Starting mushrooms on stumps

Last summer I stuffed oyster spawn into a hollow hickory tree I cut down. I have a few other fresh stumps that I would like to colonize. How long from cutting should I wait before trying? If they ate not hollow, can you use plug spawn? Or is there a better way to do it?

I am going to inoculate an oak stump and logs with yellow oyster plug spawn this weekend. The tree got cut down four weeks ago. In a previous attempt turkey tail was faster.

John,
Its helpful to conceptualize the underlying principle of what you are trying to accomplish. In essence, you want to get the mycelium of the fungus you want in contact with the vasculature of the logs before another fungus gets there. That way, the oyster mycelium can eat the sugars and also travel though (myceliate) the vascualature, thereby gaining a foot hold. Plugs will get some mycelium there, but they are not very mycleium-dense. A better way is to fill drilled holes with sawdust spawn using a tool known as palm inoculated (or something similar).

It is ideal to use the logs pretty quickly after they are felled, so as to avoid out competition by ambient/competitor fungi (such as Turkey Tails).

A really great resource on log cultivation is this doc from Cornell. Though it focuses on Shiitake, the same tools, practices, and principles apply to Oysters.

Cheers
Peter

I am considering staggering the inoculation. Drill some holes and fill them two weeks after logging, drill and fill some more after three weeks (same log), and after four weeks.

Bettina,
I would not advise you do that. By leaving open holes, you create an easy means for ambient competitor fungal spores to enter the wood. The bark serves as a protective skin to limit this. I would wait to drill until you are ready to fill all the holes at once.

Peter