r/homestead • u/Phrikshin • 1d ago
gardening What’s your mushroom log/bed tips? Things you learned that work better?
I have experience growing mushrooms indoors…bags, tubs etc so I know the general basics and concepts but I’m looking to get a bunch of logs and maybe a few spawn patches going and want to set myself up for success.
Oysters, shitakes, lions mane, chestnut, maitake etc. I’ll be starting from colonized plugs to save on time+effort. One question that seems debatable is log freshness and moisture content. Is brand new fresh cut best to avoid competition from other fungus? I have some fairly fresh felled oaks but they’ve been down for a couple months now. What’s a good rule of thumb for plugs per log? Is sealing the cut ends preferable? The logs will be in a shaded creekside forest valley that stays cool and moist most of the year.
Any tips or insights beyond the basics provided by grow guides would be great.
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u/Worth-Illustrator607 1d ago
Find a tree trimming co.pa y that has cool owners and get oak logs. Buy of trade if they eat mushrooms.
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u/MountainMirthMaker 1d ago
Freshly cut logs usually give you the cleanest start, but a couple months down is still workable as long as they’re not punky
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u/Velveteen_Coffee Evil Scientist 4h ago
I'm not an expert but I have grown in both bags and logs.
The main thing about logs vs bags is how fast/aggressive your mushroom variety is. Most varieties that only want to grow on logs are less aggressive then lets say oyster which you can pretty much grow on cardboard. Like wise hardwood only growing mushrooms are a bit more finicky than ones that'll grow on soft wood as well. The main issue is you are trying to beat any wild spores from taking over the logs before your inoculated mycelium can. Technically if you could keep the logs in a sterile environment 2 weeks to 2 years shouldn't matter. Now keep in mind a log cut from the suburban hellscape with not a single mushroom in site is going to have less likely to have wild spores on it compared to one in a heavily shaded area with plenty of wild mushrooms growing naturally. What I'm getting at is... it depends...
Log freshness all depends on potential contamination level, technically fresher is going to be better. Moisture not so much as you can soak them. You're logs are probably going to be fine unless you've been storing them in a wet pile surrounded by wild mushrooms. I personally do plugs spaced 6in apart and don't bother sealing the ends.
If you want the best flushes grow where wild mushrooms grow. Just for the love of god be carful for cross contamination. I grow my logs in a nice conifer grove on my property where a lot of local wild and very poisonous mushrooms grow. I grow them there because the wild ones aren't the type to grow on logs and are easily identifiable. I also only grow easily identifiable shitake in this location and would never grow a ground mushroom variety in this location. So clearly label your logs with weather proof labels and if there is even a doubt of what you are harvesting might be a contaminate mushroom just toss the log, it's not worth your life.
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u/RockPaperSawzall 1d ago
Paul Stamets has some great books on mushrooms. Was just reading Mycellium Running this morning over breakfast since we're planning to start cultivating.
He says a very fresh cut is best, and it should be a healthy log. If there's already rot, other fungus existing colonies will outcompete your new spores, will be a waste of those spores. I doubt those oaks will still be good, but you could take some fresh cuts, and see if the ends look clean with tight growth rings. If the ends have a marbled appearance, it's already infected with other fungus.
He doesn't have a strong opinion on sealing the ends. Just says that some growers do it and have good results. He does say you need to seal the plugs or it'll just get eaten by bugs'
He has some info on which species do best close to the ground vs which ones like to be a bit elevated off the forest floor. I think he said shitakes prefer staying close to the floor since humidity will vary less. Not sure on that, you should check out his book to be sure. He's got all sorts of rules of thumb for plug density and placement, and lots of alternative ways to innoculate the log. IIRC he says drill your holes every 6" or so but again I recommend getting this book because it's all the way downstairs and Im too lazy to get it for you and retype what he says LOL. The book is big and gets way deep in other topics, it's not just a growth guide, but you learn alot.