Growing shiitake mushrooms is a little bit difficult compared to Oyster mushroom if you have done because their mycelium is not as aggressive and requires longer incubation time. Shiitake mushrooms produce more flushes of fresh mushrooms which mean more harvests for the farmer for many years under the right conditions.
Why Shiitake mushrooms?
Health benefits: Shiitake mushrooms provide compounds good for heart’s health, boost the immune system and helps fight cancer-causing pathogens and tumors.
Endless production: Shiitake mushrooms produce 3-5 flushes on average on sawdust or grain, while on logs; they can give your fresh mushrooms every 5 weeks for the next 4-6 years. Growing shiitake mushrooms will outgrow the value of the initial investment by far.
Steps you should follow when growing shiitake mushrooms at home
It is so fulfilling to grow your own shiitake mushrooms at home, considering the freshness you get in them when you harvest at home. Its pricey value at the shop is overwhelming. If you are a mushroom hobbyist here are some of the steps for you follow.
Getting prepared
The first thing is for you to plan for the substrate in which you can grow your mushrooms. A substrate is a medium with which mushrooms will establish as mycelium and act as a source of food for the mushrooms. Buy the supplies ready to get started. Shiitake mushrooms are selective when it comes to medium to grow on. They are happy on wooden medium, unlike oyster which can flourish on pretty any medium, be it coffee ground cardboard or anything.
Getting spawn
It is a mycelium culture used to grow mushrooms just like you do to vegetables and fruits. If you are an amateur when it comes to growing shiitake mushrooms, ensure you have got the right strain of spawn because there are many types with preferred weather conditions for each.
Inoculation
Drill the holes in the logs you are planning to grow your shiitake mushrooms. Hammer spawn dowels into holes that you drill on the logs to get a place to grow. Sawdust spawn can also be useful for growing shiitake mushrooms. Seasoned farmers use spring-loaded inoculation tool. It is possible even to buy pre-inoculated logs to make your work easier.
Prepare shiitake mushroom substrate
Some substrate come already pasteurized while others need to be pasteurized before use. For better results, you may add supplements to add nutritional contents to your mushrooms to flourish when growing or straw or grains, they will be okay if you are growing your shiitake mushrooms on logs.
Incubation
Shiitake mushrooms take more time to incubate than other varieties like an oyster. They take between 6 and 12 months to incubate.
Fruiting
Shiitake mushroom logs will initiate fruiting on their own after 6 months, but in some cases, you need to shock the logs with fruiting conditions. You will initiate fruiting when you are sure their mycelium is strong enough to endure fruiting, that is after a period between 9-12 months. You initiate fruiting by submerging the logs for 24 hours in water.
Harvesting
There is no right time to harvest shiitake mushrooms, but harvesting them when they are smaller will be tender compared to when they are mature enough.
Look at the following gallery for more insight to shiitake mushrooms.
Check my other post on growing things on your backyard. Cucumber and Valerian plants.
