Plug Spawn

On July 19th, 2008 I inoculated freshly cut oak logs my friend Nathan got from the Blake Garden with Reishi, Shiitake, and Oyster mushroom plug spawn that I bought off the internet from Paul Stamets at http://www.fungi.com/plugs/index.html. In the image above I am using a rubber mallet to pound the wood dowels into the log. After inserting the dowels I sealed off the hole with wax, which is recommended to keep moisture in and unwanted insects and fungi out. These logs currently live under the deck at HiP, where I watered them twice a month before it started raining. According to the instructions, it will take 6-12 months before the mushroom mycelium takes over the log. It isn't until this point that fruiting can be initiated. More information about growing mushrooms can be found in Paul Stamets' book Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World.


The pictures below were taken at the end of October, several months into the process. There is lots of green moss on the logs, but there appears to be white mycelieal growth as well.