You're about the size now that I'm thinking of next year: 2-300 logs. Do you force the logs for a steady production or do you get big harvests all at once? What's your average yield per log? And... are you happy with the income? Things don't look very profitable to me below$10/ lb, even though I have plenty of buyers lined up. I'm harvesting my first shiitakes this year and really am intrigued by it... I just want to be sure it'll be worth the money if I get into growing them. I'm growing on sweet gum logs and they are yielding well, got 1/2 lb from one log last week, which seemed pretty good.

everett-
We soak about 30 logs per week, and harvest about 15 or so pounds per week, so average is 1/2 lb per log....It seems like they produce much better in the cooler weather, no matter what strain you have.
$8/lb is the market for wholesale here, but theres quite a few growers in the area - someone set the market a little lower than what we had planned on- still, we've covered our cost, and hope to make some profit next year.
As far as income, so far it's nothing to brag about...Maybe next year will be better - it covered the cost, but also was a fair amount of time and labor. This year was sort of an experimental year, for learning..Just wait til next year, is my famous yearly quote.

We grow everything on oak logs, which cost us about $1/log last year.

do you want to go full time with mushrooms?

Hey, that sounds nice. My target would be 15-20 lb a week, as my nicest restaurant customer uses 10-12 lb a week and has requested that I grow for them. I could easily sell another 10 lb a week to others. That's encouraging to hear that 1/2 lb per log might be expected... the best I could gather from any source was 1/4 lb per log per fruiting. Not to be over-eager, though! I also am very prone to say "just wait til next year", for a couple of years now with salad greens, and I don't want to overstretch my family's faith by jumping in too far with shiitakes if it's not going to really pan out.

Full time? Well, I'd like to go as far into it as I can to complement the rest of my market gardening, which is my main income and which I've slimmed down to 50% of my time. I also do other work to bring in the necessary income. I would have the time in Jan/ Feb to innoculate 2-300 logs, and it seems that the weekly soakings & harvesting don't take much time. (By the way, the best info I've found on the net about actual hands-on how-to is from the Kentucky extension site). Is this true?

Is $1 per log money that you actually paid out or is that approximately what it cost you to cut & innoculate the log? I have plenty of sweet gum saplings on my property that I am eager to use, and several people have offered to let me cut oak logs from their property.

I think if you have a customer who wants 10 - 12 lbs per week, thats definitely going to be your main outlet. Some weeks we've gotten 25 lbs, some weeks 8 lbs. I think it has more to do with the cooler weather (being preferable). We do everything out side. Some growers up here are doing it in a climate controlled room, or barn.
Last year we paid a guy 1$/log for oak already cut into a 3 foot section. He harvested it less than a month before we picked it up. I'm not sure what we're going to do this year, but we want about 500 more logs, I think.
The inoculant was extra.
I don't really know how sweet gum will do, is it a hard wood?
We'vw found that the smaller logs are not only growing more ( I guess the inoculant takes over the log faster) but they are easier to haul around for soaking, stacking, etc....
The weekly soakings and stacking doesn't take that much time...we use pond water, don't have any idea how chlorine will affect the process. Probably won't.
The next problem we have to deal with is cooler space. The mushrooms need to be refrigerated very soon after picking...and we don't have that much space. Not sure what we're going to do about that.
Fish

what kind of packaging are you folks using ? ive been using
plastic bowls with about 5 oz of oysters in them-i put them
in small brown bags and reuse the bowls. this works good at
the farmers market but other markets might call for some-
thing differant.

Yes, the 10-12 lb/week customer could definitely be my main outlet, though he is used to paying $6 a lb from a local mushroom plant (they complain about the quality). He could go up to $8. The supermarket-sized food co-op pays either $11 or $15/lb, and I could probably nip in under there at $10. I know a farmers' market price would be $16 or so, but there's a lot of other things I need to do with my Saturdays!

I will be using outdoor space as well, and have considered using a shade house made out of a $200 hoophouse design (45' x 15'), though the shade house gets pretty hot in the summer. Under the pine canopy works well, and is cooler, though I'll have to clear out a lot of underbrush. I use well water for soaking... it's relatively chilly but does it ever have to be really cold in order to trigger the fruiting? I just did a 24-hour soak which has given me 2 nice fruitings so far, but nothing this time. They may need to rest longer. I do a 12-hour soak to maintain moisture and a 24-hr soak to trigger the fruiting. I may need a different system to maintain moisture on 300 logs!

