You've decided to grow mushrooms this season but now you have to figure out how you're going to do it. Maybe you've already found a place in your garden or farm where you're going to place your logs but what about choosing which species of log to use?
Mushrooms are flexible organisms and are able to grow on a variety of tree species. Most edible mushrooms, and all but one of North Spore's strains, grow on deciduous hardwood trees. Do not use coniferous wood unless you're cultivating Ganoderma tsugae (Hemlock Reishi). Poplar and other soft hardwoods will colonize faster and produce mushrooms sooner but generally don’t yield as much or produce for as many years.
While mushrooms are able to grow on most deciduous tree species, some are more suited to mushroom cultivation than others. Each mushroom species has a preferred type of wood and matching the mushroom to the correct log species will produce a higher yield. Oak and maple are the preferred wood-type for most mushroom species because they're very dense and offer a lot of nutrition for a longer, sustained fruiting period.
That being said, don't be afraid to try a wide range of tree species or use whatever wood you have access to. You'll likely get varying results in yield but you may be surprised by the resiliency of the fungi kingdom!
Now that you've decided on the species of wood to inoculate, be sure you have access to fresh wood. Logs should be inoculated within 4 weeks of cutting. If you wait longer, your mycelium will have to outcompete the other fungi that have already started colonizing the log.
There are different strains of mushrooms, and the suggestions for types of logs to use are based on North Spore's particular strains.
| Species and Difficulty (1-10) |
Wood to Use (preferred in bold) *may be buried after incubation |
Wood to Avoid |
| Chestnut Mushroom - 3 | Oak, Maple, Aspen, Basswood | Coniferous trees |
| Chicken - 10 (very difficult to cultivate) | Large diameter Oak log or stump | All other wood species |
| Golden Oyster - 3 | Sugar Maple, Ash, Poplar, Bigtooth Aspen, Trembling Aspen, Cottonwood, Elm, Willow, Hackberry, Mulberry, Box Elder, Buckeyes or Horse Chestnuts | Coniferous trees |
| Hen of the Woods* - 6 | Oak only | All other wood species |
| Italian Oyster - 3 | Sugar Maple, Bigtooth Aspen, Trembling Aspen, Poplar, Cottonwood, Elm, Willow, Poplar, Hackberry, Mulberry, Box Elder, Buckeyes or Horse Chestnuts | Coniferous trees, Ash |
| Lion's Mane - 4 | Sugar Maple, Beech, Hackberry, Mulberry, Blue Beech, Hornbeam, Oak, Aspen, Walnut | Coniferous Woods |
| Nameko - 6 | Cherry, Jack Pine, Aspen, Cottonwood, Box Elder, Ironwood, Sweet Gum, Buckeye, Willow, Sugar Maple | May grow on other wood species. Avoid Oak and Apple |
| Oyster - 2 | Sugar Maple, Poplar, Bigtooth Aspen, Trembling Aspen, Cottonwood, Elm, Willow, Poplar, Hackberry, Mulberry, Box Elder, Buckeyes or Horse Chestnuts | Coniferous trees, Ash |
|
Reishi* - 8 (North Spore sells two distinct Reishi species. Ganoderma tsugae will ONLY grow on Hemlock) |
(Ganoderma Lucidum) Sugar Maple, Oak, Red Maples, Sweet Gum (Ganoderma Tsugae) Hemlock
|
All other wood species |
| Shiitake - 1 (great for beginners) | Red and White Oak, Ironwood, Sugar Maple, Alder, American Beech, Sassafras, Hickory, Sweetgum, Eucalyptus, Basswood, Black Birch, Butternut, Cherry, Tupelo, Paper Birch | Coniferous trees, Locust, Elm, Ash, Walnut, Buckthorn |
| Snow Oysters - 2 | Sugar Maple, Poplar, Bigtooth Aspen, Trembling Aspen, Cottonwood, Elm, Willow, Poplar, Hackberry, Mulberry, Box Elder, Buckeyes or Horse Chestnuts | Coniferous trees, Ash |
| Wine Cap - 1 |
DOES NOT GROW ON LOGS Use hardwood wood chips or straw |
Comments
Kevin N.:
I found a few wild logs with oysters and decided to take them home and grow my own. What’s the best way to replicate the environment in which they grow, and is this a proven method for fruiting your own mushrooms? Thank you for your time and all the knowledge offered!
Oct 08, 2019
Matt McInnis (North Spore):
Hi Ron, I would hold off on inoculating any beds until you get that delivery of maple chips. At that point you could probably inoculate Wine Cap, Oyster Mushrooms, or Nameko using grain or sawdust spawn. Having the maple chips over the others shouldn’t matter at all as long as they stay in a shady and moist location. Hope this helps!
Jul 01, 2019
Ron Hilsdorf:
Hi, I’m a rookie with a question (several really). I have a rather large and long pile of Austrian line chips i n a moist and shady area. Can I use this area to cultivate any mushrooms or should I just write it off. I have a truckload of maple chips coming soon. Could I place a thick layer of them over the line chips and proceed from there? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.😊😊
Jul 01, 2019
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