Save on all grain spawn when you buy in bulk

Save 10% when you buy 4
Save 20% when you buy 8
Save 25% when you buy 12

Discounts will be reflected at checkout; feel free to mix and match grain spawn species

Spawn may take two to three weeks to ship depending on availability. 

SHIITAKE CULTIVATION

Grain Spawn - This is used for outdoor straw or wood chip beds or commercial indoor production using sawdust or straw. You do not use grain spawn for log inoculation. Grain spawn comes in bags approximately 6lbs each.

Choose between the following two strains of Shiitake grain spawn. If you have no preference, choose the 'Our Pick' option and we'll send you either strain.

'207' Lentinula edodes NSLE1: A new name for a favorite commercial strain for indoor block production of shiitake. Yield averages .75-1.5 lb first flush off of 5 lb supplemented sawdust blocks. Fruits best at colder temperatures and tends to produce mushrooms with smaller stems and large caps. Our culture is direct from Belgium and retains the highly desired characteristics of this strain.

'Acorn' Lentinula edodes NSLE2: A variation on commercial indoor shiitake genetics. We've had similar results from this strain as from our '207' strain listed above. Produces large flat caps with white dots and stiff stems. Recently became popular with commercial mushroom growers.

Inoculation: 

Indoor Commercial Production - Shiitake mushroom grain spawn can be mixed into sterilized  hardwood sawdust to create Shiitake substrate blocks. This process requires a fair amount of infrastructure. We recommend purchasing a book on mushroom cultivation if you are interested in pursuing this style of mushroom production as a hobby or profession. We recommend 'Radical Mycology: A Treatise on Seeing and Working with Fungi' by Peter McCoy, 'Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation' by Tradd Cotter, or 'Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms' by Paul Stamets. 

Difficulty: Intermediate

The indoor method of growing shiitake takes basic laboratory/clean space infrastructure, though they are a great mushroom for indoor commercial cultivation for intermediate level growers.

Cooking: Shiitake has a meaty texture when cooked and is good for drying and reconstituting in winter soups. It pairs beautifully with tamari, ginger, and garlic and can bring needed umami to many different dishes. 

Properties: In addition to acting as a general immune system booster, Shiitake can be used as a tonic to promote overall liver and kidney health (Marley, 2009). Shiitake also contains high concentrations of the substance eritadenine, which may be beneficial in reducing blood cholesterol levels (Enman et al., 2007). Beyond helping relieve ailments, Shiitake has nutritional value due to its ability to absorb Vitamin D. Drying Shiitake in the sunlight will increase Vitamin D levels by more than a hundred times compared to Shiitake dried in the dark (Stamets, 2005).