Growing Mushrooms
Whenever I go hiking at Skylands, my home in Maine, or in the woodlands of my Bedford, New York farm, I always enjoy discovering and identifying all the different types of wild mushrooms that may be growing along the way.
A mushroom is the fleshy spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus. Fungus thrives in moist areas and loves growing on decaying wood. While many may try to eradicate mushrooms from their lawns, they are an important part of the forest ecosystem. Because they live off of decaying plant matter, fungus breaks down and disposes of fallen tree branches, leaves, and even animals. It also digests rock particles and other organic matter in the soil, so new plants can grow. Earlier this year, I received mushroom growing kits from 2FUNGUYS - an Atlanta, Georgia company that sells mushroom growing spawn plugs, inoculated logs, and complete starter growing kits. The process of growing mushrooms is very interesting, and very different from growing other crops, so I decided to grow some here at the farm.
Enjoy these photos and remember, never eat any mushroom you cannot clearly identify.
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- One way to grow one’s own mushrooms is to inoculate logs with mushroom plugs. Last March, Pete from my outdoor grounds crew went into the woodland for just the right trees. I hate to take down any trees, but he only looked for those that were growing too close to other more robust trees, those that were not growing well, or trees that were broken and needed to be removed. The best kind of wood to use for mushrooms is deciduous hardwood, such as oak, beech, willow, birch, elm, and poplar.
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- The logs used should also be the right size – four to 10 inches in diameter…
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- … and about two to five feet long. Pete cut them all to the same size.
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- The best time to cut the fresh logs is during the fall or winter, when their leaves have fallen and their sugar concentration is highest. After they are cut, they are left to rest for a few weeks.
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- The logs are then brought to an area tucked behind some trees and stacked securely for mushroom growing. It’s important that the logs used are clean and free of rot. These are stacked in a loose crib formation.
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- Some of the logs were also “planted” upright, another way to stack logs for mushrooms. Pete is digging the hole for the upright logs. Logs can also be stacked in a loose lean-to or upright A-frame structure.
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- Pete dug holes for six upright logs.
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- Here is our mushroom garden. On average, a mushroom log will produce for one year per inch of diameter of the log. Hopefully these will be very productive.
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- Our mushroom spawn plugs came in kits – one for oyster mushrooms, Pleurotus ostreatus, one of the more commonly sought wild mushrooms; lion’s mane mushrooms, Hericium erinaceus, those big, white mushrooms from the tooth fungus family that grow on woody tree trunks; and, shiitake mushrooms, Lentinus edodes, another popular mushroom renowned for its unique and savory flavor.
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- Each kit contains a hundred mushroom spawn plugs, an appropriate sized drill bit, tags, daubers, wax, and a complete instruction card.
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- Ryan starts by melting the wax. The wax will be used for sealing the plug into the log.
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- Once it is melted down, it is brought to the mushroom log site.
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- Meanwhile, Brian drills the holes in the logs. Using a 5/16-inch bit, he drills holes two-inches from one end of the log, spacing them several inches apart until he has reached the opposite end.
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- He does this on all the upright logs as well as those positioned horizontally.
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- This is what the log looks like after it is drilled – holes are around the entire girth of each log.
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- The holes should be about an inch and a quarter deep – deep enough for the mushroom plug to fit flush inside the hole.
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- These are organic mushroom plugs – each filled with pure mushroom mycelium.
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- Ryan takes each plug and inserts it into the hole and using a mallet, taps it until the plug is flush.
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- The plug should be very snug.
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- Next, using the dauber dipped into the melted wax, Ryan dabs the plug until it is completely covered and sealed.
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- This is a well covered spawn plug. It is important to make sure the inoculated logs are also well-watered twice per week to maintain the moisture levels. Mycelium are living organisms, so if the logs completely dry out, the mycelium will die. Our log stacks will be kept uncovered, where they are exposed and have access to rainwater.
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- Here is a log all done. We should have our first fruiting in about nine to 12 months – I can’t wait. If you’re looking for a wonderful family project, consider growing mushrooms. And go to the 2FUNGUYS.com for more information.
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