The Japanese have cultivated Lentinus edodes mushroom on logs for more than 1,000 geezerhood . In the beginning , a live Nipponese eastern chinquapin tree would be cut down and dragged alongside a standing tree full of angry Chinese black mushroom mushroom cloud . “ Shii ” mean oak tree and “ take ” means mushrooms in Japanese . Spores from the standing tree diagram would dot and immunise the fallen tree .
Sometimes this was done when a male child was hold so he would benefit from this grow treasure .
A horticulturist write the first book on shiitake grow in Japan in 1796 . So in a global sensory faculty it ’s not a“cutting edge ” crop . But it has always been a highly desirable one . Stories are told in Japan of shiitake wars that started when citizenry stole logs rather than starting their own .
But shiitake mushrooms have become abridge boundary in Western countries in the preceding few decades . They now constitute about 25 percent of annual mushroom production worldwide .
The shiitake ( Lentinula edodes ) is also a wild mushroom in Asia , but it ’s not found in the wilderness here . So anyshiitakes yousee in the market or on a carte are domesticate , which has n’t kept some chefs from depict a dish with shiitakes or cultivated oyster mushroom-shaped cloud as hold “ wild ” fungi . But I hope as mycophagist diners get well educated , we ’ll see less of that .
Meanwhile , North American growers are sprain their woodlands into generative and profitable shiitake mushroom mushroom cloud farms .
Read more : you’re able to develop mushroom on compost for a scrumptious fungal banquet .
Basic Procedures
Agricultural annexe agents and other experts no longer recommend dropping and dragging live trees as a grow technique , but they do suggest raft of cut , oil production , packing , stacking and dunking of log . One could coiffe up an entire CrossFit regime around growing Chinese black mushroom . ( And if you could raise workers by offering it as a CrossFit class—“Forget Forest - Bathing ! Get a First - Class Workout with Shiitake CrossFit Training!”—you might append a second income flow . Maybe . )
Here are the canonical pace ask :
Which Logs When(and How Big)?
It ’s skillful to cut your logs in wintertime , when they havemore pelf and less moisture than during their growingseason . Best sizes are 2 to 4 foot long by 6 to 10 in all-inclusive , depending on how much weight you’re able to address .
After cutting , hold off a week before inoculating them , so the trees ’ antifungal defence reaction can whither away . Also , immunize them no later than four weeks after cutting live wood so compete fungi wo n’t have time to invade .
Lentinus edodes prefer dense , deciduous hardwood trees such as oak . A 6 - inch diameter log of snowy oak is dim enough that it might fruit for as recollective as six years if well tended , or very close to one year of production for each in of diameter .
Lighter ( gentle ) hardwoods such as poplar , birch and alder fruit less than oak tree . Word of mouth indicates that perfumed glue might be the wood that Chinese black mushroom colonizes most promptly . But again , as a lighter wood , it does n’t produce as much .
Perhaps perfumed gum is a dear metal money to start with for a fast turnaround when you ’re getting started ( or if you have a lot of it you desire to get disembarrass of ) . Overall , white and red / blackened oak tree provide the best return on your travail .
However you get your log , make trusted “ they have their pants on , ” as some grower say — intend the barque should be intact and overlay the entire length of the logarithm . That help keep moisture in and competing fungus kingdom out .
Ways to Stack Logs
In your egg laying yard , stack the log to get them off the ground and make easy accession for mushroom picking . The two most common practice are called “ A - frame ” and “ cribbage ” or “ log cabin ” dash .
For the A - frame , a horizontal pole or cable television can be set about waist gamy and the log angle on that like so many staggered cap rafters . In the crib or log cabin rule , two log are set parallel purpose north to south . Another two are target on them aim east to west . And so on .
On hillside too exorbitant for either normal , there is a crossbreed of the two called Nipponese hillside stacking . It ’s a trickier pattern best teach by doing . Check out a short videofrom Cornell University Extension that shows this proficiency .
Potential Pest Problems
Growing shiitake mushrooms is pest - gratuitous most of the time , but a few problems might show up . The most likely one issue forth from competing fungi : They might look if the logs are resting on the ground .
affright up some free pallets and spread them as a layer on the ground for your logs to roost on and to produce a fosse between your log and fungus in the soil . This also deter termites . Laying your logs under a canopy of conifers also work : Pro - conifer fungi wo n’t assail deciduous wood .
Sometimes beetle larvae come along in the gills of your brand fresh mushroom cloud . you could prevent this by covering the log with a fine mesh to preclude mallet ball - laying . Quick harvest of mushrooms while the caps are still concave also prevent this .
When harvesting mushrooms with beetle larvae crawling around inside the gill , some folks have tout them out with a hair dryer .
If snails are a problem , you may trap them withdecoys of lettuce or cabbage leave on the ground . Killslugs with Strategic Arms Limitation Talks or scoop them up for your chickens . scatter Natalie Wood ash can also deter them .
But How Much Money?
Wholesale prices on shiitake mushroom mushroom cloud run $ 5 to $ 9 a pound , and your retail toll at the Farmer food market might be doubly that . According to the North Carolina Ag Extension Service , a corduroy of about 125 logs could rise as much as 500 pound sign of shiitake per yr .
At the low end of the sweeping terms you ’d make about $ 2,500 .
That cord might cost you about $ 125 and an equal amount for the spawn . total another $ 1,000 give or take for labor and other expenses on that corduroy ( unless helpers are paying you for their CrossFit preparation ) .
And then , calculate on whether you let the log fruit naturally or you force them by dunking , and whether you sell wholesale or retail , your annual net might be $ 500 to $ 3,700 .
information from the University of Vermont show up that a 500 - logarithm stand would net a farmer $ 6,000 to $ 11,000 a yr , depending on whether the shiitakes were sold wholesale or retail .
Here ’s one last bit of advice : Keep a write record of frequency of fruiting , clip between dunking and fruiting , terms paid and so on to aid you learn the best practices with your log , market , land site , climate and cultivar .
And observe ripe quality ascendency by taste the product on a unconstipated fundament .
