Our First Mushroom

We harvested our first mushroom today…the first of many I hope!! We inoculated the logs back in June of this year so the timing is right about 6 months from inoculation to harvest. As each day goes by we are noting more changes on the logs from fuzzy white ‘stuff” to mushroom like growths to one big pearl oyster mushroom!!

During the late spring and summer months the logs spent their time in the back yard in the shade of the brick oven. As the weather has turned to fall here in the northeast we moved the logs into the garage to keep them warm and to encourage growth. If we had left them outside during the winter they would have gone dormant and produced in the spring but we were anxious to see the fruits of our labor and brought them into a protected area. During the winter months we will need to water the logs and tap them to encourage “flushing” the technical term for growth.

Don’t know what we are going to do with this one large pearl oyster mushroom but I sure hope Chef Phil has something delicious planned

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Mushroom 1st Harvest

Mushroom Cultivation

Last night we inoculated 6 logs with mushrooms spores in hope of growing our own mushrooms. The process is quite simple; the hard part was locating logs. We needed freshly cut hardwood logs, the ideal log would be oak or maple cut in the spring. The logs should rest for 3 weeks prior to inoculating.

We purchased the mushroom spores from fungiperfect.com. The spores are on wooden plugs with ridges; this is where the spores attach themselves. The bags they are shipped in are sealed and some spores will grow within the bag. The spores are white and almost rubbery feeling.

Phil drilled holes in the logs with a ¾-inch bit around the entire circumference and on the top of the log. I placed the plugs in the holes and hammered them in with a rubber mallet. Once the entire log had the plugs in I sealed the plugs as well the cut ends of the logs, this keeps moisture in the log which is necessary for the mushrooms to grow.

We then placed the logs in an upright position on a pallet; the logs should not come in contact with the ground if possible. In about six months we should see some mushrooms start to appear, however next season we should have a better crop once the logs have established themselves. These logs will produce mushrooms for many years to come.

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Mushrooms