Several strains of specialty mushrooms can be grown on pasteurized straw, including several types of oysters, the black poplar mushroom and some strains of shiitake. Straw cultivation can be the easiest and cheapest method to get new growers started due to the easy, low-tech methods that are often used.
Even if you’re going to be growing your shiitake outside on a wood chip bed, starting off growing your shiitake on sawdust in bags will produce a larger amount of stronger mycelium to add to your bed. This provides a better chance of survival and hopefully producing more mushrooms.
It is found growing wild in the mountainous regions of China, Japan, Indonesia, and Taiwan. The scattering of shiitake spores has been traced using typhoon wind patterns as the mushrooms were dispersed from one to the other of these countries.
Are shiitake mushrooms good for You?
Besides being delicious, shiitake mushrooms may also have health benefits including boosting your immune system and lowering cholesterol. In Japanese, shii is a reference to the type of tree similar to oak that these mushrooms often grow around and také is the word for mushroom.
If you’re growing shiitake on sawdust, grain, or straw, it will take two to three months for your bags to be completely colonized with white mycelium. But unlike with other mushrooms, the white mycelium doesn’t signal that your shiitake are ready to fruit.
One source proposed temperature strongly affects two different aspects of this mushroom’s life: mycelia growth and the fruiting body growth. The name shiitake is composed of shii, for the Japanese tree chinquapin (Castanopsis cuspidate), and take, meaning mushroom. The mushroom is found on fallen trees during the spring and autumn.
What is the best substrate for shiitake mushrooms?
Regardless of what wood-based substrate you choose, pick one made from deciduous hardwoods. Shiitakes do best on oak, but maple, beech, and ironwood will all work as well. If you’re using logs to grow your shiitake mushrooms, then the fresher they are, the better.
What is the best shiitake mushrooms strain to pick?
But if you do have a choice of different strains, WR46 is a good beginner-friendly strain to pick. Shiitake spawn comes in several different forms depending on how you’re planning on growing your shiitake mushrooms. Hobbyist growers tend to use inoculated wooden dowels, which are also called plug spawn.
What size logs do shiitake mushrooms need?
Unlike many mushrooms which grow on compost or manure-based potting media, shiitake mushrooms grow on logs. You’ll need to obtain or cut logs (“bolts”) about 3 to 6-inches across, and 3 to 4 feet long. For ease of handling, consider the 3-foot lengths for the thicker logs.