Hey, what are you doing this Valentines day?
Timing can make or break some crops. Luckily for us, Shiitake is a fairly forgiving fungi. Shiitake spawn grow best in mild temperatures. In the south, anytime in the spring or fall will do. Still, there are some rules of thumb to keep in mind to help your success rate.
The best time to cut your logs will be just before the sap starts running in the spring time. I’m talking about the last couple of cold weeks in February. Valentienes day is a great time to start fixing up the chainsaw.
In these coldest of winter months, the tree builds up sugar content in the sap. Mycelium will use the sugars as an abundant nutrient source to colonize the entire log quickly, before competitor fungi can move in.
Before I inoculate the logs, I wait 10 to 14 days. This allows time for the cell structures in the wood to begin to break down. The mushroom spawn takes much better to wood at this stage.
Good Knight Mushrooms 