Get The Features Of Shiitake Mushroom Log And You also Enjoy Mushroom Plugs

Shiitake mushrooms are an easy and delicious crop to grow. However, the prime requisite is a shady area in the outdoors that gets no direct sunlight. You can successfully grow your Shiitake mushrooms there.

The features

The top Mushroom Log suppliers can produce up to 3 times every year when handled properly, and that too, over a period of 3–4 years. There are some features:

1. 24’’ or 48” hardwood oak log

2. Inoculation with a huge temperature-range with shiitake mycelium

3. Can produce mushrooms as many as 3 times every year.

The logs are usually hand-cut and have to be inoculated with shiitake spores in drill holes covered with cheese wax, and you get that from the best leading Mushroom Log suppliers. The Metal plaque on the lower side of the log states the inoculation date. You can lay the logs horizontally or upright for growing.

When should you start mushroom plugs?

Once the colonization of the woods takes place in around 9 to 12 months. Generally, the best time of year to inoculate logs and stumps in the spring, after your last hard frost.

Mushroom Plug Log:

The cultivation is usually done with logs 4–6 inches in diameter with a length of 3 to 4 feet. There are 3 steps of log cultivation:

a. Step 1: Drill deep holes of 1 ¼ inch with 6–8 inch spacing in a row. The spacing between the holes and rows should be 2 to 4 inches so that they form a hexagonal pattern. A4 in diameter log will need 6 rows; a 5 in. diameter log will need 7, and a 6 in. the diameter will need 9 rows. A 4 in, log usually given about 40–50 plugs. The more plugs you use per log, the faster the wood will be colonized with mushroom.

b. Step 2: Hammer the plugs into the holes.

c. Step 3: Cheese wax should be melted in an electric frying thermostat control pan at 300 degrees F. Then cover the plugs with the cheese wax. The Wax can be applied with a foam paint brush or cotton dauber.

Mushroom can easily be grown for home consumption in a productive backyard garden with a few logs. The number of mushrooms will vary in every log, every season, and every year.

How long do mushroom plugs last

Plug log can stay viable for up to 6 months in a refrigerator. Tree species that you should avoid include eucalyptus, many of the conifers, beech, hackberry, and dogwood. You can also use certain mushroom species such as hemlock, Reishi, fir, and spruce can be used.

General Care and Maintenance:

1. The logs have to be placed in a shady area thus avoiding log dry out completely as well as overheating.
2. Make sure the log stands on its end, leaning against another object for support.
3. Right from the spring season to winters, the logs have to be shocked every 8 weeks for Shiitake mushrooms harvest.

Besides, in the first year, the harvest will be of low yields, but it will increase in subsequent years as the shiitake mycelium grows. With these steps in mind, you can surely carry out the cultivation effectively.