Shiitake Mushrooms
Scientific name: Lentinula edodes. Shiitake mushrooms gathered off fallen logs have been the most popular mushroom in Asia for centuries. In the last century techniques have been developed to cultivate them intentionally, with commercial production at last becoming feasible. Demand for this distinctive, nutritious and sturdy mushroom continues to rise in today's health conscious cuisine.
Cultivation: Shiitake are cultivated using trees or wood as a growing medium, or substrate. Two viable methods are in wide use today, small-scale “natural” log cultivation, and “synthetic” or sawdust “log" cultivation, used mostly by large-scale commercial operations. Natural log cultivation is the oldest method and imitates nature closely. Low initial costs make it ideal for small scale growers, but the process is physically demanding. It requires “planting” hardwood logs felled in the dormant season …. they can be logs or branches freshly-cut from healthy, living hardwood trees, often gathered from timber stand improvement cuts. The logs need to be inoculated with shiitake spawn by drilling holes into them, inserting spawn into the holes, then sealing the spawn in the hole with a styrofoam cap or a layer of wax. Inoculated logs are incubated in a shaded area outdoors called a laying yard for a growing season. This period is termed spawn run. After incubation, logs will fruit. Fruiting occurs outdoors seasonally during natural weather fluctuations. Forced fruiting (indoors or outdoors) requires timely human interventions to fruit on a predetermined schedule. A typical method requires soaking each log in cold water for 24 hours to initiate fruiting. Groups of logs within a population can be soaked in 6-8 week intervals to yield weekly fruiting. A 40” long log will typically yield 2-4 lbs. of mushrooms total over several seasons. Each “flush” of mushroomswill average 1/4 to 1/3 lbs. and under correct conditions each log is capable of producing fruit about a dozen times over about a four year period before becoming commercially spent, though logs will continue to bear for up to 10 years.
Shiitake strains: deciding which strain to use canbe a little confusing, but you really can’t go wrong …. They ALL work. We offer three types of strains:Wide Range (WR), Warm Weather (WW), Cold Weather (CW).
These designations indicate the conditions under which these strains can be fruited, and they are not an indication of which type of climate they grow best.
Wide Range strains are a favorite of both beginners and commercial cultivators. They fruit best mid-spring,summer and fall, can be force fruited and recover easily between fruiting. Although they stop producing in the coldest and hottest weather, a WR strain is the best choice if you plan to cultivate only one strain. Theyare the best all-round performers. Spawn run takes approx. 6 to 12 months at 75 F., and fruits in atemperature range of 55-75 F.
Warm Weather strains produce the highest quality mushrooms per pound of total yield during the hot summer months. They naturally produce a heavy flush in the early fall. Respond well to soaking for commercial production, and tolerate warmer soak water than other strains. They usually require incubation for at least 6-12 months before their first fruiting. Spawn run takes appox. 6-12 months at 75 F. and fruits in a temperature range of 50-85 F.
Cold Weather strains fruit early spring and late fall in the North and through the winter in the South, producing highly saleable mushrooms when little fresh produce is available. Everyone welcomes their appearance. These require a longer spawn run than WR strains (9-12 months), but most people just let the natural rise and fall of wintry temperatures outdoors initiate fruitful carefree harvests while giving the mushroom caps exquisite detailed pattern that is unique to each. CW strains fruit best inthe early spring and late fall when night time lows approach 50 F. Spawn run takes approx. 9-12 months at 75 F and fruits in a temp. range of 45 F.
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