shiitake logs

in march of last year i inoculated a bunch of oak logs with shiitake mushroom spawn.  it went something like this:


the logs have to be drilled so the spawn can be introduced.  i bought a special drill bit (as well as all the spawn and inoculation tools and supplies) from field and forest products, a mushroom culture supply company.  the bit is designed to make holes the right diameter and depth for inoculation.

holes get drilled in sort of a diamond pattern 4-6 inches apart along the whole length of the log (my logs are about 32-36 inches long)

after the logs are drilled the spawn is packed into the holes with a special tool.  i chose a thumb inoculator because it only takes one hand to operate leaving the other hand free to manipulate the log as needed.

sawdust spawn and brass thumb inoculator

the inoculator is really easy to use.  the tip is plunged into the sawdust spawn a few times to load it.

once loaded it's placed over a hole and the spawn is pressed into the hole by pushing the spring-loaded thumb trigger at the top of the handle.

drilled hole packed with sawdust spawn

after all the holes are filled with spawn they are sealed with melted food grade paraffin wax.  i used an old crock pot i found at the local spca thrift to heat the wax.

applying melted wax with wax dauber

after i sealed the logs i labeled them with aluminum tags.

these tags are actually meant to be marked with a ball point pen to impress the information into the tag...not sure why i used sharpie but it has not held up in the weather.

then the waiting.  it takes at least several months after inoculation before log grown shiitakes will begin producing mushrooms.  it's important to sustain the moisture content of the logs so i've been watering them since inoculation.  i noticed a few days ago that (after more than a year after inoculation) a few of the logs are starting to fruit.  i suspect that our hot, dry climate contributed to the extra long period between inoculation and fruiting.   i'm curious to see how productive they'll be.   it's definitely been a fun experience.

shiitake mushroom pushing off wax cap at inoculation site

only a few so far but once things cool off a bit more and we get some more rain i think we'll get a pretty good flush from the logs that haven't started fruiting yet.  and then mushroom dinner for us.