Mushrooms

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Shitake ? Tried once - a bought a log with the things already in it ... Miserable failure - not sure why - I got one small mushroom which shrivelled before I could eat it ... took forever and I'd almost given up on it which was why, by the time I found it, my one sole mushroom had had it ! I did eat it - had better from Asda !
 
Has anybody tried plugs for growing mushrooms?

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If you want to grow Shiitake mushrooms, make sure that you inoculate your growing medium with the correct spores.

Using wood plugs to introduce spores into a log is a method which works if the plugs have been properly inoculated.

If I bought wood plugs for use in my woodwork shop, I would not want them to be inoculated with any kind of fungus.

 
We have a couple of mushroom logs In the garden, one shiitake and one white oyster both made using the plugs bought off the internet. They did take a while to get going (not much off them the first year) and the conditions need to be right when you get them going. It's all pretty straight forward though and then they last for several years. It's another interesting, edible thing to have growing in the garden.
 
Looked into these abit myself, I was reading the plugs need handling with marigolds, deed logs/ cords should be soaked and the ends could be dipped in wax to stop them drying out.
They also can take a long time to get going 6 - 18 months, I'm sure starting them off at a good temp helps??
 
Looked into these abit myself, I was reading the plugs need handling with marigolds, deed logs/ cords should be soaked and the ends could be dipped in wax to stop them drying out.
They also can take a long time to get going 6 - 18 months, I'm sure starting them off at a good temp helps??
Yes....supermarket it is, then
 
If you want to grow Shiitake mushrooms, make sure that you inoculate your growing medium with the correct spores
I suspect it will say on the packet the 'innoculated' plugs were sold in what variety of fungi they contain
 
If you want to grow Shiitake mushrooms, make sure that you inoculate your growing medium with the correct spores.

Using wood plugs to introduce spores into a log is a method which works if the plugs have been properly inoculated.

If I bought wood plugs for use in my woodwork shop, I would not want them to be inoculated with any kind of fungus.


You can buy the correct spores online from reputable suppliers. I wouldn't dream of inoculating any old plug. An old fashioned rawl plug, for example wouldn't work. I don't think woodworking plugs are inoculated with fungal spores on purpose....so I don't think I might make an unwitting mistake.
I'm giving these a go
https://www.annforfungi.co.uk/shop/dowel-plug-spawn/
 
old fashioned raw plug
Not meaning to be pedantic but don't you mean RAWL plug 😁 - I remember finding a box of the old fibre rawlplugs in my grandfather's tool chest, in a neat cardboard box, together with the mandrel/drill to make the holes (no hammer drills in those days, just a hammer and a drill!
 
I'm still waiting for mushrooms from the Shiitake plugs I did 18mths ago. There is a white chalky (pre fungus?) around where the plugs are but no sign of mushrooms yet
 

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