|
|
Post by Chickadee on Mar 30, 2015 19:25:30 GMT
Has anyone here grown mushrooms on logs, by ordering the plugs from online? I have wanted to do this and dh said he would cut me some oak logs. My understanding is that this is the time of year to do it. I would love to hear if anyone knows anything about it. I want it to be a success. It sounds easy but so do a lot of things.  I also want to learn to forage for wild mushrooms but am terrified I will kill my family.  |
|
|
|
Post by hobbitlady on Mar 30, 2015 20:08:34 GMT
I haven't done plugs but I know it's the right time of year Here because I just saw a local herbal farm give a notice they'd teach someone in exchange for helping them with theirs this year....
As for wild mushrooms you Really need to find a local to take you out in person the first time. Or ask someone to show you After they've hunted by showing you their day's pickings.....lots of favorite spots are "secret" he/he All you need to know At First is one or two "no brainer" varieties to get you in the swing of it and having fun.I hunted for 10 years and never did feel the need to get complex about it or collect "hard to be sure" varieties.
|
|
|
|
Post by Chickadee on Mar 31, 2015 0:00:18 GMT
Thanks Hobbitlady! That is good advice. I will keep looking for someone around here that forages. You really helped me because I didn't think about finding the more common varieties to concentrate on at first. Like you I don't care about the more elusive ones (at least not yet anyway.) |
|
|
|
Post by mikeinohio on Mar 31, 2015 1:09:11 GMT
chickadee, it is fairly easy if you are doing Shiitake mushrooms for example. We get our plugs from Fungi Perfecti. We try to have 100 or so logs going at any one time. We've plugged logs pretty much anytime of the year except the dead of winter and one year I did that in our basement.
|
|
|
|
Post by hobbitlady on Mar 31, 2015 2:48:43 GMT
Thanks Hobbitlady! That is good advice. I will keep looking for someone around here that forages. You really helped me because I didn't think about finding the more common varieties to concentrate on at first. Like you I don't care about the more elusive ones (at least not yet anyway.) chickadee-Maybe you mis-read my meaning....not sure. MOST wild mushrooms are plenty elusive to find,and you Do have to hunt and develop and "eye for it". Also you'll learn both what month to look and what type of area to look in. The wild ones are sometimes only out there a couple of weeks in Spring or Fall.That part is not usually easy unless a family or group or guide lets you go to Their "hot spots". When I said "no brainer" I didn't mean "common" I meant "obvious" visually.When I said "hard to be sure" I meant hard to be sure of Variety. I never messed with types that had close "look alikes". I only learned a couple of the Easiest to Identify Local edible types where I lived(that tasted good). Once you are taught and see them in person Many edible mushrooms are Easy to remember. I never took anything home that "looked a little different". When I couldn't find any I was certain of, I enjoyed my hikes and took pictures of "unknown" to me types I found though. Good days for picnic too. mikeinohio-Thanks for your experience with plugs,and the PM you sent me/aka beegrowing last week! wink. I want to try shiitake myself since I know several locals have success with them (on oak I think). |
|
|
|
Post by Chickadee on Apr 1, 2015 17:34:38 GMT
chickadee, it is fairly easy if you are doing Shiitake mushrooms for example. We get our plugs from Fungi Perfecti. We try to have 100 or so logs going at any one time. We've plugged logs pretty much anytime of the year except the dead of winter and one year I did that in our basement. how did the ones in the basement do for you? I have considered trying that this fall just for fun. Did you keep them in the basement thru the winter and then move them outside in the spring? I have been eyeballing Fungi Perfecti for some time and am going ahead with my order. The kids will have to help with the plugs because we have so much other stuff going on around here this time of year (like all the rest of you too). I am stoked to get going on this! |
|
|
|
Post by Chickadee on Apr 1, 2015 17:41:13 GMT
hobbitlady, no worries! I understand. I didn't do a good job of typing that out, sorry about that. I was in a hurry. It is good advice! I will keep on learning as much as I can before I venture out into foraging. For now I will concentrate on the plugs and logs. It sounds like I can go for it after our last hard freeze which should be in a month or so. What you said about developing an eye for it makes sense..I have been noting where and in what conditions all the mushrooms grow that I see on our land. A lot of them seem to like the wood chips I put down in our raspberry patch. No idea if they are poisonous or not so I left them strictly alone. I will work on id'ing them. They are sneaky little things to find for sure though in the woods.
