I've been growing mushrooms in wood chip beds for years, but last year I decided to try something different. A local mushroom grower was selling pre-inoculated shiitake logs, so I purchased some. Well, even after a dry summer and my infrequent watering, our logs are fruiting.
Growing your own shiitake mushrooms isn't that hard and can save you some money. Shiitake mushrooms grow on hardwood logs. Probably the easiest way to learn how to inoculate some logs is to check for local mushroom-growing classes in your area.
You'll need to harvest three-to-six-inch diameter logs and cut them about 40 inches long. Oak, sugar maple and hornbeam are best. Cut them now after the leaves have dropped. Then you'll need mushroom spawn or plugs. Check online for sources of mushroom plugs that you'll put into your logs and look for spawn strains adapted to our cold climate.
Within three weeks of cutting your logs, lay them on a sawhorse and drill 5/16th diameter holes into the logs, one inch deep. Space the plug holes about six inches apart, starting two inches away from the log ends.
Gently tap the mushroom plugs into the holes so the plug isn't sticking out. After inserting the plugs, seal them with a light coat of beeswax or cheese wax to keep the plugs moist and to keep the insects out.
Stack the logs in a shady area off the ground to avoid contamination from soil fungus. Then just leave them. Come spring, water the logs a few times a week or immerse them in water for eight hours every two weeks to keep them moist. Hopefully by next fall, you'll have shiitake mushrooms sprouting, too.
And now for this week's tip: Add soil amendments, such as lime and sulfur, now to change the pH based on a soil test. This will give the soil microbes time to break down these minerals before spring.
