another step toward mushroom independence

Well I set up 5 logs and a couple stumps to get started on my shiitake mushroom innoculation and braved the black flies and mosquitos last night (cause frosts should be over here) and got my plugs into as many logs as I could fill..still have 2 logs and a stump or two that aren't done so I have to go back to purchasing another batch of plugs.

I'm trying to decide on bag two species..I'm thinking toward Lions Mane but haven't ever had those before. We have oyster, morel and shaggy mane growing wild here so don't need to do any of those, but want something that is very edible, delicious, etc. So would like some input. Also have to study up on the climate needs of whatever other bag I choose, and also make it something that is very usable for me. The logs I have ready are aspen, freshly cut, so that will determine what I innoculate with, also the climate is N Michigan zone 4b.

2 of the logs and one stump I did with shiitake were aspen (poplar) and the other one was ash..to try to extend the life of the fungi.

was reading up on the lions mane and supposedly they taste like lobster (i do like lobster) so I'm going to give them a try..hopefully they'll grow for me as I couldn't find climate info anywhere

Will get more answers if you post this in the fungi forum.

do a search on this site for the hugelculture keyhole garden. you could incorporate your fungi farm, with a food farm too !

good point, didn't even think about the fungi forum. I did order a batch of lions mane plugs and they are shipped, so I'll be using them on the other 2 logs. Also have been having good success with natural mushrooms arriving on the property this year.

my fungi experiments are all incorporated into my food forest gardens..now. In the past we had morels growing in our paths to our gardens, but those gardens have been since moved (my son's house is there now)..but we had morels come up in three areas of our property this year. We also have shaggy mane and oyster mushrooms coming up naturally but wanted to experiment with the logs. I have placed the logs in our food forest at the opening of a trailway through the woods. there are 3 on each side in a curve to the trailway, will get photos later, south of this area are apricot trees, persimmon trees, and black walnut, carpathian walnut, butternut and 2 heartnuts (all small) as well as raspberry, blackberry and wild strawberries already growing in the area..south of there are our other food forest gardens and our pond.

I highly doubt you will have much luck inoculating shiitake on to a stump. Shiitake mycelium runs very slowly and it is more likely that some other type of fungi blowing in on the breeze will beat it out and colonize the stump. It is especially tough inoculating aspens, since they rot so fast, 9 times out of 10 you will get some kind of crust mold or other undesirable type of fungi winning over shiitake.

I would suggest you look into oyster mushrooms. They are the fastest running of all cultivated mushrooms and generally will produce much more per log than any other species. You will also get many more flushes per season.

Lion's manes are a wonderful mushroom, but again the mycelium is rather slow. I don't know what type of tree the cultivated verities are native to, but here in Michigan we have a type of Hericium(Hericium coralloides) that grows on aspen and birches. Also there is a type of oyster (Pleurotus populinus) that produces prolifically on dead aspens.

It is unlikely you will be able to find these specific strains for sale on dowels, but Pleurotus ostreatus is quite easy to find.

Good luck and don't get discouraged; log culture can be really hit and miss.

i have had some naturally occuring oyster mushrooms on aspen logs..haven't eaten them as there were very few and I wanted them to run their course and send off their spores so I left them to mature.

Several suppliers offer different strains (species and subtypes) of oyster mushrooms, too. So, even though you already have some growing wild, it may be worth trying a couple of logs of different types to see if one type does better in your location or if you just prefer the flavor over the others. They are just about the easiest type of fungi to get to fruit.

I am a bit concerned about my innoculated logs, as, we have gone through a terrible drought here this year.. It is raining now, but was so dry we lost trees..maybe they'll still be alive and grow eventually.