The sweet gum is actually ranked in the tope three along with red and white oak. Sweet gum is a very soft hardwood, and contains entirely sapwood until they grow to almost a foot in diameter. And the sap has a high sugar content, which probably helps the shiitakes also. The bark is not as sturdy, and they decay quickly, so the log life is not as long as oak. So I'll see next year just what that means for production.

I've been happiest with the smaller logs, too, seeing earlier and heavy fruitings. Several people in FL use 5' logs, but their system leaves the logs in place on a rack and they spray/ soak them to trigger the fruiting.

Wouldn't an outdoor refrigerator work nicely for you? That's what I use for all my salad greens, etc. It's just a used, large fridge plugged in to the north side of the house. Have to watch the freezing temps in winter, but otherwise it's cheap and easy and works well. One fridge should hold all your mushrooms.

I haven't had to tackle the individual packaging, and won't ever need to as I sell in bulk bags to restaurants and the co-op. There's lots of nice packaging & display items in Monte Packaging catalog.

The good thing about growing mushrooms is that we always have plenty to eat, nushrooms on burgers, sauted in wine and butter, cream of mushrrom soup, mushroom omelette's!!!
OKay, back to growing. We have found that cooler water does help. But since you have well water in Fla., should always be cooler than the air. We have actually put large blocks of ice in our soaking water. It helped, or seemed to anyway.
As far as packaging, we sell to restaraunts and groceries in large tupperware containers that we pick up every week.
for our CSA, I put them in paper bags, like lunch bags.
Its been fun so far, but a bit of work too.
But, like I said we always eat well.
Fish

Can you point me to a good resource that explains how to grow mushrooms? I have about an acre of woods on my property and this seems to be a good way to use it!

Thanks,
Beth

beg borrow or buy growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms by
paul stamets.fungi perfecti and mushroom people both in-
struct and sell with good web sites.if you do a search mush-
room cultivation you will get alot of info.as a side note-
any body producing there own spawn should check out the psilocybin cultivating sites.

Thanks for the info- this looks really interesting. I'll see if I can track down that book. I think I have the perfect spot to grow these- pine canopy with very little underbrush, and close to the house and (well) water supply!

Beth

I'm very pleased with "Growing Shiitake Mushrooms in a Continental Climate" from Field & Forest Products, Inc. It has very good, hands-on info, and they take themselves with a little humor too.

I also am using a place sheltered by pines & using well water... sounds like a good formula.

field and forest is what we refer to as well - they seem to know what they're talking about as far as practical application...
Our season is winding down now, winter is a comin'- maybe a couple of more weeks left.

I'm starting to fruit a new hot weather strain, and the lag time between soaking and fruiting is over a week. Is that normal? Or is it just normal for it to be a little unpredictable? I have seen a 3-4 day lag time before with a wide-range strain.

Also, any advice on post-soaking/ pre-fruiting treatment of logs to get the best yields?

everett -
Are you "bagging" the logs after soaking?
After we soak, stack, we cover the stacks with a sort of tent, I guess it keeps the humidity in, and helps the growth. Also the mushrooms don't dry out.
Hows the harvest been so far? We're about at the end of our season, as winter creeps up...Yuck. winter is depressing.
Fish

No, no bagging though I've heard of it... I do use a blue poly tarp sometimes to tent over the logs if the air gets dry for several days in a row. I also decided to time when I take the logs out of the tank according to how fast I want them to dry... in summer, I take them out in the a.m. so they dry faster (so the bark won't stay wet very long, but the overall humidity here in the summer is a stiffling 90% or more)... and in the drier fall, I am taking the logs out in the evening, so they stay soggy & the nighttime humidity (fog & dew) keep the bark moist to encourage the pinning. I could tell you how well it was working if I had more than one stack of trial logs to play around with.

Everett,
Any new news on your shitake plans?
We've stopped soaking...the weather actually has been nice, but we needed a rest anyway.
So how did the sweet gum logs produce for you? Are you still soaking, or did you soak all of your logs at once?
Fish

Just a quick bump to the top, I have lots of questions, but no time right now. Thanks!!

Sue

Ok, I'm back with tons of questions. My interest in all this was peaked by an article I read where Rhode Island is giving grants to folks to start shiitake farming.
We live on 13 acres here in NC, and its hard to describe, but the land is not usable for much than foresting. We have stands of Black Walnut among the other trees, a stream running thru and lots of shade, so it seems mushrooms might be feasible.

I have run across tons of info on the web, but my questions may seem silly to you, so please be patient ;)

How did ya'll decide to get started in mushrooms?
How often is the watering/soaking of logs? I read every 2 weeks depending on weight calculations, but is this schedule continuous for the life of the log? Or is there a rest cycle (for farmer and log)?

