Shiitakes Mushroom Inoculation: Part 1

Here are a few essentials for inoculating

 mushrooms.

1. Shiitakes Mushroom Spawn

2. 8.5mm soft steel screw tip bit w/stop collar

3. Thumb Style Brass Inoculator

We ordered our supplies from

 http://www.fieldforest.net/

We used the West Wind Shiitakes Strain.

                                         Here is a review from Field and Forest:

“West Wind™ features a fast spawn run, large, thick, first flush mushrooms, and heavy yields, making it a great strain choice for new growers. West Wind™ is also slightly more drought tolerant than other WR strains, and shows a slight preference for red oak over white oak. [It]Fruits naturally in the spring and fall.”

One of our EMGVs graciously contributed
 white oak, willow oak, sweet gum, and elm
 logs for this project. One bag of mushroom spawn
 inoculates around 25 logs.
(We grabbed a few extra logs!)

Cheese wax is used to cover the mushroom spawn in each 

appropriate hole.Smearing wax over exposed wood

 reduces decay and drying out: including both ends. 

For further information please read: Producing Shiitake Mushrooms: A Guide for Small-Scale Outdoor Cultivation on Logs. It is also posted on the right sidebar menu.