Creative Log Stacking Helps Grow Mushrooms

Creative Log Stacking Helps Grow Mushrooms FARM HOME Food If you love mushrooms and like to experiment growing shitakes oyster and other mushroom varieties might make a perfect hobby ù and maybe even a profitable sideline business     We contacted Rebecca Hargrave extension educator at Cornell University after seeing photos recently of some unusual looking log stacks used to grow mushrooms      We really encourage everyone to experiment with growing arrangements This is still a relatively new arena of science says Hargrave Demand outweighs supply making mushrooms the perfect crop to add diversity to farm operations Since the planting season is late winter/early spring it s usually a less busy time for most producers      Holes are drilled in freshly cut trees and then filled with preinoculated dowels or sawdust mushroom spawn The logs are stacked in moist shady areas and should be watered during dry periods and protected from the winter sun     After one to two years the mushrooms can be harvested The logs will keep producing for 2 to 6 years depending on the type of wood      Typically oyster mushrooms are grown on poplar and shitake are grown on oak Hargrave says But shitake have also been grown on ironwood and beech It s easy to experiment     For space reasons some growers stack logs in a crib style Others keep them low during winter so they get a good snow cover When the mushrooms start to grow it s helpful to lean the logs upright for easier harvest     While profits may be less in local and farmer s markets oyster and shitake mushrooms can bring as much as $11 to $16/lb at farmer s markets in large cities     When Cornell offers mushroom workshops sessions fill quickly Hargrave says Growing mushrooms is popular with market gardeners as well as people who just want to grow them for themselves      Growing mushrooms works well alongside vegetable production Hargrave says     For mushroom growing and marketing tips she suggests going to mushrooms cals cornell edu a site for the Northeast Forest Mushroom Growing Network     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Rebecca Hargrave Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chenango County 99 N Broad St Norwich N Y 13815 ph 607 334-5641 ext 16; jrh45@cornell edu

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