I am a little behind this year in getting my logs innoculated for some great mushroom eating down the road. Shiitake, Pearl Oyster and Chicken of the woods are what are on the menu this go round. A few photos of my day.

My pre cut logs getting drilled, innoculated with mushroom spore millet, wax sealed over the drill points and log ends. This will slow down the dryout process during the colonization period. I tag each end of my logs so I can remember which logs are growing which kind of mushroom. I am using white and black oak logs.

So where do they go now? Lay them in woods?

Mac

I have some shady spots at the edges of my place just inside the woods line. Some I will stack on pallets. others I have a leaning hitch post I lay them against.

Very cool. Do you buy your spore from somewhere? Any recommendations on where to get it from? Parrafin wax I'm assuming?

Do you ever soak the logs to speed up the process?

There are a few places that sell the spores in different media. Yes, i will soak them once i get them all prepped and set up. The soaking helps them to fruit once they colonize fully. I use a blend of wax to seal the drill plug areas.

This is a whole conversation/process that I am totally unfamiliar with. I don’t even know enough to ask an intelligent question.

Bob you do all the coolest stuff. I wish I was your neighbor. lol

I got some one year old seeded logs a few years ago. Man told me to water them and briskly taps the ends with a hammer. What would that do.

Never got a mushroom. He had a big operation and sol mushrooms to restaurants and at@ farmers market.

The tapping helps. It jars the logs and sort of wakes them up.

I have 9 more logs to do this morning then I am done with this batch. I need to get some more logs before the summer heat begins. Then I have other projects to get done.

The water soaking and tapping the ends seems to help stimulate the colonization process and to accelerate the overall production of growth. Shade and a damp cooler environment are the best and most ideal growing conditions for most species of mushrooms. Blanketing your logs can help a lot with this process if your conditions aren't the best where you live.

kytrapper some of those mushrooms are ready to eat. I will be patiently waiting for mine to mature. I have not grown the pearl oyster variety mushrooms in the past. I hope they do well for me. Always have done Shiitake and Hen of the Woods.

Growing mushrooms is like trapping. Some take to it better more than others. There is always a reason for failure to have a successful fruiting. Poor beside manners and conditions are usually the case.

Amazing process, that I’ve never heard of.

I keep mine in the shade and fairly watered. When I want to force fruit a few logs I soak them vertically overnight in a barrel with cold water. I like the oysters better than Shiitakes. I have a buddy that’s having very good luck with them. Bob, your process is exactly how I did mine. Last year I had a neighbor that loved them and I traded mushrooms for garden produce.

This is a cool thread. Keep us updated please on the progress.

Does it matter on the type of log.. I've heard that certain mushrooms grow near or on certain trees?? Not a mushroom expert so I have no idea the truth to that.

ADC
ADC I am with you on that or maybe he might adopt someone like me that has been around almost long enough to remember when the wheel was invented . There used to be a monthly column in I think The Trapper & Predator Caller called Putting By and Making Do The good old days are not as good as they are held up to be Indoor plumping central air conditoning. and a whole lot of other modern inventions had made my life much better . But there are olds ways that have been lost along the way that still have a place in todays use it once and throw it out society .That is a really cool post Bob Thanks for the lesson today on how to put by and make do

When will these logs produce mushrooms? Do they have one good flush per log or do they keep producing for a while? I'm intrigued, I may have to give this a shot.

Best wood for growing most varieties of mushrooms is any hardwood, no conifers. I use Oak most of the time. The logs depending on the size can produce several years.

The timing from the log cut day to inoculation time should be within 4-6 weeks for the best-case scenario. I like to do mine fast, especially if you wait until this time of year.

This will give you good moisture in the logs for the best colonization to take place. Moisture is key for the mycelium to expand freely thru the cambium of the wood. Dry logs won't work. Earlier in Feb or March is more preferable for me. Too many other things going on in my days this year.

I never had any luck with trying it,,, I don’t know if I got bad spores or what…. But I bought ALOT of spores..I don’t have the money to throw away to try it again. I did everything I was supposed to do,,, even the right logs

Would white ash logs be suitable for inoculation with spores?

If so, what varieties of edible mushrooms will grow well on ash?

Keith