Mushroom Log Hashtag. 3.11.22

Somewhere between Delta and Omicron I included an order for mushroom spawn with an early seed order. I've never grown mushrooms so it will be an experiment. I bought two types, "Chicken of the Woods" and "Shiitake". According to the instructions, the spawn can be kept in the fridge for up to a year. I had them there for about three months. Mushrooms grow from fungal filamemts that are grown in labs on wooden dowels. To make a mushroom log, drill about 5 holes into a fresh tree log, use a hammer to drive the dowels into the holes, and seal it all with paraffin. Then the log needs to be kept cool and damp for nine months to a year, while the filaments permeate the log, then it will grow mushrooms. Supposedly. According to the instructions, once the logs start bearing mushrooms, they continue producing crops for three to five years. Here is what the mushroom filament saturated dowels look like.

Here is what the logs look like after the dowels have been pounded in and holes and ends sealed with wax.

That took me about two hours. Now I just need to keep them in the dark and moist for 9 to 12 mo ths.