Ken Mudge, associate professor at Cornell University, will explore the four stages that aprospective mushroom grower must consider for forest cultivation of shiitake mushrooms. Acquisition of substrate logs, inoculation, resting, fruiting and harvesting of mushrooms will be covered in this webinar.
Specialty forest mushroom include such delicacies as shiitake, oyster, lion’s mane and wine cap which can be cultivated on wood substrates, as non timber forest products for forest farming. Unfortunately other choice wild edible mushrooms like chanterelles, morels, or boletes are not included because they
cannot be deliberately cultivated. Shiitake is by far the most developed of the specialty forest mushrooms from the standpoint of both cultivation and marketing.
There are four stages that the prospective grower must consider for forest cultivation of shiitake. Acquisition of substrate logs is the first one. What kinds of trees and when to cut them are the main considerations? Shortly after that comes inoculation of logs with the appropriate shiitake strain. The next stage requires some patience. The logs must be managed in a shady laying yard for up to a year to allow the fungus time to adequately colonize the log before it is ready to convert wood into mushrooms. After this so called “spawn run”, the focus shifts tofruiting, harvesting and marketing of the mushrooms. Well managed logs can be productive for 3 or more years.
GO HERE to register. Sponsored by the American Tree Farm System.
Specialty forest mushroom include such delicacies
as shiitake, oyster, lion’s mane and wine cap which can
be cultivated on wood substrates, as non timber forest
products for forest farming. Unfortunately other
choice wild edible mushrooms like chanterelles,
morels, or boletes are not included because they
cannot be deliberately cultivated. Shiitake is by far the
most developed of the specialty forest mushrooms
from the standpoint of both cultivation and marketing.
There are four stages that the prospective grower
must consider for forest cultivation of shiitake.
Acquisition of substrate logs is the first one. What
kinds of trees and when to cut them are the main
considerations? Shortly after that comes inoculation of
logs with the appropriate shiitake strain. The next
stage requires some patience. The logs must be
managed in a shady laying yard for up to a year to
allow the fungus time to adequately colonize the log
before it is ready to convert wood into mushrooms.
After this so called “spawn run”, the focus shifts to
fruiting, harvesting and marketing of the mushrooms.
Well managed logs can be productive for 3 or more
years.
