Mushroom Stump Removal with Plugs

I thought I’d outline my stump mushroom plans before getting started in the spring; will post pictures as the process continues.  I have about 50 oak, maple and tulip poplar stumps (6-36 inches wide) cut down about a year ago.  Most of them shooted last spring.  I’ll wait to see if they start again, cut down the shoots, and then inoculate.  My understanding is that you want the stumps to stop shooting and be completely dead before inoculation, as live wood has anti-fungal properties.  

I may move up that timeline a little bit; just cut down the shoots, inoculate, and hope for the best.

Will use plugs from Fungi Perfecti; shitake, oyster, turkey tail, and lion’s mane (planning to keep shitake on oak and not mix varieties per stump, for ease of ID).  Planning to buy their drill bit and use plugs every 3-4 inches, sealing with beeswax from a propane double boiler.  I may be able to throw some wood chips on the bigger stumps to seal them.  Stumps are in a mix of full sun to partial shade.
I might also experiment with not sealing them with wax (seems time-intensive) and just throwing wood chips down.  Garbage bags may help for some of the bigger ones in full sun.  They will look ugly, but may work better and faster than the wax method.

https://permies.com/t/17283/naturally-remove-stump

I like the rocket stove idea to burn smaller stumps – I’m doing this for some in my raised beds, but would like to raise mushrooms on the big ones.

Do be aware that the reason for sealing inoculated areas is to prevent contamination by other fungi.

Fungi will secrete noxious compounds to repel and even kill competing fungi.
Wood chips will carry contaminating spore and or spawn so using those as a replacement for sealing wax might not be the best solution if you are wanting known strains to grow.

When the only goal is stump decay for removal, then contamination by other, competing fungi is not really a concern.
If you are trying for a specific mushroom though, then it pays to know what is going to grow.

Redhawk

Thank you.  In that case, I may just drill holes and use chips on the smaller ones for quick colonization/removal, and take my time with plugs, wax and trash bags for the 1-2 ft stumps.