Mushrooms on logs, step by step

1. Wood and felling

A log as thick as your arm and a metre long fruits shiitake for five years.

1. The right wood — For shiitake, oak (sessile, pedunculate; in the US white and red oaks), hornbeam or beech, in North America also sugar maple. For oysters, poplar, willow, alder, lime (basswood) or beech.
2. Diameter and length — Diameter 8–20 cm (3–8 in), ideally 10–15 cm (4–6 in), length roughly 1 m (3–4 ft). Straight sections with the bark intact; forked branches go for firewood.
3. Felling while dormant — From leaf fall to bud break, roughly December–March. Take care not to strip the bark when felling and dragging.
4. Rest 2–4 weeks — Logs rest in shade, off the ground. Inoculate within 2–6 weeks of felling, best within 2–4.

Why: Shiitake grows on dense broadleaved hardwood, best of all on oak, then hornbeam and beech; in North America also sugar maple. Wood is felled while dormant: that is when it holds the most sugars and starch, and the bark is tight on the wood.

• Walnut, conifers and black locust won't do: they contain compounds that inhibit fungi, and black locust is too hard.
• Felling and chainsaw work are dangerous: helmet with visor, chainsaw trousers and boots, never alone in the woods.

2. Drilling

Two people can inoculate 20 logs in half a day: one drills, the other fills.

1. Log on a stand — Don't hold the log with your hand or foot when drilling. Put it on a stand or between two stakes; goggles, gloves, hair tied back.
2. Holes in a diamond — 15–20 cm (6–8 in) between holes in a row, rows 5–8 cm (2–3 in) apart, each neighbouring row offset by half a spacing.
3. How many holes — Roughly diameter in cm × 4 per metre: a 12 cm log has about 48 holes. The first and last hole are 5–8 cm from the end.
4. Depth — For plugs a little longer than the plug (usually 30–40 mm), for sawdust 25–30 mm. A depth stop is a piece of hose or tape on the bit.

Why: A diamond pattern gives the mycelium an even path through the whole log. Work in the shade, not in sun and wind, so the holes don't dry out.

• For 10–20 logs an ordinary cordless drill is enough.
• Drill bit to suit the spawn: for plugs usually 8–9 mm (5/16 in), for sawdust 12 mm (7/16–1/2 in).

3. Filling and wax · Locked

Buy the Shiitake and oyster mushrooms on logs module and you get the PDF to download and print, plus lifetime access to this interactive lesson: all 6 chapters, 24 steps.

4. Colonisation · Locked

Buy the Shiitake and oyster mushrooms on logs module and you get the PDF to download and print, plus lifetime access to this interactive lesson: all 6 chapters, 24 steps.

5. Soaking and picking · Locked

Buy the Shiitake and oyster mushrooms on logs module and you get the PDF to download and print, plus lifetime access to this interactive lesson: all 6 chapters, 24 steps.

6. Oysters on stumps · Locked

Buy the Shiitake and oyster mushrooms on logs module and you get the PDF to download and print, plus lifetime access to this interactive lesson: all 6 chapters, 24 steps.