How to "raise" your mushroom log
mushrooms logs can be raised inside or outside
3. open air
4. wait.
1. water
When you get your mushroom log soak it overnight submerged in cold water. You will do this every 30 days or so (unless your log is kept outside and you have regular rain or sprinklers.)
Any water will do and the colder the better.
I find the bottom of last night's party cooler perfect.
2. NO DIRECT SUN
Your log arrived with the mushroom already alive and growing INSIDE.
It needs a s/place inside or outside that gets NO DIRECT SUN, has access to water (from you or from nature) and is in the open air where you can keep an eye it. You can move your log around until you find its perfect s/place and to suit your feng shui or style. Your log doesn't put down roots nor make food from the sun like a plant, nor does it need a pen, like an animal.
NO DIRECT SUN means the sun's direct rays don't hit the log. There is no need for dark, and "shade" may have partial direct sun that dapples and changes daily, or seasonally. Sun rays through windows, moves. The NO DIRECT SUN is for your LOG'S sake, not your mushroom's. A log in the sun becomes firewood quickly.
3. Air
Fungi are a whole new and only recently declared "kingdom" of life, equal to, but distinct from, plants and animals. Fungi, the kingdom name of mushrooms, is actually more like animal than plant, and some theorize we humans evolved from them. Mushrooms don't digest internally by eating, like animals. They secrete enzymes and assimilate the log. They make NO WASTE. they make dirt: that top 6 inches of soil on our plant's surface that feeds us all vegetables. they also breathe oxygen. so, they need AIR that moves, any air good enough for YOU is likely good enough for them. don't put them in a box, or any closed cubby or cabinet or closet. They want to be in the open air from a window, door, etc. Not too much air, not too hot, not too dry. just air that regularly and naturally moves. not stagnant. persistent wind and heaters will dry out the log.
More, if you want:
Your mushroom is already alive and living INSIDE your log where you can't, and never will be able to, see it.
What you WILL SEE is what your mushroom does to your log.
Keep your log in the open air, out of standing water, in NO DIRECT SUN, soak it once a month, and wait.YOUR task is keep the MUSHROOM alive by watering your log as described in 1.
4. wait
patiently. this may be the hardest part for a lot of people. Please don't annoy the log any more than you'd annoy a new born baby. Send it good and healthy thoughts, mind your vibes, and don't pick at it. Just soak it submerged in cold water every 30 days or so (more if you live in a dry area) as in #1.
HOW LONG?
well, there's the question of the century! Our most frequently asked questions are: "how often" "how much" "how many times" "when can i expect" and other such metrics. Our best response has always been "pounds over years" Mushrooms seem to have their own metrics that are not easily quantified, and certainly not predictable. Then one day, a random person resolved us by asking a simple question (as if about a living thing:)
"... how do I RAISE my mushroom?"
The earliest first flush reported for our small market logs has been 6 months, but that's remarkable, although not unique. Some of our denser logs take two years or more, depending on the tree, the log, the season we inoculate, the mushroom type, etc. Some of some of our larger outdoor 'shroomery logs don't flush until the third full seasonal rotation of the universe, while their sibling logs under identical conditions, flush sooner, more often, and early. Lightening seems to spur mushroom flushing. Some logs produce dense huge mushrooms late, while their sibling logs, under the exact conditions, produce thinner more delicate mushrooms. It depends.
The mushroom decides, and your energy applies, and with the impeccability, confidence, and fascination of a librarian our answer has morphed into: it depends.
LOGS are NOT A "MUSHROOM GROW KIT," so heads up to those who want quick returns, instant gratification, and may or may not have tried" mushroom growing kits" or bags or boxes...nothing in the instructions for mushroom kits, and most of the online information about growing mushrooms, applies. You don't need a tent, a humidifier, special lights, and there's absolutely no need to fiddle, spritz, fuss, poke, fret, force or buy anything more. Quite the opposite. Yes, real mushrooms logs don't flush as fast as mushroom grow kits, so no instant gratification either, but real logs flush longer and give more mushrooms, more times, over time.
mushrooms logs do not want, nor need, any sort of "container" The log IS the container (although they are fine sitting in pride of place openly ON a tray or in a pot or pad, etc. WE often use our logs as centerpieces down a long feaste table, with cedar bough runners and recycled beeswax candles to foster interesting after-dinner conversations and lingering. The last big feaste we had we actually feasted on mushrooms harvested the day before from the freshly soaked log sitting in the centerpiece of our feaste table!
