Have fungi…it’s the only benefit we can see to come of this. November 4, 2011

In 2009 there was an incredible ice storm in these parts which brought down many trees and wreaked havoc on natural habitat and distressed lots of folks who were on the grid.  We listened to the snaps of branches and falling of live trees for days.  We wore helmets to get out of the house and do farm chores as it seemed  a 50/50 chance (hat tip to Yohannan)  that a bizarre accident could happen with all the falling debris.  It was an amazing site to behold and also quite sad to watch the forest collapse with a twinkling shatter.  The only benefit we could see to come of this, was to grow mushrooms on the mess left behind.

Thank you oh mighty elm for not falling on the truck and for being a great substrate for oyster mushrooms~

Beauty before the melt~

We took the tops and side branches that measured about 5″ diameter and cut them down to around 4′ in length.  This is a manageable size for working all aspects of the mushroom crop for us.  50 logs was the starting goal and we narrowed it down as we used up the mushroom spore to 30 logs.  The Shitake and Oyster sawdust spawn was purchased from Field and Forest Products.  These guys  sell quality and are a great friendly resource for growers. fieldforest.net.

Inoculating the logs is a somewhat sexy and arduous process.  First-  holes are drilled into the logs in a diamond pattern at 6″ intervals along the length of the log, 2″ between the rows and 1″ deep.  The spawn is then inserted into the holes with a specific sort of ‘plunger’ that is spring loaded (and not very kind to the hand by the end of the day).  After the holes are filled with spawn, bees wax from our hives gets heated to liquid and brushed on the holes to keep the spawn from drying out.  Take note that the wax daubing part is the easiest part if you are ever volunteering to help ‘do’ some logs.

Ready to grow~

There are so many different strains of mushrooms to choose from- warm season, cold season, wide range, big, small, plain and pretty with names to entice like Chocoluv, Night Velvet and Happiness. We chose a WR 46 shitake strain which seemed the best  for our seasons and temp ranges and Grey Dove oysters because they are that amazing color that I thought was reserved for those Weimaraner dogs.

Grey Dove Oyster

There is a north facing hollow behind our house a bit and down by the root cellar that seemed like a perfect spot as we often found mushrooms growing there.  Not to windy, stays moist, in the shade and near our regular foot path so we could check on them daily.  We use rain water catchment – gravity fed, to soak the logs if we want to force them into a faster harvest.  The results of natural and forced flushing has provided us with the most delicious delights.  We eat as much as possible fresh- dry, freeze and gift the rest.

Logs soaking for 24 hours in a cast iron tub to force a flush~

9 days after soaking~

11 days later

Thankful as always for the resources that come so graciously from this forest and without harm or havoc on the land, this year we hope to inoculate 40 more logs with 3 new strains and are looking forward to having more mushrooms year round.