Today’s blogpost is all about mushrooms… shitake, chicken of the woods. Well, that and silliness. Please enjoy: Workin’ Out Back W/ Poppy: Mushrooms!
Workin' Out Back With Poppy Series
The purpose of the Workin’ Out Back With Poppy series is to showcase permaculture techniques in action. Permaculture design is experiential. We learn by doing.
We can read books and talk to experts, but to gain a deeper understanding (and appreciation) of permaculture, we must practice it.
And who’s this Poppy character anyway? Well, if and when you’re fortunate enough to become a grandparent, I understand the “what to call oneself” conversation is a big deal. When my folks became grandparents in the not-too-distant past, the names Poppy and Meme emerged, likely in jest, but they stuck.
So, Dad is now Poppy and these are the tales of workin’ out back.
Related:
First post: Workin’ Out Back with Poppy
Shitake Mushrooms!
You promised grapes and now you’re talking shitake mushrooms?!
I’m livid.
I’m so mad I could…
You… you…
So, what’s the deal with these mushrooms anyway?
They're Fruiting!!!
They’re fruiting!?! I thought and said.
Essentially, that’s the conversation I had with poppy.
Do you want to hear the long version?
OK, here’s the short version:
This March/April, not only brought us the unmentionable, it also delivered a relatively cold and rainy early/mid Spring. Mind you, we’re in it, so it could change, but for now…it’s cold and rainy… and… unmentionable.
It appears this spring trap is springing slightly later than it would have sprung if it were in a more springing mood.
“JR, your mushrooms are fruiting.” Poppy repeated.
“Get the blank out! OK, here’s the plan.”
Chickens in Your Woods
Remember that FEDCO order?
Well, the rest of it popped on me doorstep recently.
Only two items: mushroom spore plugs (Chicken of the Woods) and a small bag of wax.
Go time!
I was now ready to inoculate additional oak logs with my next mushroom cultivation project.
But I don’t have any oak logs… and the unmentionable.
Maybe we’ll pop those plugs in the frig for a bit until we figure out a safe way to do this?
You're Full of Shitake!
Regardless of the unmentionable’s timeframe, the fruiting shitake mushrooms adhere to their own agenda.
They’d be ready, would I?
But let’s back up a bit and talk some shitake.
How to Cultivate Shitake Mushrooms on Oak Logs A - Z
Put down your stethoscopes, this is not hard.
Shitake mushroom cultivation requires patience and appropriate climatic conditions, either naturally occurring or artificially created
Yes… yes. Tell me more.
Nearly to the day, two years ago, I found myself drilling into large oak logs, excited, but completely unclear as to what I was embarking upon.
Cut your logs into lengths of 4 – 8 ft, with a diameter of about the same in inches. These puppies are a little on the big side I come to find out.
The larger the log, the more “food” the mycelium have to eat, the longer the process…
Use freshly cut logs. Early Spring is a great time for cutting and inoculating. You may get fruiting shitake mushrooms by the Fall, if you’re lucky. But if you use the big boys, it might take a bit longer.
As a side note, you can “induce fruiting,” by submerging the logs in a pond overnight. We’ll come back to that shortly.
It’s a good idea to give your logs a vigorous wire brushing to remove lichen, any bugs, whatever may be on the bark. You’re trying to cultivate one type of mushroom, competition with anything else, especially other fungi, is not welcome. You can soak them at this time too. It will soften up the wood a bit and jump start the process.
Drill a couple inches into the logs with a bit slightly larger than the plug (you’ll want to gently hammer them in, it should be snug). Space your holes about six inches apart, checkerboard them about. After your gentle hammer thump, seal the area with hot wax. This will prevent bugs and other interested parties from disturbing your plugs. A portable little blow torch makes this process easy-peasy. Maintaining an appropriate temperature of the wax (semi-liquid) can be a tricky endeavor otherwise.
Remember, this was a couple years in the making. And, keep in mind, I’m a complete jacka amateur.
Needless to say, thoughts that perhaps these shitakes would never fruit ran through my brain.
So, I did what any mycologist would do: I chucked the logs in a pond and walked away…
Which brings us back to “inducing fruiting.”
Simply put, it works.
The following day, I dragged the now extremely heavy, saturated logs out of the pond (rig up chord to save yourself some agony) and re-stacked them off the ground at “the spot,” a shaded area under a conifer, next to a swamp, protected from the wind and curious animals. You want to find that delicate combination of humidity, shade and protection. And keep those buggers off the ground!
Catalyzed with a good soaking, the shitake mushrooms did their thing. Meanwhile, Mother Nature had other plans. The next couple/few weeks brought cold/rainy weather. This may have retarded the quantity and size of the mushrooms. Oh well. More patience next time.
But hey, the goal was to cultivate a shitake or two and that’s exactly what happened.
So, let’s celebrate!
Figuring my modest yield needed accompaniment, the gears turned. Aha!
Something caught my eye: fiddleheads!
I snipped a couple dozen and was on my way. They’d get the garlic/shallot/jalapeno treatment. A nice green addition to eggs!
But What About All Those Chickens in Your Woods?
Right, right about that FEDCO order and my new plugs. Buoyed by the experience with the shitakes, I drilled, inoculated and sealed my new logs in ten minutes. I almost looked like I knew what I was doing.
I decided to go with a bit smaller logs and thoroughly soaked them at the onset. Maybe we’ll get some action in the fall.
Conclusion
You may have noticed the Jim Carrey references. Apologies for the rampant gifs. M (my fiance) and I were very excited to see him perform here in the Boston area. Unfortunately, the unmentionable derailed these plans (along with everything else). This isn’t a pity party, just a nod at an amazing artist. We settled for watching old DVDs of Ace Ventura I and II.
Let’s not forget to laugh during these times.
Continue to be safe, see you in the garden!
