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naja naja

suitable Aussie alternatives to plug spawn

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Does anyone know of any native Aussie trees that work well for plug spawning oysters, shiitake and enoki? I do not have much access to oaks. There are the odd one locally, but I'm not sure people would appreciate me chopping branches off. On a side note, I found a grove of cork trees today, only 10. Very old and just randomly in amongst native forest. I'm guessing it's from when the timber industry was big. 

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I am thinking Agonis flexuosa will be ok for oysters as our native oysters grow on it. Anybody know of any other alternatives or can comment on Agonis as a suitable oyster host?

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Eucalyptus nitens for shitake seems to work from Internet searches. Many others work too, but not overly viable. I wonder if E.diversicolour would also substitute. 

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Eucalyptus globulus colonizes quickly, but expends itself quickly also. No problem, with bluegums so abundant. I am thinking they might be the most feasable. And I'll just put the word out to local aborists I am seeking oak. And use that when and if I can source it. I'd like to do oysters, shiitake and enoki for now. All advice welcome. 

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eucs will colonise faster than say english oak, and be quicker to fruit....expect 4-5 yrs life for an average euc log.

 

I've used E.nitens, E.amygdalina and E.viminalis with great success...e.globulus will work, but need to be more vigilant to let the logs sit before plugging to get phytochems to age out that prevent colonisation (same for all eucs, globulus is stronger though).

 

E.nitens is typically used from plantation thinnings, and I think most of the research came from using these forest byproducts.

 

When you cut logs do not let them touch the dirt.....stack them off the ground to age a bit, and then plug and keep em off the ground while colonising. Will make sure that "weed" fungi species are kept to a minimum, if at all.

 

I reckon most eucs would support growth, more so the stringybark types. The bark types also has influence on the microclimate for pinning and fruiting:wink: rougher ones seems to produce a bit better, but its only an observation.

 

EDIT - aging of logs is typically minimum 1 to 2 weeks

Edited by waterboy 2.0
shithouse spelling
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Yeah, a bark closer to oak I'd imagine preferable. Which bluegums certainly are not. Maybe marginata aka jarrah. It has nicely fissured bark. Or maybe blackbutt , E. todtiana. I guess some local experimenting maybe needed. But I never see any fungi growing on jarrah. Only very occasionally. 

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It sounds odd, but also look for real tight bark, sometimes they can shrink a little and release the bark casing.

If they do though, they will still fruit, but be more prone to drying out. More pronounced on logs that are more tapered.

 

Jarrah may work well and maybe longer life (?), may be a case of a longer sitting time prior to innoculation as a guess.

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Do you think oysters and enoki will work on eucs? I have found wild poplar, which I could use at a pinch. 

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dunno naja, havent played with enoki or any of the oysters on wood mate.

Could try sawdust spawn first to see if it will colonise? At least you can visualise the run that way.

 

With logs its not until it hits the ends of the logs you know you have a take going on.

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Sawdust is a good idea for compatibility. Now to source some plug spawn. I think I can get locally, but if not maybe someone here will have some spare. I don't mind starting with a culture. But I am time poor ATM. So would prefer to buy plug spawn ready to go if it's not too exxy. 

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I have been researching today on the very same question , I found a Hawaiian study that suggests Casuarina sp. maybe a viable choice

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Casuarinas have similar looking timber to Oaks, they share the same radial grain, so it makes some sense that they'd make a substitute for oak.

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For shittake I have used E.grandis, E,dunnii and E.acmenoides. The flooded and dunny worked the best for me. The white mahog didn't fruit that well in the first year but I hope it will do heaps better next season.

 

For oysters I have used pencil cedar, and red ash both worked well but I only get a year or 2 out of a log. 

 

I plug mine as soon as possible sometime the same day I cut them down. I'm pretty lazy and never soak them or anything like that. I just lay them on the ground in forts, rafts or around garden beds. Then just wait till it rains at the right time of year.

 

this picture is on dunnii

 

 

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IMG_20160419_064935.thumb.jpg.f566a96ac79602c82295c697f8dbac79.jpg

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I'm been eyeing off some she-oak for an experiment....hmmmm

fark...lol...I'm not gunna have any firewood at this rate:lol:

 

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Sheok is very soft and has low density. I don't think it would support growth for long time. I think my best options locally are blue gums and E.diversicolor. Both very prolific near me. Blue gums being most attractive due to plantations and feral populations. I have friends who I have organized to trim their oak trees for them and might trim a few branches from the cork oaks I found. Also feral poplars and willows are common, so will help remove these from the environment. Will start cutting when I have my incubator set up to incubate the spawn and LC's. Just need a few cultures now. Any1 wanna send me a syringe? I rekon I can get away without a glovebox for now if someone has a LC or sterile water culture in syringe form. I am just assuming shiitake works in liquid culture. From memory oysters do, I think I've had pink and kings in LC before. Man how time flies. That would have been ten years ago now since I've done any sterile culturing. Was nice having that much spare time back then. 

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This season I've found enoki growing on elm and poplar stumps.

ive also seen it growing on Pittosporum undulatum.

its supposed to be found on Acacia spp. too.

 

yesterday I was cutting elm suckers for growing oysters and elm oysters.

theres a patch of grey poplar in a creek near here that I'm gonna cut some stems from.

 

just try various wood out

One thing to try also is when making up spawn , use sawdust from that species you intend to trial and you can observe how it goes during the spawn run to get an idea how well it may take when put into the log.

also , if there's a delay with the mycelium 'learning ' how to eat it, I reckon it's probably better to happen in the safety of indoors in the bag.

 

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Just went to an old habitation site where I remembered some big old deciduous trees. Found a mini elm Forrest taking over the native bush. Hundreds of suckers, I rekon I can get 50-100 logs out of there with out making a dent on them. Leave the younger ones for next time. 

 

How is to make sawdust? Chip young branches in my chipper? A chainsaw me thinks would be ineffective. 

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What about Peppermint trees, (Agonis flexuosa)  Naja?

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I'll do some trials. I know our Aussie mushroom grows on it. But am not sure for the other species of oyster. It would be great if agonis worked. It is very dense, has good bark micro environment and is extremely prevalent. I imagine it would support long term fruiting.  

 

So far I think I will use mainly bluegum for Shiitake. And trial other eucalyptus. Get the odd oak from prunings. I will use feral poplar and elm for oysters. And go from there. 

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On 7/23/2016 at 4:47 PM, waterboy 2.0 said:

When you cut logs do not let them touch the dirt.....stack them off the ground to age a bit, and then plug and keep em off the ground while colonising. Will make sure that "weed" fungi species are kept to a minimum, if at all.

This, but also store them more than raindrop splashing distance from any bare earth. I have learned this the hard way following recent downpours.

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On 7/25/2016 at 2:36 PM, naja naja said:

 

How is to make sawdust? Chip young branches in my chipper? A chainsaw me thinks would be ineffective. 

 

Put a tarp down when you are cutting in the bush, cut up your logs in one spot, you'll get a few litres of sawdust that way.  If you need more, then cut very short discs off one log.  More cuts, more dust.  

 

Aussie enokii definitely grows on euc.

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