Signs of Continued Shiitake Mycelium Growth! Slop Daub Action!

So at first I wasn't sure if this was Shiitake mycelium growth or maybe an invading fungi?

This - these photos are from the "bottom" of the log that was on the forest floor. So it was still wet from that inch of rain plus the soaking I did last week.

This green is obviously NOT shiitake. So there is some "invasion" going on. But I think the white is definitely new shiitake growth.

This is the first time I've seen the mycelium not on the "ends" of the logs but growing horizontally on the surface. It takes longer for the Shiitake to grow lengthwise along the longs.

So it's not a lot but it's a start. Pretty much ALL the Alder logs have this growth on the "bottom" - and if people remember - I was soaking the Alder logs once a week, instead of the required once every TWO weeks.

So it makes sense they are getting MORE mycelium growth than the Birch (which also has a resin in the bark that probably resists the fungal growth).

So you can see that "green" is just a small part of the larger white. So the green is not the main fungus but some other invader.

This was the clincher for me - I turned over the ASPEN logs - and Aspen is soft so the mycelium grows faster, even though I inoculated these a month after the Alder logs. So you can see the white mycelium is spreading OUT of the spawn drill hole, proving that this is indeed Shiitake. It's the same white as on the ends of the logs.

So there is another Aspen mycelium growth from the Shiitake spawn hole - onto the surface (instead of just on the Ends of the logs as previously posted).

So now having confidence that this is INDEED more Shiitake growth that means two things.

1) the smaller logs that dry out easily and die - indeed are STILL ALIVE with the Shiitake growing!!

2) They are not fruiting yet although it is now ready to get them set up for the possibility of fruiting.

So I soaked those Alder again and then stacked them for fruiting into mushrooms. Then we got some more rain - not much. But more rain is expected for tomorrow. So I figure the logs should not dry out too easily even though they are up in the air now. So normally you would not want to do this.

So I only stacked PART of the Alder logs - and left some on the ground but did not soak those logs. So it's an experiment to see what happens.

I can still try "shocking" the logs into fruiting later in this month - if the mycelium keeps growing. So this is very promising. The ends of the Birch logs are even more "full" with white mycelium from the shiitake - so the ones that are full - I should be able to try "shocking" those also.

Basically you need near freezing water and a long 24 hour soak to mimic winter. Then the logs should start producing mushrooms. I still can not promise anything and six months is the MINIMUM time to get mushrooms. I inoculated this Alder logs in May - I can double check this blog for the precise date. So it's still only 4 months. So the end of September will be pushing it as it will only be five months.

So if I get any mushrooms this fall it will be a miracle. The idea is I think like roots of a plant versus leaves and fruits. So the growth without fruiting means the logs will survive winter better. But if they fruit too early then the logs may not survive winter. I will research this for more details.

So normally you get the first harvest after a YEAR from inoculate - meaning in the following Spring from the first inoculation. So I may just wait to make sure I don't over shock the logs. I don't want to destroy the mycelium. I may look to get "expert" advice - from "Field and Forest" as the owner there helped me out before. But I don't want to be too much of a pest seeking free advice. haha.

So part 2 will be the update on the Hermitage Hut....Daub Slop Action!