Mushrooms logs

[BarleySugar]

I'm so excited, my mushroom logs are finally doing something (besides just sitting pretty )

About 4 years ago (give or take a year ) I got some oak logs from a student at school whose parents had chopped down a tree. I put in the dowels, covered with the wax and put them in my woodland area. This morning I was assessing the damage caused by my chickens, and realised I had some shiitake mushrooms on one of them. There is also growth on one of the others too. I thought I had lion's mane and oyster, but it looks more like chicken in the wood. I know it is cultivated because they have come from where the dowels were first inserted. Typical, I wrote it down somewhere, just need to remember where!

I sprayed the logs down with water to clean them up a bit, and I'll be keeping an eye out for the slugs, as the first flush of shiitake had some damage. I'm putting them in our chicken stew tonight

[veggiechicken]

Thanks for the reminder BS. I did some oak logs too about 4 years ago. I think the dowels were a special offer. I remember there was Lions mane, Shitake and Oyster but I think there were 4 types? I'd given up on mine and they are in the middle of a bramble patch now I'll have a look later and see if they are doing anything

I think this was the ones I had http://www.thompson-morgan.com/veget...tion/bww3153TM

[Paulottie]

Yep... do be a bit careful with identification. Assume you know what shitake look like.... 'chicken of the woods' sulphurous yellow and orange when young and is quite distinctive....i've not heard of spore plugs for it.

[Dusty Rhodes]

You should have gotten shiitaki mushrooms long before four years...double check and don't assume just because they're coming out of the plug area. Something else could have moved into the bungholes...

[BarleySugar]

I've been searching through my old diaries, I actually set them up Tuesday 6th April 2010 (bad memory, it seems like longer ago). I described what each log looked like, and what was 'planted' in each. The shiitake is right, but the other log that is fruiting was supposed to be lion's mane, and it isn't at all like the pictures, so I think that one has failed. I won't be trying those. The oyster log isn't doing anything at the moment, but I'm going to douse it with cold water tomorrow to see if it gets shocked into action.

[Alison]

Yep... do be a bit careful with identification. Assume you know what shitake look like.... 'chicken of the woods' sulphurous yellow and orange when young and is quite distinctive....i've not heard of spore plugs for it.

Shitake (How to grow your own Shiitake mushrooms) and Chicken of the Wood (Chicken of the Woods « frogstorm) aren't the same at all, both very nice but totally different types.

[veggiechicken]

Any photos BS, especially of the unidentified one? Weather permitting, I'll hack my way into the briar patch tomorrow and see whether mine are doing anything

[BarleySugar]

When I originally found the logs I cut off the fungus on the unidentified one as it was dry and tough anyway, so I can't get pictures. It is a bracket type fungus, sort of beige around the edges and darker in the middle. Looking on the internet, there are loads of similar, but not exactly the same, ones.
Once I had confirmed what dowels I had to start with, it is obvious this particular one hasn't worked.
I have no doubts about the other log, the appearance of the mushrooms (shiitake) and the description of the log I 'planted' them in correspond.

[veggiechicken]

Too blummin wet to venture into the brambles today. My logs must wait

[veggiechicken]

I found them!! That's the good news - the bad news is there are no shitakes or oysters but.........could this mauve growth in a crack in the log be Lion's Mane?
Apologies for the photo but it was gloomy in the bramble patch

[BarleySugar]

It doesn't look much like the pictures does it? I think they are supposed to be white and sort of shaggy. Perhaps they aren't very strong growers, and get pushed out by wild fungi. I'd keep an eye on them and see if they develop more as time goes on. At the moment I wouldn't be confident enough to eat yours or mine

[veggiechicken]

Mine are nowhere near big enough to eat (or not)! It is an unusual colour though so I'm hopeful that it could be Lion's mane. It is such a distinctive fungi that I should be able to recognise it Actually I think it looks really weird and not particularly appetising!