Have any of you tried growing mushrooms by using the plugs you can buy to inoculate logs?
Seems interesting and I would like to give it a try.

Thanks, Zim

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In for info

I'm no help but when I bought my lake property the previous owner's wife was a Botany Professor and had white oak logs set in the woods for that purpose- there was a pile of wood chips that I used as mulch not realizing it was being cultivated for mushroom spores- they came up everywhere. I'll be following also.

I grew some shiitake mushrooms using the “plug” spawn. I got mushrooms for a few years then neglected them.
I probably should try it again, if memory serves me I ordered the spawn from an outfit in Wi??

At our farmer's market there is a guy that sells shiitakes and shiitake "logs". His logs are actually compressed small bales of straw and nutrients tightly bound in perforated plastic. In his atmosphere controlled mushroom room he produces 12 months out of the year.

I do

I have , you need to have a good shady spot and check them regular you can get good mushrooms and have the go past in just a few days

green wood cut , drill the holes , plugs in the holes , paint wax over the top

when we get a good rain be checking every day after

I lost a lot of my shade last year so my spot is done for now I may try again under a different tree.

if you can put them where they will be easy to see regular , nice walking path through the woods , north side of buildings in good shade

PSB has a nicer set up than I had , good pictures

I just had 3-4 logs that I did , with a little kit purchased at a farmers market

Thanks guys. PSB1011 thanks for the pictures, just what I was looking for.
Schweg2, the outfit I was looking at is Field and Forest, they are out of Peshtigo.

Zim

Ive grown some shitake and tried lions mane. The lions mane never came.
I did try this box last year. First spawn was good. Not much on the second. Testimonials claim a lot of people get multiple spawns with the box. Kinda pricy

I have grown Shiitake mushrooms for the past 25 years. I buy sawdust spawn and innoculate red oak logs every other spring. Usually have 100 logs that produce mushrooms each summer. I buy all my spawn and needed tools from: https://www.fieldforest.net/









I will be innoculating 40 logs this spring.

Chris

What kinds of logs are you growing the oyster mushrooms on?

Tulip Poplar.

Do y'all soak your logs before inoculating them?

I didn't, but I did use very fresh dropped logs.

Are the other mushrooms also on Tulip Poplar?

No,the Shitakis are on oak logs.

Zim,

I get the shiitake spores and mix with my wet sawdust. I use iron wood, as it seems to last longer and I drill 1" holes in the logs and pack with the wetted spore/sawdust mix. Crisscross stack in a shady spot in the woods and makes sure that you watch the weather and mist if it's been dry.

These logs sop I'll produce throughout the year and beyond if the logs stay together.

If you cook those mushrooms in butter, DO NOT splash any up on your forehead...... Your tongue will slap your brains out trying to get to it!

What if a person did this in a cellar where it's more climate controlled? Do they need any sunlight?

Only repeating what I saw and was told. A coworker was growing many kinds of mushrooms in his basement. It was impressive. He would take the mushrooms he wanted put them in the blended with water until the texter of a milkshake. Pour mixture in foam cups and place in a cool dark place until it mixture became solid, it would take a couple of weeks. Then he would have a clean 5 gallon pail filled with vermiculite, bury the solid mass of mushroom milkshake after removing the foam cup in the pail a 1/3 of the way down and within weeks he had more mushrooms then he could process.

Growing mushrooms.

One of the many things that I have spend many hours researching, but never quite got around to doing. As I spend my time downsizing, and getting ready to move, i still plan on raising a few in my next life (property).

PSB, may I collect firewood at your place?

Hmmm, I have this large poplar stump,,

This is a great thread- I noticed that on the fieldforest website that they offered a workshop last year- I wouldn't mind attending this year if it's offered.

That is how my wife and I got our start in the mid 1990's. Learned a lot at the one day seminar. Was well worth the price.

Chris

Any issues with deer browse, bears or other pests- Picnic Bettles, worms, etc?

On occasion a slug may climb the log and gnaw on a mushroom. There may be an occasional small beetle but if you monitor the mushroom growth and pick before they are past prime the issue is usually minor. No damage by birds or deer, though.

Chris

I googled mushroom spawn and the first thing that popped up was not what I was expecting! I have always wanted to get some mushroom. Logs going around the house, my wife loves to cook with them maybe this is some we can get going and enjoy together.

Does anybody sell mushrooms to farmers' market or restaurants or online, etc.? If so, do you sell fresh or dehydrated? Price?

Don't ever type in Black Beaver then... just saying

love growing and hunting mushrooms both oysters are my favorite zim i have a daughter and family live in rural reedsburg find a lot of different kinds of mushrooms on their place and around them from early spring thrue late fall lot of good eating in your area

Thanks for all the replies fellers. Looking forward to trying to start some this spring.
Joe1, sent ya a pm.

Zim

There is an auction barn close to me that the Amish run. When the mushroom season is on I have sold many there. Usually, they bring $50.00 to $75.00 a pound. These are wild morels auctioned off to the highest bidder.