Shiitake Plug Spawn 100 dowels (Lentinula edodes): F

Lentinula edodes: Shiitake Shiitake mushrooms have been hailed for both their culinary and medicinal benefits in Japan and other parts of Asia for hundreds of years, and their popularity worldwide increases every year. Found primarily on thicker-barked hardwoods like oak, they also do well on 'scrub' hardwoods like alder although longevity of the logs will be less than that of other hardwoods. Logs or stumps can be inoculated; after incubating the logs may be partially buried, vertically-oriented, to conserve water during fruiting. When properly cared for, our hardy strain of Shiitake will begin to fruit in as little as 6 months, with the most substantial fruitings appearing 1"“2 years from inoculation. Our Plug Spawn comes complete with our user-friendly, fully illustrated 10-page instruction booklet. Fungi Perfecti offers plug spawn of a number of hardy gourmet and medicinal mushroom species: Reishi, The Oregon Polypore, Maitake, The Conifer Coral, Lion's Mane, Shiitake, Pearl and Phoenix Oyster, Chicken of the Woods and Turkey Tail. These sterilized birch plugs are spirally grooved and fully colonized by pure mushroom mycelium, and are available in packages of approximately 100 or 300 dowels (our Shiitake Plug Spawn is also available in packages of approximately 1000 and 5000 dowels). By using the dowels to inoculate cut hardwood logs or stumps, mushroom mycelium can be encouraged to grow throughout or colonize the wood. Once the wood is fully colonized (typically 9-12 months) mushrooms will spring forth from cracks or channels in the wood. Generally, the best time of year to inoculate logs and stumps is in the Spring, after your last hard frost. However, you can inoculate your logs any time up to 2-3 weeks before consistently (i.e. 'round the clock) freezing temperatures set in for the Winter. The idea is to allow the mushroom mycelium growing on the Plug Spawn time to establish itself in its new home before it goes into dormancy over the Winter. Logs can be left outdoors over the Winter, under a layer of straw or a burlap tarp, shade cloth or other vapor-permeable cover (do not use plastic tarps: this can cause mold to form). In areas where the Winter is exceptionally harsh, logs can be stored in a shed, barn, garage or other outbuilding. Our Plug Spawn prefers to grow on hardwoods, with the exception of the Conifer Coral Mushroom, which grows on conifers, and the Phoenix Oyster, which grows well on firs. Most species can be grown on either logs or stumps. Non-aromatic hardwoods such as oak, poplar (cottonwood), elm, maple and similar woods are very good candidates for log cultivation. Alder is a good wood for the cultivation of Oyster and Shiitake mushrooms, but must be kept above ground because it will decompose quickly in contact with the soil. (We do not recommend using aromatic woods such as cedar or eucalyptus.) Thick-barked woods are preferable over 'paper-bark' woods such as birch,