Holy Sh%take!

[upstatenybowyer]

For those of you who grow your own shitake mushrooms and know what you're doing this will come as no surprise.

In the spring of last year I inoculated a fresh cut American Beech log w/ spores and sealed up the plugs w/ beeswax. The catalogue I bought the spores from said to wait a year and the mushrooms should start to grow.

Well, this spring I anxiously awaited a huge flush of delicious mushrooms  and alas, nothing! 

I kept waiting only to remain disappointed.  Then, we ran into one of my wife's childhood friends who grows shitakes and she told me where I went wrong. 

She said you have to soak the log in water for 24 hrs to trigger mushroom growth. 

So I did, and eureka!!!!

Can't wait to dehydrate a bunch and send them in my Christmas trade victim's goody box!

[bjrogg]

Those are looking real tasty Jeff, I've been a good boy this year you can put me on your nice list.lol. The farm I live on had a cement pit for storing manure in. I have never used it and don't ever intend to, at least not for manure. I have thought of growing mushrooms in it though. Always reminds me of a shirt one of my buddies had. It was something like " They treat me like a mushroom, leave me in the dark and feed me S%#t
Bjrogg

[upstatenybowyer]

You're always on the nice list BJ. Sounds like a good spot you've got for growing mushrooms. It's a bit of work to get the logs inoculated, but after that they should keep producing for at least 5 years. Like everything else, they taste way better fresh!

[Zuma]

 
Zuma