Mushroom logging

[CX3]

Got a call today. Guy needs some white oak logs.

Ya I can get them what size ya need? 

About 4ft long and 5 inch max diameter!

. I nearly choked.

He gives me a big to do list about being careful with the bark and they have to be fresh cut etc.

He says can you source this?

Ya I'm pretty sure I can find this amount of timber

He is going to drill holes in and plant mushroom spore in the bark of the logs. They will be buried half way in the ground.

He asks how much I'll owe him for the 10 logs? 

I said I'll trade for some shrooms

Neat project I guess

[Southside]

I have had the same call a couple of times.  Seems there is quite a lot to getting it right as once or twice the folks have come back for more after having some major failure happen with too much heat, too cold, too many deer, too wet, too dry, too much sun, too dark, etc.  Personally not a big fan of eating fungus myself. 

[starmac]

I lived close to a town in Texas that purina had a big mushroom growing facility at. If the breeze was right you could smell it for a good 10 miles, it sure wasn't oak logs they were growing them in, they used mostly wheat straw and manure. After every crop they would change out the straw, and would load the wet rotten straw in your pickup or on a trailer for you for something like 10 bucks a load, it was excellent in a garden.

[clearcut]

I've known a number of folks that have logged mushrooms successfully. With the right environmental conditions, temperature,humidity, light etc. you can sell shiitake and oyster mushrooms at local farmers markets. 

Once you find the right spot and technique for your conditions, it's not a lot of work with potentially a decent profit. 

UC Berkeley had a researcher that taught mushroom cultivation classes from time to time. She demonstrated log and sawdust techniques. Every class featured a fungus lunch. Really great Chinese food. I'm a believer. 

[Ron Wenrich]

We're in a big mushroom growing area, especially with so many race tracks in the area.  About 20 years ago, we had a commercial operation that was going to grow shiitake mushrooms for Campbell soup.  They were looking for white oak logs as their growing medium.  The problem was there wasn't enough resource.  They wouldn't use chestnut oak.  I think a few pulp cutters might have tried a few loads, but that was it.  The project fell through.

I've often wondered if there wasn't a way to make a suitable medium out of sawdust.  They make pellets and briquettes out of sawdust.  I imagine they could make a log that would be suitable.  Same goes for slabs.  If they coat the sawn side, it would act like bark.  I imagine tree trimmers would be a better source than either a logger or a sawmill.

Shiitake mushrooms bring about $4-8/lb wholesale.  Looking at the specs, the average grower is using 2700 logs, with diameters from 2-6" and length of 4'.  They can use nearly any hardwood, but the white oak seems to be favored.  They don't want the bark scraped, as this allows other organisms to grow.  Winter cut wood is the best.  A cord of wood will yield about 150 pounds of shiitake in a 3 year growing period.  Higher yields are possible in warmer climates.  The avg was for Minnesota.

[thecfarm]

I had someone that contacted me and wanted red oak for growing mushrooms. White oak don't grow much in this area. My red oak are my widlife trees and money trees. They only wanted  about 4-4 foot sections. I was not really doing any cutting at that time and they needed it NOW. They told me they had some,but needed more,to finish the planting. I told them I had white maple all day and I would do that for them. They came right over.

[TKehl]

Yup, Shitake mushrooms most likely.  Something I've read quite a bit about but haven't done yet.

Shitake roughly translates as "mushroom of the Oak".  Most Oak species will grow them very well and a few other species have also been found successful.

Sawdust and chips makes good medium for some mushrooms like King Straphoria.  However, Shitake is not aggressive enough to overtake other spores that inevitably get in the mix with sawdust or chips (airborne or soilborne) and do not perform well with that medium.  

[Ed D]

Hi,
A lot of information can be gleaned on mushroom cultivation from Paul Stamets, who is apparently a mushroom guru of sorts.  He propagates and markets a lot of spore.
Sawdust/wood chips are used as foundation for some.  I think it has to be steam sterilized prior to use.
There is a lot of information online - youtube, google, ect if you search there for Stamets.
Ed

[69bronco]

We have around 30 w.oak bolts in there 3rd year of shitake bearing. Also have 25 or so poplar bolts that are bearing oyster mushrooms. Once you taste log grown it's awful hard to go back to store bought.

[Rhodemont]

We grow shitake and oyster mushrooms for our own use.  I get the spawn plugs from "Fungi Perfecti" in Washington.  Using 5 or six inch clean 4 foot logs the shitake goes in oak (have not found difference between white or red) and the oyster in maple or birch. The shitake logs stand verticle and the oyster lay down.  Since they are very susceptible to invasion by native fungus they stay off the ground on pallets.  They produce in spring and fall when it is damp and temps in the 50's.  Need to soak the logs in the summer to prevent them from drying out.  Another thing you can do is leave a cut stump about 3 feet tall and plug the ring sap wood on the cut surface with spawn.  The stump stays moist as the roots continue to pull up water but might only get a year or two of production before it gets invaded.

[dustyhat]

Some 20 years ago i was approached with a deal like that, but i could not see cutting my young whitoak. so i tried giving the guy whiteoak slabs but he did not want them , i figured you could do the same with them seeing as you just drill the hole and put the spores in and plug it, and grow them in a cellar type environment. wish they could use slabs it would give me something to do with them.

[firefighter ontheside]

Seems like they could use branches.

[TKehl]

Branches are great.  Slabs not so much at least for Shitake.

Most operations will seal the spore plug and the ends of the logs with wax (or other sealer).  With a slab, there is a lot of green wood to seal.  Often the entire flat side.  

May still be fine for some other mushrooms, but Shitake would be overrun with more agressive fungus.

[brianJ]

have a guy local to me doing this.   He buys the plugs from Fungi Perfecti.   He uses red or white oak, sugar maple and hop hornbeam at a size of 6 to 12 inches in diameter by 3 feet long cut only when the sap is running and before the leaf buds swell.   Cut them out of tops or thinnings.   Paid me a buck a piece for each.      Now thats serious beer money

[Don P]

A few years ago I was dropping off produce at the distribution center and there was a truck in the bay unloading so I went over to help. He was loaded with shitakes. I made the comment that I had never seen that many mushrooms and he said "This is my third load today". Turns out he had bought a neighbor who was moving's shitake logs and had moved them over to his place. He said what he learned was that one way to make them come in is to shock them, give the log an impact. So in moving the logs he had shocked them and they all came in at once, about 3,000 logs worth :D. The DC had found market for a bunch of it on short notice but not all. He had bought a couple of dehydrators and was trying to dry as much as he could as well.

I went to a meeting where they showed us how to do it and everyone did a log to take home but I forgot about it and let mine dry out. The next time I looked at it other fungus had overtaken the log. They told us not to bruise the log or drag it, pretty much hand carry it out of the woods.

[taylorsmissbeehaven]

I keep a few white oak logs growing shiitakes all the time as well. It is damp and humid where I am making it an easy endeavor. They are very good fresh and do well dehydrated. They are also popular at the market. If I understand correctly, the longevity of white oak is what makes it the best choice. JMTC Brian