Making it thrugh another year, '24-'25

[doc henderson]

There is a "white" Avalanche pickup in the background in pic # 2.

[SawyerTed]

Tom, how long does a mushroom log produce?  

[doc henderson]

Tom, can you saw some of the bigger diameter logs in half.  make a stable base some may like and get two to sell.  does that reduce the sugar and growing potential in any way?

[Old Greenhorn]

Doc yes I can, in fact I offer this to every client as they pull in to load and also tell them they can pick their logs (within reason) by passing the ones they don't like. But understand that growers have to handle and stack their logs in some way. Many use the log cabin style to use a small footprint and still get maximum air flow. SO having all the logs the same length makes that workable. Others are more flexible. Logs 'last' as long as the nutrients hold out and they do not get completely dry inside. This is why they are stacked in cool, shady places, preferably by moving water. As we all know, logs dry fastest from the cut end. So yeah, cutting in half will shorten effective life, but I can't say by how much. I don't think its a lot on large logs. Think about how long a 2' long chunk of fresh and green red oak would take to be burnable without splitting. It's quite a while.  Which leads to Ted's question. It's a function of drying time and how much nutrients and sugars the log contains. So an 8" oak log 40" long may last up to 5 years if cared for properly, but will likely beginning to show less yield after 3 years or so.
 Commercial growers will rotate in new logs every year or so and rotate out the poor yielding or 'dud' logs.
 One year I did cut some special order logs for a client that were 10-14" diameter and 40" long. Those near killed me. But he was using the to grow Lion's Mane in a totem log arrangement. The logs weighed in around 100-150 pounds. But totem logs get 'plated' upright and don't get moved. The log is prepped much differently. You can google it I think and find examples, there is a wide variety of techniques owing to the fact that there is much not known about mushrooms and what is 'best'.

[doc henderson]

I meant length wise so they could have a flat bottom with inoculants on the upper half-moon side.  so, a 3-foot log would make two 3-foot half-moon pieces.  sell as two logs from a larger diameter log.  you have a sawmill.    Do not get Howard started, or he will have you standing them up to trim the ends on the sawmill!

[beenthere]

If length-wise would work for the mushroom growers, then seems that slabs from sawmills would/could also work. Slabs meaning "first cuts" to square up the logs. My good friend that grew shitake mushrooms liked 4' lengths of 4-5" diameter oak. His process included periodic soaking in water tank to apparently keep moisture in the oak. Point being that he wanted wood that he could easily move around by hand, i.e. I'd guess about 75 pounds.

[Old Greenhorn]

Sorry, lengthwise is pretty much a non-starter. The log would dry quickly cutting any effective life by 70% or more. I suppose you could play around with arborseal and such, but that just adds more work, maintenance, and cost. Of course, anybody is welcome to do a test study and let us know how it goes.
 
 Certain strains of Shiitakes will accept 'forcing' which is done by soaking either in a tub, stream, or shower. This simulates a heavy spring or fall rain and 'forces' the mushrooms to go active and fruit. Using this technique, a grower can do a certain number of logs, wait 1 week, then do another group, wait one week, etc. Eventually, there are enough logs in the cycle that each group will fruit one week apart. The logs require a months rest (IIRC) after harvest before they can be forced again. So if you have enough logs to do 8 weeks worth of log groups, as you as you complete one full cycle, you can force the first group again.