Mycologist Paul Stamets studies the mycelium — and lists 6 ways that this astonishing fungus can help save the world.

I got the logs through the hot NE Florida summer by storing them in a shady spot, covering them with burlap and wetting them occasionally.  Once the cool, damp fall set in, the logs startng “pinning.” With this latest fruiting, I was able to harvest about 2 bags full (there are a total of 8 logs).  If picked before the gill margins are fully extended, shiitake will store for several days in the fridge. I did have additional ones for which I was able to produce another bag of dried ones (for which I used a dehydrator).  If you can get a hold of a few oak logs, this is a great way to obtain additional protein from your garden!

The logs should sit for 2-3 weeks after the tree is felled, and this is so that the natural fungicides present will have time to dissipate. I set the logs in a fairly dry spot during this period, and when a few slight curing cracks are noted in the end of the logs, this is a good sign that they are ready. I watered them for a few hours the day before plugging so as to build up adequate moisture content.

On the last go around, I used shiitake sawdust spawn because it is cheaper. Because I had such good luck with it, I initially decided to use it again. However, Fungi Perfecti assured me that the dowel spawn was every bit as vigorous of an inoculant, and because it is far less trouble to use, I decided to spend a little extra and go for it. As can be seen in the picture, I purchased a 100 dowel bag of reishi and a 1000 count bag of shiitake. This will be more shiitake than I need, but the 500 count bag was not enough (if you live in the area and want a few shiitake dowels, just contact me).

Because I had more than enough dowels, I decided to drill the holes a little closer and over inoculate. This should give me a faster spawn run and also cut down on competing fungus. I ended with an average of about 70 plugs per log. From the photo, you can see that it makes it a little easier if you can stand the log upright on a surface, because in this way it is easier to rotate it as you work. Here I am about to drive in a section of dowels with a hammer.

Make sure you do this process in a shady dry spot, and not in the heat of the day. Referring to the picture on the left, once all the holes are plugged in each log, I then smear a little wax over them in order to seal from the environment etc. There are waxes designed for this purpose that are sold by the spawn supplier, but if you have just a few logs, you can probably use any wax available (I imagine dripping a candle over the holes would work for really small jobs).  I put the bar of wax in a little tin foil and warmed on low heat in the oven so that it would be easier to smear.

Having inoculated and waxed all of the logs, I then stored them in a moist shady area,  and such a good spot is under trees or other vegetation. What is pictured is known as crib stacking (I have a few older logs mixed in here). Be sure to get them off of the ground so that they will not be get in contact with soil organisms and other fungus.  I watered them good after stacking. Shiitake can tolerate lower humidities than many other mushrooms, but you don’t want to let them dry out. A good practice is to water them every week or so in dry weather and then let the outer surfaces dry out (so as not to attrack competing fungus).  Sustained temperatures around 100 F can kill the mycelium so you might want to provide extra water during these periods.

I will cover them with burlap cloth once they have dried out a bit. Be sure to sure to visit one of the many sites that get more in depth with this process – like this one in my link section.  Stay tuned as I will be updating with progress reports.  Hopefully, this new batch will turn out as successfully as the first ones.

Concerning it’s health benefits, and referring to the publication ”MycoMedicinals” by Paul Stamets, I see the following properties listed: Immune Enhancement,  anti-tumor, anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-oxidant. It is used quite commonly in a number of health supplements, but I would be leery of any claims from preparations that did not use the proper processes or natural and pure forms.  There is quite a bit of anecdotal evidence of its beneficial use in treating a variety of cancers, but most of these studies originate in Japan and other parts of Asia. Here are a couple of promising studies underway:

• A Mushroom Extract May Impact The Body’s Immune System
• Mushroom Extract may fight infection and cancer
• Mushroom Health Benefits Diagram

My personal method of preparation is to cut it off the log, dry it (doesn’t take long), or use it fresh in teas or soups. I simply take some scissors and slice thin little sections off to use in this method. I do not consume the resulting small pieces – though it wouldn’t hurt anything to do so. Also, if you wish to try and grow this yourself using an easy kit, you might want to consider this product:The Turkey Tail Mushroom Patch – Indoor / Outdoor Mushroom Growing Kit – Grow Your Own Edible Mushrooms & Fungi. Easy & Fun Mush Room Growing Kit – Grow Mushrooms for Cooking Ingredients. Great Gift Idea for a Cook.

• Respiratory and asthma
• Studies show reishi mushrooms benefit people stricken with a variety of ailments
• Breast and prostate cancer
• Blog on reishi mushroom

As to my own experience preparing and using tea out of my own “home grown” reishi, I believe that it has lowered my blood pressure and I find it helpful when I am coming down with a “bug” as it is a great boost to the immune system.  I also find it relaxing and helpful to an overall “better feeling.” I will be sharing my method of preparing it shortly. If you would like an easy and fast kit to grow this yourself, you might want to consider this product: Reishi/Ling Chi Mushroom Kit

Now, because I don’t go through the trouble of cultivating my own spawn –  and generally either use dowel or sawdust spawn for my mushroom growing – I tried to find an inoculant in one of these forms. Being unsuccessful, I had to opt on using the garden patch kit from Fungi Perfecti for my logs.  This kit is compromised of cultured wood chips and was designed to spread in a garden. Therfore, I wasn’t sure that it would work for use in logs (but I was willing to take the chance because I am always game for the ‘unconventional approaches’). Once I received the kit , I determined that most of the particles were fine enough to stuff into the holes which I would drill.

