole wheat in the bag, these 'feed' the mycilium
as it grows onto the plugs.
Shiitake Plugs April 2002
Shiitake Logs July 2002 - the beginnings of Mycilium growth
Shiitake Logs July 2002 - the beginnings of Mycilium growth
I discovered some unwanted organisms growing on the logs under the tarp
Shiitake Logs July 2002 - Unwanted growth
So I removed the tarp and covered the stack with a section of bamboo
fencing that would allow rain to infiltrate for moisture and protect the logs from sun and wind.
I hoped that this would reduce the darkness and moisture needed for these other forms of growth-it worked.
Shiitake Logs July 2002 - Naked Log Stack
Shiitake Logs July 2002 - Covered Log Stack
In the spring of 2003 I raised the fencing cover atop 6 foot T-posts
in anticipation of the logs bearing fruit. The area I have them in is not as fully shaded as it should be,
so the fencing helps with that. The picture was actually taken in October 2003, (forgot to take one in the spring)
but I stuck it in here.
Raised Shade
After soaking the logs I restacked them in a different configuration
Shiitake Logs June 2003 -first fruiting
Shiitake Logs June 2003 - first fruiting
Shiitake Harvest June 2003 - 6" caps
By September the logs still hadn't fruited on their own,
so I decided to soak them again to force fruiting. Again I used yet another log stacking
configuration to try and avoid the disfigurement of the mushrooms.
Shiitake Logs September 2003
Shiitake Harvest September 2003
Shiitake Twins! September 2003
Fall 2003 I will drop the cover back down onto
the logs so the snow load won't break the fencing. Next year I will soak the logs 2 at a time
every month to have more harvests with less mushrooms at a time.