What happens when the logs are played out after a few years?
Are you left with sawdust piles or what exactly? (I warned you these were silly) Would the remains make a second crop as compost?

These are just a few things I have thought of while obsessing over mushrooms. My DH thinks I'm nuts, and he could be right. I just know there is a huge drawback to this type of crop, I can't see it yet, but it can't be this simple!!

Thanks for listening, I eagerly await your responses.

Sue
(future owner of the Rock Bottom Mushroom Farm)

lets pretend we have a large greenhouse structure with lots of benches and floor heated concrete.

under these benches an ok to try and start up some shrooms?

fyi im in wisconsin.

froggy

Hi,
Does anyone know of mushroom growers around or near Lancaster, Ca. where I would be able to get compost to add to my gardens and worm beds?
If so please email info to
JaMaKaEnterprise@aol.com

Hi Guy's and Gal's
Seems like the link is a little slow. I am starting out and would like to ask when the logs start to fruit I am getting very small mushrooms like 1/4 inch what am I doing wrong?

Been a long time since I've visited this site, been so busy. I am excited this week as I am soaking my first stack of logs and waiting to see if my production will begin for this season. I got Charley O's posting on my email so this is what I know: I use sweet gum logs and a shiitake strain that doesn't produce large caps. So far my first fruitings and the rest as well yield nice size mushrooms 2-4" caps. I've seen small 1" cap mushrooms for sale that evidently were grown on oak logs... maybe with oak the first fruitings can be small? Anyone else?

Another bit to know is that the mushrooms tend to grow larger the longer that a consistently high humidity is maintained during the fruiting, which is why people put bags over the stack or cloth, etc. This also encourages more pinheads to form initially, which turn into more mushrooms. That's about all I know so far; this season will be my big learning curve w/ it!

That's great everett! I want this to work, but who knows.
I have everything ready, but will try the covering. I wanted to just get the logs going el-natual. I didn't know if I would get a response, but thanks for the info.
Charley-O

I am a Sbitake grower in NC. I would welcome questions, advice, etc. I have about 250 logs and have been selling locally this year. Will add logs in fall/spring.

Everett the storms didn't get you did they? I sent a picture of my problem to Joe at Feild and Forest he told me that what I was seeing in small rshooms were not shiitake but another brown mushroom. He told me they won't hurt the shiitakes but they haven't started popping yet. Live and learn! Welcome Smokey Creek I will have plenty of questions for you. One is when you market is it just to local businesses and is it just fresh? Talk to all later.

That's interesting I didn't know of a similar shaped but smaller mushroom than the shiitakes. I'm glad to report a very good season underway producing 10+ lbs a week on my sweet gum logs. I soak 28 logs each week and they've been totally reliable so far. The venture has paid for itself and is in the black, actually being one of my main garden incomes now that my salad greens are losing the battle with the wet weather and weeds... just hoping to turn the corner on that as fall approaches.

Already am planning on doubling my total logs (to 500) this winter, and I already have the restaurant buyers lined up too.

I just tasted my first shitake mushrooms. Picked right off the oak logs we prepared last Fall Yummm...so juicy I was surprised.

The harvest looks sparse and while the mushrooms are good size, it seems to only produce on one area of the log pile.

Last night I covered themas the temps went below freezing here. I checked them today and they look ok.

When I pick all the mushrooms that are there, I hope to be harvesting more on the same logs next year. Should I leave any shrooms so the spores can release and spread on the logs? Just curious. SUch a small harvest, I want to eat it all!

I had my first fruiting also and it is the same good size shrooms,but not many. At least it's working! this is an experiance!!!
Charlie-O

Has anyone else experimented with shaded outdoor beds and using wood pellet fuel/worm casting mix for a substrate. Spawn with colonized wbs or white millet or even popcorn, then cover with moistened vermiculite. This has worked well for me in the past with other varieties of mushrooms on a few small test plots and I going to try it this year with shitake. The best part of all was when it came to fruiting all I had to do was soak the vermiculite to induce fruiting. I can dig up a few links with the wood pellet fuel teks I used if anyone is interested.

We started some logs (alder) last fall. We have placed them in an shade area under some fir trees. I noticed some growth on a few logs. I didn't think they flush this early? Should we be covering the logs in cold weather and soaking them in dry weather. Of course, here in the puget sound area of washington state. We do get rain; however, it has been a little dry this winter.