It was awesome!
Please, DO use your imagination.
mushrooms love imagination.
6. air
Raising mushrooms has been described as a delicate dance of nature that is taking place all around all of us all the time ... a time phase s/place between the dying world and the living world.
THAT strange new space between the death and decomposition of a beautiful, healthy, hardwood forest tree, and the birth and life of the mushroom that will assimilate it AND feed you for years, is a sustainable, circular energy, and apparently non gendered, or of at least 1500 known genders!
wait! what?
EVEN More about what's happening inside your mushroom log:
The mushroom spawn we inoculated your log with is traveling together and becoming one (via Hyphaeation, or "joining into one") and together are building a hidden mat of spiderweb-like growth inside your log. Once the mat is formed, your log is fully colonized and your mushroom will recognize that it has reached the limits of its available food source (the log) myceliate (form a single life) and begin to want to flush.
As this colonization process is underway, and before flush, you can often see signs of the process by looking at the cut end of your log, through the wax. Any discoloration or discolored patterns on the log itself is sign of the spread of your mushroom colonizing the log.
Once your mushroom has colonized your log, and all on its own, unseen by you, the hypeated mat transforms itself into a single living organism, a mycelium, and is ready to start its flushing life. The flush is the fruiting body that suddenly appears on the OUTSIDE of your log. THAT'S the part we cook and eat ...the flush, or mushroom fruiting bodies that come right out through the log, a batch at a time. Your batches will proceed on a bell curve for the life of the log.
Flush might not happen fast, but it does happen suddenly one day, and with no real prior notice, and the mushroom fruiting bodies we eat grow fast and are ready to pick in a day or two, maybe 5, it depends, so keep your log where you can see it. Your flushing will continue over and over, but not ALL the time, and for years.
By decompose, we mean rot, the mushroom inside secretes enzymes that break the log down so the mushroom can assimilate, it, without eating. Mushrooms don't eat or digest like animals. They create no waste. digestion happens outside the mushroom. This is how mushrooms...fungi... make dirt on earth, and another reason our remaining natural forests are so precious.
rotting. decomposition. transformation. dirt. sustenance. life
mushrooms logs are natural, and in the natural world, nature decides everything, and nature doesn't hurry. We've found the best approach is to wait patiently, don't fill in the blanks, don't assume or expect. allow. This sort of human energy reported from other log raisers seems to return a desirable affect. Some mushroom logs will flush early and multiple times a year outside completely untended, some mushroom types will flush more sparsely or more frequently inside. it just depends. its a natural process. If you want to know more about YOUR mushroom type, read the blogs we've written for you.
Your mushroom is sentient. It has a unique form of consciousness and it might skip a year and the following year have a couple of mighty flushes. it depends. Inside, once your log starts flushing, it will flush more frequently and regularly than outside, but your log won't last as long.
About your LOG
Indoors, your log likes human room temperature (38-85 degrees F) with normal temperature fluctuations. The cooler the place, the better. It likes normal to high humidity, and normal room light...but NO DIRECT SUN... and fresh, circulating air. like an entryway mud room, laundry room, bath, spa, kitchen, pantry, etc. An officer in the navy on ship with a private shower, hangs their log from the showerhead, like a soap on a rope. fabulous!
Keep your log out of direct sun, and away from drying air as from wood stoves, heater vents, etc. You may water your log more often than once a month, if your space is dry, or you feel the log is dry, but don't let it get waterlogged nor sit in standing water.
Outdoors, simply place your mushroom log in a spot out of the direct sun and strong winds. In the rain is GREAT! If you get regular rain, there's no need to soak your log. if you have a dry spell, or live in an arid climate, soak your log.. You can lay your log down on its side, or stand it up, or you can prop it against something or even hang it. The mushroom doesn't mind.
You can read about your log's mushroom species particular preferences and habits in our blogs via the links. You are free to move your log around while you find the perfect place,it doesn't put out roots like a plant.
