Mushroom Cultivation at Home
By TanyaKhan, eHow Contributor 
updated: February 13, 2011
Cultivate shiitake mushrooms at home.
If you savor the strong flavor of mushrooms in salads, soups or dishes and purchase them frequently from the grocery store, try growing them yourself at home. The process a straightforward one, and you can save money and harvest enough to store or share with friends. Gourmet mushrooms like shiitake are easy to grow, requiring only basic material during cultivation. Although mushroom kits make the process even simpler, the traditional way of growing the plugs on logs is easy enough.
Difficulty: Moderate
Instructions
Things You'll Need:
- Log
- Hand saw
- Tub or trough of water
- Hand drill
- 25 shiitake mushroom dowel spawn plugs
- Rubber mallet
- Cheese wax
- Sterile spoon
- Rope or shade cloth
- Garden hose
- Prepare a log for growing mushrooms by cutting a 4-inch-wide healthy branch from a hardwood or alder tree during its dormant period. Cut the log down to 40 inches long. Do not damage the bark while cutting the log to size. Immerse the cut log in a tub of water and let it soak for two hours before taking it out.
- Drill 25 5/16-inch-wide and 1½-to 2-inch-deep holes in a spiral pattern over the log to prepare it for inoculation (the process of inserting the mushroom spawn plugs -- live fungus grown on a wooden dowel -- into each hole). Space the holes 3 to 4 inches apart. Although you can drill the holes in rows or randomly spaced throughout, a spiral pattern looks attractive when the mushroom heads begin to grow and spread out from the holes.
- Center a spawn plug over one of the holes you drilled and insert it as deep as you can. One end of the spawn is tapered for easy insertion. Pound it with a rubber mallet so its top is in line with the surrounding surface.
- Melt cheese wax and spread it over each hole with a sterile spoon to seal it. When applied, the melted wax bubbles lightly, then cools to form a thin, clear layer that covers each hole and prevents the spawn from drying.
- Stand the log against a fence or wall in an area exposed to shade and good air circulation. Alternatively, stand the log under a shade cloth that provides 60-percent shade. The first fruiting occurs six to 20 months after inoculation, depending on when the shiitake fungus colonizes the log.
- Water the log for 12 hours one to two times a week to maintain a moisture level between 35 and 45 percent. The bark should remain dry, while the inner wood stays moist. Soak the log when its moisture content becomes low, but allow it to dry naturally to reduce the risk of contamination.
- Harvest the mushrooms when the cap fully separates from the stem and spreads.
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