Inoculating Shiitakes

We had a break in the cold this weekend and took advantage of it to inoculate some of our Elm logs with Shiitake. The process is a few hours of easy, creative work, and a fun family activity. We sourced our logs from our Tiny Forest -- a large Elm came down towards the end of last summer after a large hail storm swept through. We sourced our Shiitake spawn (Lentinula edodes) from Paul Stamets at Fungi Perfecti out of Olympia, Washington.

 

Why Shiitakes?

  • The Shiitake mycelium will transform our overabundance of wood into food (mushrooms).

  • Mushrooms grow in shade. We have lots of that in our Tiny Forest, and Shiitakes will help us make use of this little micro climate.

  • They are a very delicious gourmet mushroom, and a perfect addition to soups, stews, or ramen.

  • Shiitakes are an exceptional medicinal mushroom providing immune support, cardiovascular and anti-cancer benefits, as well as a supplement for meeting everyday protein needs.

  • We chose them because they are fairly easy to grow for beginners. And we are beginners.

 

The basic steps for inoculating Shiitake:

  • Select logs that are about 4-10" in diameter. They will fruit on many types of deciduous wood. Oak and Elm are good choices -- in fact I read somewhere that Shiitake in Japanese means something close to "Oak Mushroom" indicating its preference for this type of wood.

  • Logs should ideally be fresh -- about 4 weeks after they're cut so the anti-fungal properties of the tree die off, but not so long that other mycelium or borers can colonize the wood first.

  • Drill holes using a 5/16" drill bit in a diamond pattern throughout the log, about 5" or 6" apart from each other, beginning with the sapwood or the outer ring of the cut sides, and continuing down the log.

  • Fill the holes with the mushroom spawn plugs. Use a rubber mallet to pound them in if needed

  • Seal the filled holes with beeswax -- this keeps other competing mycelium out and keeps the logs from drying out. Melt the wax in an old pot, and paint it on. It will quickly cool.

  • Stack the finished pieces log-cabin style, in the shade, with ample air flow.

  • Wait 9-18 months for first fruiting, after that expect spring/fall flushes for years.

 

A couple of useful resources:

  • Farming the Woods by Ken Mudge & Steve Gabriel -- There is a whole section in the book devoted to cultivating mushrooms in a forest setting, and we found it to be the most useful in terms of easy-to-digest, practical tips for the novice.

  • Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets -- He is the godfather of mushrooms, with decades of research experience. His book has all the information to get you started, and a whole lot more to excite about the possibilities of fungi to help heal the world. Mycoremediation, or the power of mushrooms to clean up toxins in the earth, is particularly inspiring.

  • Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation by Tradd Cotter -- This is a much more in-depth how-to guide for the novice moving into more serious mushroom farming. It's full of step by step processes and tips for all kinds of mushrooms and cultivation -- indoor and outdoor. Also includes some very cool ideas for mushroom kits in recovery areas of disaster areas and developing nations.

  • This permaculture workshop video by New Hampshire mycologist Dave Wichland is great too. It's an hour long session where he shows various types of wild mushrooms, the steps in the inoculation process and demonstrates various techniques while answering questions from the group.

  • A local Minnesota mycologist to connect to -- Jeremy McAdams of Cherry Tree House Mushrooms who has championed mushroom growing in the Twin Cities at various farmers markets and hosts workshops and events at his farm.

 

What we learned:

  • Winter is the best time to inoculate Shiitake, but the temperatures will vary based on the type of Shiitake you order -- some are very cold hardy, some varieties are more temperate, and they all vary based on how often they fruit, and how many years they fruit for. Just like with seeds, be sure to order the type that's right for your zone, and order at a time when it makes sense to inoculate.

  • We ordered ours for Minnesota winter, only to get instructions that said we should keep newly inoculated logs out of freezing temperature for 6 weeks. That meant we needed to delay the process. The spawn was fine, we were able to stick it in the fridge, but unfortunately that gave our wood a lot more time to sit on the forest floor, giving other mycelium a potential head start.

  • We had more logs than spawn plugs. I thought 100 plugs sounded like a lot for a first-timer but once we got going I realized it wouldn't get us very far looking at my stack of wood. We've just ordered 1,000 more.

  • Make sure the battery of the drill is charged, or have a back up if needed.

  • Wax can be fussy and messy. Grab an old coffee can or a pot you're not worried about, as you'll never get the wax residue out of it. That goes for the paint brush too.

  • We heated our wax inside and then brought it out, but it cooled very quickly, so we had to do this a few times. Next time we'll just light a fire outside in our fire pit and warm it closer to where we're working.

  • Because our wood sat for awhile, we'll need to make sure that it's actually Shiitake that is fruiting. We'll need to use all of the identifying techniques to be sure we've got a good crop.

  • Who knows, we may not see any fruit from this effort, but it was still worth it -- a fun afternoon, with the potential of years of mushrooms to follow.

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