|
|
|
|
Post by mikeinohio on Apr 1, 2015 18:04:12 GMT
chickadee, it is fairly easy if you are doing Shiitake mushrooms for example. We get our plugs from Fungi Perfecti. We try to have 100 or so logs going at any one time. We've plugged logs pretty much anytime of the year except the dead of winter and one year I did that in our basement. how did the ones in the basement do for you? I have considered trying that this fall just for fun. Did you keep them in the basement thru the winter and then move them outside in the spring? I have been eyeballing Fungi Perfecti for some time and am going ahead with my order. The kids will have to help with the plugs because we have so much other stuff going on around here this time of year (like all the rest of you too). I am stoked to get going on this! The ones in the basement did fine. We brought them down there just to do the plugging. As soon as we got some relatively decent weather we brought them outside. A few more bits of info you might find useful - We do logs that are roughly 4-6 inches in diameter and about 40 inches or so long. I use a yardstick to give me a rough idea of where to drill the holes. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2015 2:30:09 GMT
Man, this sounds so good! I've wanted to give shiitakes a try for a while now.
Where do you store the logs?
|
|
|
|
Post by 1shotwade on Apr 3, 2015 12:18:54 GMT
If you go to youtube you will find a lot of clips on mushrooms. One thing is that the logs are supposed to be cut like a year ahead of time. Then there are "soaking" processes etc. so you might want to check stuff like that out before just jumping in.
Also I just happen to have my mushroom book in front of me. It's a great field guide.: simon & schuster's guid to mushrooms.ISBN 0-671-42798-9. Mine is a 1981 edition the cost $9.95 so very affordable.
Wade
|
|
|
|
Post by mikeinohio on Apr 3, 2015 19:15:42 GMT
You don't want the logs cut a year ahead Wade. That provides other organisms an opportunity to invade the wood.
We try and use fresh cut wood but let it sit 3 weeks or so before inoculating. Trees have natural anti-fungal properties while they are alive.
Mike
|
|
|
|
Post by 1shotwade on Apr 3, 2015 19:30:34 GMT
You are probably right Mike. Only passing on what I saw on youtube. Don't have any experience myself.That's why I recommended learning all you can ahead of time as in watching youtube clips.
Wade
|
|
|
|
Post by mikeinohio on Apr 4, 2015 14:09:42 GMT
It's not that difficult. The key thing is patience after inoculating the logs. A couple other random thoughts (about Shiitakes). A 40" long 4-6 inch diameter log will produce for about 4 years. Figure about a lb of mushrooms per log per year. You can get a log to produce more but that cuts down the productive lifetime of the log.
|
|
|
|
Post by Chickadee on Apr 5, 2015 17:02:13 GMT
mikeinohio how did the ones in the basement do for you? I have considered trying that this fall just for fun. Did you keep them in the basement thru the winter and then move them outside in the spring? I have been eyeballing Fungi Perfecti for some time and am going ahead with my order. The kids will have to help with the plugs because we have so much other stuff going on around here this time of year (like all the rest of you too). I am stoked to get going on this! The ones in the basement did fine. We brought them down there just to do the plugging. As soon as we got some relatively decent weather we brought them outside. A few more bits of info you might find useful - We do logs that are roughly 4-6 inches in diameter and about 40 inches or so long. I use a yardstick to give me a rough idea of where to drill the holes. Thank you mikeinohio....this is exactly what I was wondering. I appreciate your help. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2015 2:16:53 GMT
Man, this sounds so good! I've wanted to give shiitakes a try for a while now. Where do you store the logs? Morels are starting to Pop. I'm going looking tomorrow. There is always plenty of Fall Mushrooms here too.
Don't forget Wild Greens.
Rockpile
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2015 3:17:05 GMT
Rockpile, you and Tina have to come to the Spring Fling, and show us how to find 'shrooms and 'sang.
|
|
|
|
Post by mikeinohio on Apr 7, 2015 18:22:07 GMT
Man, this sounds so good! I've wanted to give shiitakes a try for a while now. Where do you store the logs? Missed your question. We keep them outside. After we inoculate them we cross stack them until the mycilium permeates the logs. When they are ready to fruit we lean them against a stack of canal stones. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2015 23:56:52 GMT
|
|
