Organic Hemlock Reishi Mushroom Plug Spawn

Hemlock reishi or "hemlock varnish shelf" (Ganoderma tsugae) produces beautiful shelf-like fruiting bodies with a shiny brownish-orange varnish and white margin. In the spring, when the fresh growth is still white with no hint of pores or lacquered color showing, many growers collect the marshmallow-y fruiting bodies to eat as fresh mushrooms.

Many growers will allow their hemlock reishi to grow into large waxy caps, at which point they become too bitter to consume. At this stage, they are ideal for drying and making into medicinal powders, extracts, tinctures, and teas.

Hemlock reishi can be difficult to cultivate and is ideal for advanced and enthusiast growers who have had some success growing other mushrooms.

Note: Aside from being kiln dried, our wooden dowels are not treated in any other way.

Ideal project size: Plug spawn is ideal for smaller projects of 1-10 logs, though some log cultivators will use them for larger projects.

Inoculation: This species of reishi mushroom grows on hemlock. Reishi works best when fully colonized logs are buried underground. Reishi likes any of the three log methods and colonizes in 12-24 months. It prefers hemlock logs and fruits in the summer. After a 1-year colonization period above ground, Reishi logs may be buried under 2 inches of topsoil to mimic its natural method of production. Mushrooms will fruit from the logs and emerge from the soil.

Cooking: The fresh, soft growth of the "lip" of G. tsugae can be sautéed and prepared much like other edible mushrooms. However, the tough woody center is bitter. For this reason, we don’t recommend it for culinary use. However, it can be dried and made into teas or powders. It can also be extracted to make tinctures.