Mushrooms on Willow

[Lymmguineas]

Hi Folks,
Has anyone here tried growing mushrooms from dowels/plugs?
I've just acquired a couple of large chunks of Willow (each about 3 foot long and 1 foot in diameter) and fancy growing mushrooms on them.
I understand that mushrooms are best grown on hardwood and willow is technically a hardwood even though its a bit softer and wetter than most other hardwoods.
Any advice on best varieties to grow for a first time attempt? I was thinking of two different varieties - one for each log.
Thanks
David

[burnie]

I have only grown them in straw kits, which were not very successful really, I found this online which may be of help......How to Grow Mushrooms in Logs - BBC Gardeners' World Magazine (gardenersworld.com)

[ameno]

Oyster mushroom is probably the easiest. Shiitake and hedgehog fungus are also fairly easy on logs.
"Easy" doesn't necessarily mean "reliable", though.

For starter, the logs must be freshly cut. If they're more than about a month old then the mushrooms will simply not take. So if these logs were cut in the winter then forget about it.
Then, once you've filled your logs with dowels, they need to be put somewhere damp and shady, but not completely dark, in order for the mushroom mycelia to colonise the log. This will take 6 months to a year, depending on the hardness of the wood and how many dowels you used. If at any point they look to be drying out then you should soak the logs overnight in a barrel of watering (watering with a hose or watering can is pointless, as the water will not penetrate).
Then, if the mushroom mycelia to take well an colonise the log, you should get a crop a couple times a year, although the logs will need rehydrating in between crops (mushrooms are mostly water, after all).

[Lymmguineas]

Oyster mushroom is probably the easiest. Shiitake and hedgehog fungus are also fairly easy on logs.
"Easy" doesn't necessarily mean "reliable", though.

For starter, the logs must be freshly cut. If they're more than about a month old then the mushrooms will simply not take. So if these logs were cut in the winter then forget about it.
Then, once you've filled your logs with dowels, they need to be put somewhere damp and shady, but not completely dark, in order for the mushroom mycelia to colonise the log. This will take 6 months to a year, depending on the hardness of the wood and how many dowels you used. If at any point they look to be drying out then you should soak the logs overnight in a barrel of watering (watering with a hose or watering can is pointless, as the water will not penetrate).
Then, if the mushroom mycelia to take well an colonise the log, you should get a crop a couple times a year, although the logs will need rehydrating in between crops (mushrooms are mostly water, after all).

Thanks Ameno.
The logs were cut this morning from a tree that had blown down a few weeks back. There was still plenty of fresh leaf on it, so it was still alive albeit snapped!
I've got somewhere damp and shady for them but if they dry out, I would struggle to get them in a barrel as it nearly finished me off just moving them to my plot!
Some sites I've looked at suggest covering them in black plastic. Any thoughts?

[ameno]

Thanks Ameno.
The logs were cut this morning from a tree that had blown down a few weeks back. There was still plenty of fresh leaf on it, so it was still alive albeit snapped!
I've got somewhere damp and shady for them but if they dry out, I would struggle to get them in a barrel as it nearly finished me off just moving them to my plot!
Some sites I've looked at suggest covering them in black plastic. Any thoughts?

Wrapping them may be useful while the mycelia colonise the log, although it shouldn't really be necessary. They should be unwrapped once it has been long enough that they might start fruiting, though, and remain unwrapped thereafter.
With logs as wide as yours it may also be a good idea to cover the cut edges with a double layer of some sort of natural fibre fabric, like hessian or thick cotton. Something that will retain water whilst also being breathable.

You will need to look into some way of effectively rehydrating the logs, though. After they have fruited once they won't give another good sized crop unless you can rehydrate the log, and realistically the only way to do that is to soak it for 24 hours or so. Falling rain or pouring water on it won't soak in far enough.
If needs must, you might want to consider cutting your 3 foot lengths in half. If you do do that, covering the cut faces as outlined above will be even more important, as those cut faces are what lose the most water.

I should also mention one more thing: although the logs need to be fresh in order for the mushroom spawn to take, they do also need to be dead (living wood fights back, and what you will be growing are not parasitic species, so they are not equipped to colonise living wood). This can be a problem with willow, as they survive for a fair while after cutting and keep trying to grow.
You should probably store the logs somewhere dark and away from soil until they stop trying to sprout (check on them every week or so, and rub all of the sprouts of when you do). Once they stop sprouting, you know they are dead, and should then be inoculated as soon as possible.

[Nicos]

Wow ameno, , that’s interesting.

I had a go a few years ago with fresh oak but wasn’t successful.

One thing which worried me was telling the difference if my edible mushrooms didn’t take and something toxic grew instead!

[ameno]

Wow ameno, , that’s interesting.

I had a go a few years ago with fresh oak but wasn’t successful.

One thing which worried me was telling the difference if my edible mushrooms didn’t take and something toxic grew instead!

As long as you inoculate the logs while they are still fairly fresh that shouldn't be an issue.
The reason you need to inoculate the logs fresh is because generally speaking only one species of fungus can grow on each log. If another is present, the the more vigorous will ultimately consume the other one. So you inoculate early, before any other fungi get in, and then the log will be colonised by your mushroom before any others come along, at which point it is able to fend off any potential invaders.

[Nicos]

Ah..ok , thanks for explaining.

[Lymmguineas]

Thanks everyone.
I've got some smaller logs and ordered some mushroom dowels (King Oyster, Pearl Oyster and Shitake) and wax.
They should be here in a few days.
Think I'll keep the larger logs as seats on the plot.
I'll try and remember to post in here in six to twelve months whether my mushroom growing has been a success!

[ameno]

Thanks everyone.
I've got some smaller logs and ordered some mushroom dowels (King Oyster, Pearl Oyster and Shitake) and wax.
They should be here in a few days.
Think I'll keep the larger logs as seats on the plot.
I'll try and remember to post in here in six to twelve months whether my mushroom growing has been a success!

Didn't realise they sold King Oyster as dowels. It's not really a solid wood species. It can be grown on logs, but I think it tends not to do so good. In the wild it grows on buried organic matter and the roots of certain herbaceous plants, and commercially it's usually grown on sawdust or straw, supplemented with something with a high nitrogen content.
I'm sure you'll still get a crop (as long as it establishes properly), but it may not be as large as the other two.

As for log size, apparently 6-9 inch diameter is ideal. The most nutritious and easily digested wood is the outermost 3 inches or so, so having logs of that size maximises the amount of that type of wood.
Length should ideally be at least 18 inches (although you can get away with as little as 12 at a push), and otherwise the longer the better, as long as it's short enough that you can still move it around and soak it in water when needed.

[Lymmguineas]

Eight months and no sign of any mushrooms yet.
I've not given up hope though!