Shiitake Bags

[gerbil]

So who's running the shiitake dowels from omsource? What's it doing for you, prefers warm or cold to fruit?

Couldn't get logs at the time, so i dropped dowels to agar to grain to supp. paper/sawdust/straw bags, had really good success.

Had erratic weather, some really warm days, some really cold, the pins seemed to explode into fruits come the warm spells.

We've had bumper rain so humidity is good.

Still flushing older fruited bags, but initiated some dormant bags today, colonised same time as previous fruiters.

Last of that lot, so plan to push it into summer as much as possible and see how it performs, then will try in winter.

Not bad for a first try, nice change from the kings. These are second flush.

[lickapop]

man they look uber tasty.

How long did you let them colonise for?

[gerbil]

Grain to block inoculation was early october, probably a month of colonising, a month resting, which some start forming primordia and even fruiting in bag so are fully initiated at that stage, then i held out the rest 'cause i was busy and lucky enough those ones lay dormant till about a week back when a couple started pinning and fruiting strongly, so i soaked all of them and now wait for full pin set.

So some had about 2 and a bit months inoc. till harvest, others looking like up to 3-4 months till harvest.

I wasn't rushing it, could've been quicker, and they are over mature too, so it could all be tightened up for sure.

Edited December 24, 2010 by gerbil

[tripsis]

I inoculated some Melaleuca logs with the plugs I got, but they dried out pretty badly before I got back from overseas, so I don't think they'll fruit now. Doesn't really look like the mycelium ever took to the wood anyway. I'll have another look to be sure.

Interesting that they are fruiting now, although I suppose the temps are not as consistently warm as it would be normally at this time to the year.

What sort of wood are you using?

Beautiful fruits!

Edited December 24, 2010 by tripsis

[obtuse]

Damn mate, thats awesome.

certainly a lot better than my shiitake attempt this year.

now i got something to work towards.

Good to see you at EGA, and as allways never enough time to have a chat.

Cheers, Obtuse.

Keep up the good work

[gerbil]

I'm working with same old stock, Eucalyptus regnans, mountain ash, i'm guessing it's relatively local stuff, byproduct from the NE vic forests timber projects. Been on that bag for many years, haven't used it a great deal, just handfuls in things occasionally, but used a little more in the shiitake i think.

Will be picking up another bag over the next few months i reckon, same stuff, might get a couple of grades and finally get into producing some proper sawdust spawn for outdoor inoculations.

Tripsis if you've got nothing to lose, i'd give the logs a good submerge soak for a day or so, then go back to regular stack and watering routine, might be a bit of life in it you never know, environmental dormancy can be good for hectic schedules.

I let the rest of the dowels go overaged and brown while looking for logs, then put them in the fridge, will revive them one day for a log i reckon, just won't be as viable as they once were.

Yeah we'll see ya in jan obtuse, botanic g should be less hectic than ega

[gerbil]

first flush of the long incubated newly initiated bags, been cold at times, very cold at night, then back to hot again, seems to be liking whatever this weather is doing...

Good isolate, thick flushes, biggest problem is losing heaps to slugs/snail, put some beer traps in there, see if that'll help.

[lickapop]

cool man ...you just inspired me to do my first shiitake bags in the next week. My grow room is is set to go and I have nothing to put in it:)

cheers aye;)

Edited December 29, 2010 by lickapop

[gerbil]

yeah fill it man, and don't stop, keep up the energy and stagger some bags over a month or two, as many as you can in a session over multi-sessions, then with staggered first flushes and staggered second flushes, you'll have fresh produce popping up for many months. Just a bugger when you lose the rythym, or space then rythym, takes a while incubating and flushing, can be a few months with no produce

Biggest mistake i've got with these is i'm watering with roof runoff tank water, don't know exactly how safe it all is, thinking it's not a very good practice, just a bugger the best fruiting location doesn't have a local supply tap to run a hose fogger on them, haven't been sick yet but not exactly thrilled about doing it this way, may have to figure a way to get the tank into drinking grade, or plump a tap for local supply.

[punkin]

Would you care to post your recipe and method?

Bags look great. I've been buying mushrooms lately, just haven't had time to make buckets.

$4 for half a dozen small shitake really starting to get to me too.

[gerbil]

I change methods depending on context, sometimes eyeball and make up, sometimes plan and stay specific. My living situations make it so i can't have all the equipment setup so i really restricts capability, very annoying, still working towards some land...

This is just an ovenbag run, i prefer bulk pastuerisation in big outdoor drum and load in (polyethylene) tubing, but that's far more time consuming, ovenbag run good for spur of the moment, but i much prefer the PE tubing.

Figure out how much spawn i've got,

decide how many bags i'll try and feed with it,

take one bag, in this case ovenbag, and use that as a general measure guide with dry substrate, then multiply till i have enough dry eyeballed to give me appropriate total when wet.

General list in order of amounts, larger to smaller, though it's like a good soil, over time you get to know what good structure is and buffer the recipe.

Paper pellets

Straw

Sawdust

Bran

Gypsum,

garden lime not dolomitic, just a little bit, sometimes not at all.

Sometimes soak things separately, which can be easier to achieve better moisture content, paper seems to be the best to separate and hydrate as when i try and get all the straw hydrated with it quickly, the paper seems to get too moist and the straw not enough, but as said context with dictate method.

Best to mix in the powders after main bulk is hydrated, which can also aid in buffering moisture content, i.e. coat it all in bran and the bran will hydrate itself and buffer a bit of excess.

Pack into oven bags, into baking trays and into oven 140C 1hour, cool, inoculate. O'bags are a pain to inoculate, especially if you pack the buggers to the brim, what a nightmare but achievable, else use larger bags with less substrate, but you don't get the same shape log which opens up space issues with fruiting etc.

After inoculated, generally run a small nail all over the bags, puncturing air exchange holes, as well as drainage in the base for myc piss and excess moisture from the hydration or collection during incubation. Incubate on racks slightly separate (just those little wire greenhouse).

Shiitake best to incubate long into their cork phase then initiate fruits, but sometimes they just wanna fruit a bit early, if they do that i usually just initiate things.

I got sick of humidity fluctuations esp. regarding in vitro(well plastic) fruiting and then exposing to air and you'd lose the crop, so with these i completely stripped the plastic in cork, soaked o'night (some not all), then let the pins come out into local humidity (the way it's supposed to be done haha)

Now once to 3 times a day i use a hose with a mist nozzle and i give them a good mist/hosedown to get the stink out, give them a drink, raise humidity and refresh them generally. If no flushing and logs dehydrate, will re-soak for a day put it back into the system.

Anyhoo harvest day today all little to medium fellas, should be nice!

[punkin]

Thanks mate.

[gerbil]

bit over 1.1kg fresh and manicured from 5 small bags, think one bag was a 2nd flush, all really good quality, not bad, we eat tonight!