Question about log types

Hello, I’ve never inoculated wood logs to grow mushrooms (I also have zero experience growing any kind of mushrooms), but I have a bunch of spruce logs and box elder logs from trees that were just cut down. I’d like to find some use for these trees so they don’t go to waste. Would I be able to use these logs for growing mushrooms? Any recommendations on types for these logs?

Thank you.

Box Elders are all over my property.

The most popular type of mushroom that grows on them is not one that I intentionally exposed them to. Golden Oyster Mushroom LOVES box elder. It just keeps flushing. It gets obnoxious because it outcompetes some other species I have tried to grow. It is good eating though!

Timothy Norton wrote:Box Elders are all over my property.

The most popular type of mushroom that grows on them is not one that I intentionally exposed them to. Golden Oyster Mushroom LOVES box elder. It just keeps flushing. It gets obnoxious because it outcompetes some other species I have tried to grow. It is good eating though!

Oh, awesome! Thank you. I’ll do some research on how to go about doing that. I just cut down a huge box elder and have tons of wood. No one wants it though because they don’t consider it good for firewood.. Same with the Spruce trees, unfortunately.

Thank you.

That's great news Timothy! I'll need to cut some of those down this summer. I'm making room for food trees, that won't entangle my power lines! i'm actually hoping that they pollard, but will not be upset if they fail to recover. They are teenagers, probably too old for training to pollarding.

Bob, do get your logs inoculated as soon as possible. My faulty memory suggests waiting two weeks before innoculating. This gives time for the tree's defence system to fail, making the inoculation more likely to succeed. But if you wait too long, some wild mushroom may get head of you and ruin your plans. Also, do seal your logs with wax. I didn't. This is year three. I still have no mushrooms. I suspect some critter ate my spawn. Boo hoo.

The ones that I have standing that I have pruned have elm mushrooms growing out of the old wounds.

If you choose to chip the boxelder branches/smaller logs they make EXCELLENT food for Winecaps. I find a lot of wild fungus take hold quickly in the chips. I have seen HUNDREDs of those nearly translucent mushrooms that are there in the morning but melt before the afternoon shows up in the past.

It really is an amazing mushroom medium in my opinion.

I want to emphasis that I have not and never have inoculated Golden Oysters on my property. This is wild spore that just showed up and latched onto a bunch of branches/logs I had leaning up against a wood wall thing.

Yeah. It sounded like you meant wild spawn. Thanks for clarifying though.