Harvesting the logs in February is when the trees are dormant and have the most nutrition.
The mushrooms feed on the sap wood in the log. So, the more nutrition in the log the better the quality of mushroom and the longer the logs will last
**In the spring after the trees “leaf-out” (grow leaves) the trees are severely depleted of nutrition and fail to last for years.
In the spring we gather up all the now dead logs and prepare them for inoculation
The next step is to clean the logs to remove all dirt, moss, lichen and loose bark
Drilling holes into the sapwood of the log is critical so the mushrooms can feed on the sap wood
High speed drills and a sharp, properly sized high speed drill bit is important
Unsharpened drill bits will cause imperfect holes and pieces of bark to hang over the holes. Preventing hanging shards of bark will assure easier inoculation and a better seal at the end of the process
Holes drilled into the logs approximately 6″ apart and rows separated by at least 2″
You can see there is some left over moss and lichen on the log in the picture that should be removed
Stuffing the spawn (mycelium) into the drilled holes using a thumb or palm style inoculating tool
There are many different processes of getting the spawn into the holes and as many different styles of tools
Inoculating the proper amount of spawn into the holes and getting it fully packed is very important.
It’s where the mushroom growing process starts so we want to give it the best chance for success. Equate it to planting crop seeds at correct time with the correct soil to the correct depth.
After inoculating the logs with spawn we melt wax over the holes to seal the spawn from foreign mycelium, insect invaders and animals
The next step is to label each log inoculated. Use a label that will last. If they come off you can no longer identify the log in your record keeping and can not sell as organic. There should be (5) pieces of information on each log label. Type of wood, Strain of mycelium, date inoculated, mycelium lot number, log stack number
Once the log inoculation is complete we stack the logs in the Mushroom yard leaving room for good air flows
The freshly inoculated log stacks have to sit in the mushroom yard for (1) full year before they have propagated enough to start force fruiting and farming the log.
Living in the snow belt helps by assuring the logs are good and hydrated in the spring after the thaw
When a year has passed the logs are ready to start fruiting. There are many different ways to fruit the logs however all of them do still require a lot of manual labor
We only use water from holding ponds that are rain fed and rich with organic minerals, nutrients and pollens
After soaking the logs they need to be stacked out of the rain but still maintain lots of ventilation and fresh forest airflows
Keeping the logs off the ground is important to limit the contamination from foreign mycelium and the attraction of ground insects and pests
Even though the logs are off the ground it’s still normal to see a 10-15% loss due to slug holes and beetle damage
Losing some of the crop is always standard when growing Organic because under NO circumstances do you want to use pesticides or introduce chemicals into the process.
There’s lots of different strains of Shiitake mushrooms you can grow. Selecting a wide range strain means they can withstand varied temperatures better than other varieties. Our variety likes it hot and humid.
When it’s 95°f and humid we have our best harvests. It’s normal to get significant fruiting then.
This is when all your expert hard work pays off and you finally see the “fruits” of your labor (pardon the pun).
Harvest Organic mushrooms into approved organic baskets or containers. Introducing the freshly harvested mushrooms into plastic, pressure treated or certain fabrics can transfer pathogens and chemicals to the mushrooms.
Label the harvested mushrooms so you know which log stack they came from. You’ll then have to record the date code, lot number log stack, and type of logs the harvests came from. Since Organic farming requires a trail from seed to table it’s essential that everything is recorded and traceable if there was ever a recall or suspected contamination.
We try to time the mushroom harvests to coincide with the date of our orders and farmer markets.
We want every customer to get fresh, healthy, flavorful and the most ornamental looking mushrooms as possible.
Usually weighing and bagging up the mushrooms can be done immediately. however when it’s too humid we need to keep them out of the rain allowing a short time to evaporate the moisture.
There’s not really any variety of mushroom that likes high humidity after harvest.
After drying the outside of the mushrooms they are weighed, bagged, labeled and brought to market
Quick re-cap
Selecting the correct living hardwood trees. Cutting the trees at the right time. Waiting long enough for the logs to die. Proper drilling of the holes. Proper inoculation into the log. Assuring the wax seal is good. It’s critical to label each and every log with date of inoculation, type of spawn, lot number, log type and log stack number. Keep the logs moist. Waiting for a year of time to pass so the logs are fully propagated with mycelium. Only fruiting with Certified well water or rain water. Keeping the mushrooms warm and off the ground. Harvesting and keeping them dry and properly refrigerated for market. Record your harvests in your records. Organic sales require a record of: Date harvested, type of mycelium, stack number, lot number, lbs harvested, lbs culled, lbs and lot numbers stored, date sold, whom sold to, price sold. Also label your packaging; listing all mycelium numbers, dates, stack numbers so its traceable from seed to table.
