569 replies to this topic

[kcmoxtractor]

Those shiitake look great! They look like the humidity variation has been perfect. I think they taste better when it's been a *little* dry during maturation and they get extra feathery caps.

[YoshiTrainer]

Great work A, those maple logs and that Lions Mane look incredible!

[Arathu]

Thanks folks......Every time my logs or some other substrate pins up I'm fascinated by them, good thing they make digital camera's or I'd be in the darkroom for months......

 

Indeed KC, the flavor of shiitake growing out of logs is incredible. The first handful this year, in between the freezes, were just a little tough but the taste was out of this world, Perhaps the stressors make for enhanced flavors, I bet so....

 

I think the next installment might have to be "Let's Make Plug Spawn" and knock up some wood. I've been wanting to try a few totem poles too....

 

Never fear though, I'll definitely have some follow up photo's as these logs continue to fruit......when I do my watering chores the whole place smells like fungus......

 

And I still have plenty of room to expand my log collection. I need to get more actually. With warm weather settling in I'll be able to get back to serious agar work too, (condensation in pitri's is rough when your work space is only 53F and growth is slooow) so my spawn production will gear up again soon.

 

It rained again overnight and the weatherman says more to follow, I'm expecting to see crazy pins over the next few days.....That also means that the Poplar Oysters on the Cottonwood tree's (wild for now) will be coming on full force. They are also quite tasty.

 

A

[Oldpunk]

Holy fungi feature Batman.

I just scrolled through about half of this over a cup o coffee. You've been busy. Awesome read Arathu

[Arathu]

Cool...thanks......I like fiddling with things......

 

Dig it.....in between the absolutely soaking downpours, and it's raining again right now, I managed some photo's.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here comes the yummies.....looks like plenty of them too.....

 

All five of the big logs are fruiting now.....that smaller one is pretty much spent but did pop out a single fruit earlier......

 

I'll be eating fresh mushrooms tomorrow for sure....

 

It's the best hobby ever.....

 

A

 

 

 

[Auhron]

Agreed, best hobby ever.

[Arathu]

I have a cordless pressure washer and five gallon buckets.....

 

I make it rain on the logs regularly......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These things could be grilled and put on a hamburger with a thick slice of Swiss......meaty and delicious...

 

What a tasty mushroom the shiitake is.....

 

Definitely try some logs if you can...

 

A

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[Arathu]

Starting to chip away at the list of edibles.....

 

This one can be interesting to grow but man I love them.....

 

 

This is getting cooked with steaks this weekend.......

 

 

 

Maybe with some eggs and potatoes.....mushroom gravy....

 

 

This might be a HOG.....hopefully

 

A,.... finally has some success with maitake.......

 

We got hens on the acre!

 

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Edited by Arathu, 23 September 2021 - 06:40 PM.

[MushLuvR]

MAITAKE!!!  Beautiful Sight to See.  Well Done!  

[Arathu]

 

 

 

Yep....it's looking like a nice mushroom growing here.....

 

Earlier in the year, late spring we said "Best hobby EVER!"

 

Now even more so.....

 

If these keep fruiting year after year, we're talking about a whole new level of tribe! 

 

A

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Edited by Arathu, 25 September 2021 - 06:31 AM.

[Arathu]

These are here close by every year, in abundance.....

 

And you KNOW it's fall....

 

A

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[Arathu]

 

This one is definitely going to be a nice hen.....and look....two more brains popped out of the dirt....

 

So....officially I will not hesitate to attempt fruiting maitake this way.....it loves to be surrounded by moist soil....

 

Obviously......

 

This is certainly one way the dirtmaker learns to "speak" fungus....

 

Dirt and many mushrooms just go together....

 

Now I'm betting other colonized substrates will also fruit in these chambers.....

 

Here....THIS is one of those smells that evokes an incredible depth of memory and emotion.....I remember this smell from some of my first clear memories...

 

Aside from the fact that the entire mushroom was basically ready for cooking without even a rinse...wow....is an understatement

 

Always something happening at the Acre....

 

A

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[YoshiTrainer]

Those look incredible A!!! Could you describe how you are growing these. In the ground, surrounded by potting soil with a blue tub flipped over the top?

[Arathu]

It's a colonized block buried in soil, in this case using a surplus food drum, as a fruiting chamber...drain holes and all.....put an inch of river gravel in the bottom....so I can control the humidity and moisture content....

 

A mass of substrate is allowed to colonize and then it is buried, in a drum, a pot, a tub, a hole in the ground, and etc... I bet hoop houses work, green houses too

 

This is a sterilized block of oak wood in a filter patch bag that is inoculated with sawdust spawn in front of the hood, sealed, and allowed to colonize for six months....using commercial spawn in fact (good stuff)

 

Then it was removed from the bag and buried with about 1" of soil covering the top....to await fall conditions.....wet from rain, nights turned to 50's F........boom!

 

A

Edited by Arathu, 27 September 2021 - 05:07 PM.

[YoshiTrainer]

Thank you Arathu!

[Arathu]

Blue Hen

 

 

The entire thing is a recycling project......for real...

 

 

A

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[MushLuvR]

Beautiful Arathu... I have some Oats ready to spawn to a block... LETS GO.  

[Arathu]

Yep......this is gonna rule! A few more days maybe....

 

 

Cooked a hen tonight.....I still need to go walking in the woods too....

 

Oh my!

 

The eating is on at the acre.....smells like mushrooms in here...

 

A big pot of mushroom soup going together Saturday...for sure...

 

A

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[Myc]

I'll be over around - what time??  Willing to wash dishes and scrub pots.

[ethnobotanist420]

I have a lot of catching up to do lol

This thread is an absolute goldmine if information. Thank you so much for sharing all of your knowledge, Arathu!