After I had plugged the holes and sealed them, I dug the logs about 1/3  down into rich soil (in a shaddy spot).  I occasionally wet the logs so as not to let them dry out and cover the tops of them with a little layer of leaves. After about 2 months, whoila! I started seeing all these little white “pins” protruding from many of the plugged areas.  I took this picture a few days later after this first full “flush” and I began to have similar flushes about once a month. It has now been a little over a year and I think that the logs might have ‘petered out’ because of the aggressive nature of these mushrooms using up their food supply etc. I did get a lot of mushrooms of these two little logs!

The only problem that I have noticed is that in the heat of the summer, you might get some insect infestation of these mushrooms. However, I have found ways to deal with this, and one of them is when I first notice the pinning, I simply remove the logs for a few days to a more protected spot near my house. From the pinning phase to the edible phase is about one week as they grow very fast. Also, this is one mushroom that you can let mature a little longer before harvesting.

These oyster mushrooms are very tasty and work well in oyster mushroom stews, risotto,  and other recipes. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I had much spawn left over and spread it below the surface in my worm pit (where I put wood, chips and other sorts of organic debris). I have seen them growing therein. Be sure to leave a comment if you have any more questions!

Also, if you would like an easy way to start growing the conventional oyster mushroom (considered better by some), you might want to consider this product:The Espresso Oyster Mushroom Patch – Indoor / Outdoor Mushroom Growing Kit – Grow Your Own Edible Mushrooms & Fungi. Easy & Fun Mush Room Growing Kit – Grow Mushrooms for Cooking Ingredients. Great Gift Idea for a Cook.

Ingredients:

1 cup rice. 3-4 chopped green onions. 2-3 tablespoons of butter. 1 1/2 cup water. 1 beef bouillon cube. pinch of saffron. 1/2 tsp. sesame oil

1 tbls  olive oil

1 cup sauteed mushrooms

pepper

fresh parmesan cheese

Saute rice and green onions in butter until onions are transparent. Melt 1 beef bouillon cube in 1 1/2 cups boiling water. When rice and onions are sauteed, add water. Add mushrooms, pinch of saffron, sesame oil and olive oil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. When done, add pepper to taste and top with fresh parmesan cheese. Wonderful!

It is better to harvest this fungus before it has gotten too old. Just cut the fungus off from the tree using a knife, but don’t rip it off. I then cut the actual sections as I demonstrate here in the picture. The idea is to cut off the outermost tender margin of the fungus, and this is quite easy because when cutting it, the knife tends to ”find” the tougher part and ride over it as you cut.

Now once you get your sections cut off, just break it all up in a whatever sizes that you wish and use in your favorite recipe. If you do an internet search, you can find many recipes, and I will be posting the risotto recipe that we made with them here shortly. It just doesn’t get any better than eating such delicacies growing right in our own yard! Keep a close eye out in the summer and fall for this delicious fungus, as they are quite common (though the northern variety growns on different trees). On a final note, I have also innoculated one of my garden beds with the spawn of the native ‘Shaggy Mane’ (Coprinus comatus) and hope to be sampling this delicacy in the spring.

Pictured here are some shiitake mushrooms that I grew last year in oak logs. These logs came from a water oak that was being cleared on property next to mine. Actually, I am a bit of a tree hugger and hate cutting them and therefore, I look for those that are going to be cut anyhow. Additionally, you might contact a tree surgeon or arborist for sources. Of course, if there is an area of woods that needs to be thinned out, this might be a good idea.

There is much information on the web related to this, so I won’t try and repeat it all here. My emphasis will be to share my own very successful experience and how to accomplish this on a smaller scale without commercial equipment etc. I will be adding a page soon on the full details, but a quick search on google for keywords “shiitake”, “growing”, “logs” etc. should turn up plenty of information.

Now, I did a few things differently than what is recommended for commercial operations. Basically, I ordered a bag of the Lentinula edodes
“Shiitake” sawdust spawn from Fungi Perfecti for about $19 (not including shipping). The normal method is to order the more expensive plugs, unless you have the proper commercial equipment. However, the bag of shiitake spawn will inoculate at least 30 logs (and so is more cost efficient). I followed the normal advice of drilling the holes, but when it came time to stuff the holes with the spawn, this is where a little ingenuity payed off.  I bought a cheap set of those food funnels used for cooking and found a size that I would hold just snuggly over the hole. I then found a small rod (can buy at hardware stores) that would work like a “piston” inside the funnel.

Therefore to summarize, after placing the funnel firmly over the hole, I grabbed enough spawn to fill a couple of holes (using disposable latex gloves) and placed in the funnel. I then took a piston and stuffed spawn firmly into hole. After completing a section of log, I then smeared some of the inexpensive sealing wax (also found on the site I linked) firmly over each hole. After this,  just use the normal methods of log maintenance as outlined in many of the fine articles!

The neat thing about this is that after going through the initial effort, these logs will produce for many seasons. From the ”crop” pictured, I had more than enough mushroom use fresh, dry, and gave away several bags! I also had some shrooms that were the size of my hand. I have had successive fruitings in about 2 month intervals. The best part about natural log grown shrooms, is that you cannot beat the taste or health benefits by purchasing the store bought (which are grown in bags etc.).

I will be preparing more logs shortly and will be more thoroughly photo documenting the procedure! Apparently Fungi Perfecti was impressed enough to feature my experience here.

Also, if you wish to go the simple route and use an easy grow kit, you might want to consider this product:The Shiitake Mushroom Patch – Growing Kit or use and already inoculated log: 9-10″ Shiitake Mushroom Log