Most strains seem to take 6-9 months or longer for the spawn run, and especially over the winter the colder temps would slow things down more. I wonder what kind of growth you're seeing? It probably helps to cover the logs in cold weather, but where I am I just cover the stack(s) that are fruiting after being soaked (to force the fruiting). And then you water in dry weather... not "soak" as in submerge in water (that is how you force them to fruit).

I suggest to folks out there who are only letting the logs fruit naturally to try the soaking/ forcing process... with the right strain, it works wonderfully well and gives a steady supply of mushrooms (ideal for restaurant sales). At the end of last summer, I was getting a pound per log after soaking!

Hi. I'm a new grower and just came across this resource and I'm glad to find you all. I have been growing for personal use for several years with lots of success. I know I'll have lots of questions now that I am branching out into selling but haven't got time now. Gald to know your out there!

Heather from Missouri

After studying the process for a little over a year, the first shipment of spawn is to arrive this week. Myself and two friends are inoculating 800 logs in three different locations in central NC. It's an exciting time and we're looking forward to the experience.

I'm also looking forward to chatting with all of you about your experiences. Maybe we can convince Spike to add a Mushroom forum.

Hi shitake growers
My husband and I are starting to grow shitake mushrooms. We grow alot of garlic and thought this would be a great product to complement garlic. I always market my stuff at the farmers markets by having recipes. I would love to have some Shitake recipes If you have any to share.
The garlic lady in NC

We're getting ready to go to our first farmers market and take about 70 lbs of Shiitake's grown off oak logs. Can anyone give me an idea of the current going rate for fresh mushrooms? Post a message here if you don't mind, having problems with my e-mail account. Thanks!!!

Around here $10.00 lbs

Wow, payday! I sell wholesale $8/ lb, and I've seen retail prices in natural food stores at $10-12/lb. Note that grocery store 4-oz clamshells sell for $4/ 4 oz and maybe down to $3/ 4-oz, which is $12-16/ lb. I think when you post your price per pound, the sticker shock of $16 is a lot, so the stores price their bulk lots at a lower per pound price. Congratulations.

I would like to know anyone else's experiences with forcing logs to fruit regularly in the springtime as temperatures are roller-coastering around so much! I could force my logs very reliably in the fall, but have had poor luck this spring. Truly warm weather is almost here, and I hope for better results.

It's been over a year since this topic was discussed. Does anyone have any new things to add? I'm actually still harvesting here in Z7 because it's relly stayed warm this year despite a couple of real cold snaps.

My property seems ideal for growing shiitake except for the abundance of wildlife. No one has mentioned the need to protect their mushrooms from deer, raccoons, skunks, squirrels, chipmunks, birds -- but surely they must be eaten by most of these, aren't they? How do you protect the logs?

Try a posting again for more comments.

Also look into Wisconin and Minnesota based growers. I assisted many people get started growing in 80's there and so it might be experiences there.

As my work required me to focus on other R&D projects, Shiitake was taking off via Ag Extension Agents across the USA. Our lab used to send out 50 to hundreds of copies of a Forest Products Journal paper articke that we had on hand to help supply handout materials for workshops.

By the time I switched projects we had fielded > 50,000 reprint requests. Humbling! I think there is now a free link posted for it now, along with the starting US Ag Agent contacts at that time, listed by state.

I'm also seeing warm climate Hawaiian extension newspaper clippings over the last decade talking about similar cultivation workshops there. Shiitake Cultivation keeps being "rediscovered" in ever new locations. Why not? Tasty, valuable, has a local skills barrier helping protect from new competitors, snd healthy.

Fungi Perfecti near Olympia and Shelton, WA is a great source of experience for Shiitake and other non-compost (direct converter) mushrooms.

I've now migrated back from WI to WA now, using recruiting to finally get back home. But would much enjoy the chance to get back into the practical lab end of fungal cultivation.

Know anyone in the greater Seattle/Tacoma area looking to scale up ANY commercially viable fungus?

With my micobial, plant, and (bio)chemical training and hobby experience, large hydroponics, orchid seed and plant tissue culture labs are other viable options.

Link to Shiitake cultivation logs article published in the 1980's from the USDA Forest Products Lab https://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/pdf1982/leath82a.pdf

Fungi Perfecti / Fungi.com Mushroom Information and they feature spawn sales too. Founder, Paul Stamets was an early researcher, and instrumental practical contributor to this field. Was finally formally recognized by the Mycological Society of America, which makes me astoundingly happy - much deserved! http://www.fungi.com/mushroom-info.html

By the way wood degrading fungi like Shiitake and Oyster Mushoom have wonderful degrative enzymes of potential industrial importance. Some are being studied currently, but much more work is needed!

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