On this week’s Good Growing podcast we talk with Illinois Extension local foods educator Nick Frillman about growing gourmet shiitake mushrooms in your own backyard. Nick shows us the tools and methods used to turn fresh cut logs of white oak and sugar maple into inoculated “bolts” that will yield delicious shiitake mushrooms.

Watch us on YouTube https://youtu.be/MuP9exnHmaQ

Skip to what you want to know

0:43 Hey Ken! New haircuts; frosty nights; Who likes mushrooms?

3:06 Welcome Nick!

4:30 What are shiitake mushrooms?

6:19 Can anyone grow shiitake mushrooms at home?

7:33 What equipment is necessary to grow mushrooms?

-8:04 Low tech

-13:25 High tech

18:06 What species of logs do we use for growing shiitake?

21:07 Is there a benefit to using plug spawn vs. sawdust spawn? And what’s the techniques for drilling and inoculating?

24:17 Do they sell adapters for angle grinders if you already have one?

24:52 Where do you keep your inoculated log (bolt) to grow mushrooms?

29:49 Do you need to seal the ends of the logs?

34:06 How do you stack multiple logs?

36:12 How do we harvest the mushrooms?

42:00 How long do the mushroom logs last?

44:42 What does a shiitake mushroom look like?

46:20 What does a mushroom bolt look like?

51:30 Where do we find mushroom growing supplies?

More resources

Cornell Extension Mushroom Resources https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/projects/mushrooms/

Shiitake Mushroom Log-Growing Guide – Vermont Extension https://www.uvm.edu/sites/default/files/media/ShiitakeGuide.pdf

Grow your favorite fungus at home: How to cultivate shiitake mushrooms https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/flowers-fruits-and-frass/2023-03-31-grow-your-favorite-fungus-home-how-cultivate-shiitake

Contact us!

Chris Enroth: [email protected]

Ken Johnson: [email protected]

Nick Frillman: [email protected]

Check out the Good Growing Blog: htps://go.illinois.edu/goodgrowing

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Any products or companies mentioned during the podcast are in no way a promotion or endorsement of these products or companies.

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