Spore bar oil

[Ron Wenrich]

Here is something that is really interesting.  They now have mushroom spores that is put in canola oil and run as a bar lube.  That puts mushrooms on your stump as you cut.  Different spores for conifers and hardwoods.

That would allow the stump to rot faster and give you something to eat while you wait.   :D

http://www.fungi.com/plugs/mso.html  for a listing.

[Jeff]

I thought you were kidding. hmm. I'll have to go read more.

[Don P]

Yeah, I've seen that in a magazine and then started thinking...do I want decay fungi on my sawlog. Do I want to introduce an abundance of decay fungi to my woodlot, possibly ones I don't already got? :-/

[Tom]

Shittake, huh?  That might put a local forester out of business.  He and a couple of his friends have been growing Shittake's and supplying stores in the area for several years now. :-/

[Ron Wenrich]

I was thinking about the problem with introducing it onto the sawlog.  I don't think it would be much of a problem unless you left the log lay for a long period of time.  If you saw the log up, then the lumber would dry out to a point where the mushrooms couldn't survive.

I also don't know how much of it would take on the heartwood.  That is usually more resistant to rot, ie fungus.

The local markets are good sources for mushrooms.  A lot of the different species can only be grown in woods conditions.  Something like good ginseng.  I've seen them in stores in the $4-5/lb range.  That should mean you could get $2/lb for growing and harvesting.

There is a guy in Oregon that claims he can make more money growing truffles than he can growing timber.  He's talking upwards of $300/lb.  The European black truffle goes upwards of $500/lb and can only grow in oak forests.  One guy in the Carolinas claims you can grow them here.

The Oregon white truffle can be innoculated onto the tree roots of seedlings.  They have found that these trees have grown much faster than those that are not innoculated.

I think it can be good income source especially when doing TSI where a lot of the wood is cut and let lay.  There are also all those tops after a timbering job.