Joe Villines

Hey Eric,

Thank you for your suggestions. I think wine cap is going to be our fungus of choice to compost and I think we already have some wild ones popping up in our composting chicken litter. We have three chicken pens that need to be aggressively cleaned out where we're going to try inoculating with wine cap, let it fruit and then send the birds in to scratch it up before scooping out the remnants and placing it on our main compost pile.

This is fun!

Joe

Thank you for your reply. This gives me something to think about. I'll have to look at another way to break these down quickly. I'm trying to avoid burning but that might be the only way to go.

Ian Påf wrote:From experience, mushroom logs are still not spongy enough to disperse after 3 to 5 years. I'd guess it would take 5 to 10 years or more depending on the species of wood, but I don't know.

Some fungi are primary decomposers, meaning they are the first ones to start decomposing wood when it dies. After a while, secondary and tertiary decomposers move in. You might consider inoculating your logs with a secondary decomposer after a few years, and then a tertiary decomposer a few years after that.

However, I'm not sure how much faster inoculating the logs with fungi will make the process go. Wild fungi are pretty good at moving into dead wood on their own. I suppose using a particularly vigorous species could speed up the process, but I'm speculating.

I am a very amateur mycology fanatic. I'm interested in using fungi in zone 5B to break down various species of hardwood logs and I'm not necessarily interested in a harvest, just composting.

The plan is to inoculate with a spore and then cover the logs with discarded shade cloths until they're spongy enough to disperse.

I read this article in an online magazine and it looks like a great idea. What are your thoughts on species and timeframe for breaking down?

https://bluedotliving.com/fighting-mega-fires-with-mushrooms/

I completely and totally adore the cheapest possible solution to every problem. We use a bit of the Toyota method and ask for answers to a problem five times and usually come up with a free answer. I have cobbled up so many door configurations (and spent a lot of time and money doing it) that I finally relented and bought Omlet doors. They're secure and automatic, powered by AA batteries. They fit my lifestyle well. Maybe this could be an option for you or somebody?

I buy this stuff every time I find it on clearance! I also plant daikon as a matter of course every year and just started using a fall food plot blend with forage beets, kale, rapeseed and a few other goodies in it. I use all this to create low-cost food and forage for my rabbits and chickens of the layer and meat type.

Tj Jefferson wrote:I have had good success with this stuwaff, especially the daikons. I went to the Evil Empire today and bought them out of this stuff. This is the third different seed type I've found on clearance. Deer hunters plant in the fall, but most of the species can be planted in spring. At Walmart this was 1/3 of the usual price. I got Daikon, chicory, and a rapeseed/clover mix, and going to just let them duke it out in the field! There is often quite a bit of annual grains in them as well.

Cabelas, Dick's, Bass Pro and Walmart are good places to check!

Not quite craigslist cheap but worth checking if you have one nearby. I included the seed list for one, others have been straight chickory or daikon. Hope this helps, I was stoked!