Growing Shiitakes at Home

After my unsuccessful attempt at inoculating hardwood logs with Shiitake spawn 2 autumns ago, I felt strongly that I had to get it right the next time. So when my shiitake starter kit arrived from Mushroom People I immediately read all the directions and made sure to follow them exactly. After 1 phone call and 1 email with questions to owner Frank Michael (with no response) I hoped that I had enough information I needed to give these mushrooms the best chance at fruiting and emarked on my quest.

I have decided that my failure 2 years ago resulted either from not using the right wood, or more likely, from dehydration. However, I also did not take much care to keep the bark undamaged, and follow other directions exactly.

So this time I took great care.

It is challenging to find the right trees when they have no leaves, and when they are too young to have distinguishing bark features. With my friend Shannon's help (who knows more about trees than I do) we carefully selected a young white oak which was not receiving enough sunlight to thrive. She still had a few of the previous season's leaves so right away we knew it was oak- the best of the hardwoods for Shiitake plug spawn. She was about 8 inches at the base, beautiful, straight, with no branches extending from her trunk for a good distance, until her diameter was too small to be used. Since it is important to not damage the bark, it is good to find a tree that will not have many branches that you will have to cut off. We marked the chosen one with purple yarn. She was perfect.

Later I returned with another friend Christie and neighbor Herman's chainsaw. We decided which way the tree would fall and laid a few fallen trees across the path and over large rocks in order to help cushion the trees fall. After a ceremony of gratitude and with the smell of chainsaw fumes our tree fell as desired.

As directed, I cut the tree into approximately 40 inches in height, ranging from 3-6 inches in diameter, and carried the logs one by one out of the forest.

While wax was melting in a double burner on my stove, I began to drill. Starting 2 inches from the base, I drilled a hole 1 in. deep with my 5/16 in. drill bit. Then continuing around the base, I drilled more holes 2.5 inches apart. Then, like a grid, I continued upward from each of those holes, drilling 6-8 inches apart until I reached the top. When I finished drilling the first log, I brought out my plugs and melted wax. With a hammer I lightly tapped the plug into the hole so it was flush with the inner bark, trying not to damage the outer bark (which cannot be entirely helped.) After all the plugs were in, I then used a paint brush to cover each plug with a thin layer of wax. I carried each log to its final home, laying along the north end of the house, in the shade, on top of bricks so as to keep them up off the ground.

I would recommend finishing each log before continuing on to the next one. I had only completely a few logs before I had to stop for the day, and was happy that I did not have unplugged holes, as you want to insert the plugs immediately after you drill the holes.

In addition, I found that at first I had trouble with the brush I was using for the wax. It hardened and became unusable. The next paintbrush I used I kept in the wax when I wasn't using it, even letting the wax harden over it, and then melted the wax with the paintbrush still in it. I had no troubles with the brush using this method.

It also helped to have more than one drill. When the battery got low and the drill stopped working well, I aimply charged the battery and used another drill. Had I only had 1 drill it would have been a HUGE hindrance.

I did not have enough logs from the white oak to use all the plugs. They are currently in the fridge. I don't know if I will take another tree, or if I will save them for use in the fall. I don't know yet if they will store until the fall. We shall see.

In the meantime, I will be sure to soak my logs thoroughly, and let them dry in between soakings, about once every 2 weeks. I will be dunking them in clean garbage cans filled with fresh water. I will also flip the completed logs every few months, placing the top on the bricks, to ensure even moisture...

It was a great day, a cold, kind of dismal, tiring, great day. Plus I had the joy of hanging with our chickens, who are usually sociable, but were especially interested in my mushrooming activities.

I pray that come fall, or at least by next spring, I will be cooking up my own home-grown, organic shiitakes.