Keeping moisture on mushroom logs

Here in the PNW, we have exceedingly dry and hot summers.  Not good for mycelium.  I have read for years that people took out a hose and watered their mushroom log stacks.  I can see how that's convenient, but the water probably contains both chlorine and chloramine, both which are anti-fungal chemicals. Seems to miss the point. It also seems to waste water.  The water doesn't stay very efficiently on the logs. Almost all of it rolls off right away.  Then I read that some put water in a 5 gallon bucket, add compost or a bit of dirt to neutralize the chlorine and chloramine, then pour it on the logs.  I think that's better for the logs, but still wasting water.  

For years, I decided to use a 5 gallon bucket with compost/dirt, but I would dunk each log in the water once a month.  It was better for the logs and avoided the wasting water problem.  However, it was a ton of work and also a long time between dunkings.  Then I thought of a new solution.  I would use a normal spray bottle to water them.  Easier on the back and also efficient with water.  Problem? It takes forever and doesn't send out enough water.  So I went down to the sporting goods store and bought one of those kid toy squirt bottles that they blast each other with.  Better, but still takes a long time and emits limited water.

Luckily I was able to consult with a cute girl I happen to be married to.  She said, "Why don't you use the sprayer that you use for compost tea? They are pretty big. You can get them at a big box store for $20 or so, and I already owned one.  I made sure the water had been composted/dirted? so it was slightly brown.  I filtered it so it wouldn't clog the sprayer.  It covered the logs quickly and with very little effort.  I had to uncover the tarps on the logs to do it, because during these mid summer months, even on the North side of the house, the logs get some sun. Sun is not good for mycelium.  I did it in the morning so they could dry off before being recovered in the late afternoon NW sunshine.

This way works way better for me, and I'm going to keep doing this until one of you clever people comes up with a new, innovative way that works better than this.

John S
PDX OR

Rainwater collection seems like the obvious answer there, no chlorine issues and free. Even a basic barrel under a downspout fills up fast in PNW winters. The run-off problem is trickier though, burying the logs slightly or surrounding them with wood chip to slow drainage might help retain moisture a bit longer.

I like these ideas in general.  Specifically, there are problems.

90% of the rain falls in between November and May.  When do you need the most water? In between May and November, so you'd use it all up in the first month, if it would last that long.  I have a small property, so I don't have a good place to store water, and buying the equipment would be very expensive.  

My logs are shiitake. If you bury them or put wood chips around them, you will have weed fungi logs, not shiitake logs.  

These are very good ideas, and they will probably help someone reading this, but I don't think they'll help me very much.  Thanks though.
John S
PDX OR

As I was reading your post, John, my brain was saying, "What about one of those pump sprayers that most people put ucky gick in, but we permies know they're good for spraying good gick."

Then, of course, I got to the bit where your lovely wife helped you see the light!  Very glad it's working.

The only suggestion I might have would be to use either a soaker hose or a drip irrigation system, but they both need water pressure and once you've mixed it with dirt to digest the chloramines, you'd need to put it in a very high up bucket to get enough pressure.

Few things in life are free. I don't see any option but to have to mess with the tarp, unless you feel it's worth while to build a "tent" to hold the tarp up, and spray  underneath it. You have to decide it the time and effort to do so, would be worth it, and decide if the larger air space would be an asset or a liability.

Could  you just leave them in buckets?
I would expect the water to wick up the log in that circumstance.
Maybe put some sand or sawdust in the bottom to stop the skeeters.

Interesting idea.  You have to put shiitake on pallets because they will be infected by weed fungi. Sawdust would infect them, as would water, probably. They are from a summer rain climate, which I clearly don't live in.

John S
PDX OR