I've been doing permaculture here for 30+ years, but just starting to learn and do mushrooms. My specialty is hybrid chestnut production and am currently producing trees that are 3/4 American Chestnuts 1/4 Chinese Chestnuts, but have buartnuts, hybrid sweet oak, king nut hickory and much more. Thanks for the video and am currently trying cultivating both winecap and shitake, so appreciate your focus!
Wow, thank you! We have plenty more in the works. It's been a bit slow going releasing them lately, but we should have another posted by the end of August!
I live in central FL in old oak woods and when the summer rains come out place is just full of hundreds of wild mushrooms. We are doing a trial with shiitake and thinking about trying winecaps too. If it things go well we’ll have a small scale mushroom farm here.
Nice! central FL has a great climate for mushroom cultivation I bet you'll have success with both species! Stay in touch and let us know how it develops!
Great Video! If you use different wood to inoculate- oak, maple, etc are there different time frames to allow for when cutting then innoculating- how long do you wait to inoculate or do you do it when you cut the tree down? Are there cold weather consideration- like do it when temp are above freezing etc? Thanks
Good question, but all the trees are treated pretty much the same way regarding timeline. You can inoculate right away or within about a month. The sooner the better. The exception is for times and places where you get a hard freeze. This basically stops the clock. I recommend waiting until right around when things begin to thaw.
Great video. Your farm looks amazing! I have thinking about wine caps, you have secured my decision 👍. We are in southern New Brunswick, maybe we can check out your farm/farmstand someday.
Amazing! Some questions: I have inoculated oak logs .What other tree species can I use? Chestnut tree? Can I inoculate some logs in winter? Thank a lot!
Curiosity question, just wondering how much difference in yield between comparable sized oak and silver maple logs? I have both and will be experimenting with soft maple next spring. Thanks!
That's a big question. I can first tell you to please check out our website and look up articles written about us or that we are featured in. There are some good ones. Basically, it started really simple with farmer's markets an restaurants. We grew out of buckets. This was out of rented garage space. There were simple fruiting rooms (wooden frame with plastic sheeting) that had humidiers and fans. We eventually began brokering mushrooms as well for all of the best restaurants in Maine. With the Pandemic we had pivot to primarily sterile substrate, kits, and spawn. This was probably going to happen anyway.
I know that people cultivate shiitakes in Texas. The heat isn't as much of an issue as moisture. Just make sure you keep your logs shaded and soak them periodically if it has been particularly hot or dry
As is so often the case, growing the mushroom is the easy part. There's nowhere near enough demand to unload this crop in my area ... someone has to get out there and make the hard sell, day in, day out. God knows if I wanted to work in sales and marketing I'd be doing that already
I'm sorry to hear that. Demand for log grown mushrooms is very dependent on the locality. Areas with strong food/farming/restaurant scenes are often receptive, but alternatives to the familiar button mushrooms can require education and market development in areas that don't have as much prior experience with a diversity of mushroom species.
Hi there! The best times to start slightly depend on where you live! You want to be sure you are harvesting the logs when their energy isn't being pushed into leaf production, like in the early spring through summer. Late summer, fall, winter are all good times to inoculate logs!
@@NorthSpore Oh ok. I did get it from you all. You are talking about the the daily average temp I assume. It has been running cooler than that so there is my answer. Thanks
A tip for you is the logs I made from your shiitake product will produce a flush at much warmer daily temperatures. I had an extended wet period here for the month of August, and the temperatures responded in kind by lower to a diurnal daily temperature of 74-75° Days ranging 85°-86, and nighttime of 65-66°. I had ignored them, knowing they were well watered, but too warm to flush have a surprise. I went down just to check on them and there were many many mushrooms. Most were already past prime and degraded. So I had missed about 95% of the flush and my avatar on photo here shows the remnant of good ones. Or I will change my avatar photo to that here shortly.
Sometimes! If you're doing more than like 10 logs, then yes, for sure. It is more prone to falling out of holes and might need more protection at first. You need to be sure the wax coverage is good and agricultural cloth can help keep critters away during the critical early stage.
i am just starting to learn about mushrooms. I wonder when Max says (I paraphrase) some areas are very dense and need the space, so chopping the shorter one would be beneficial to the ecosystem. What if the world goes crazy about mushrooms? And they see log culture as the most productive one in the long run? Who will tell how much tree space is ideal in the long run and who will stop producers hungry for money to not cut trees to grow more? Seemed a little too far-fetched.
I've been doing permaculture here for 30+ years, but just starting to learn and do mushrooms. My specialty is hybrid chestnut production and am currently producing trees that are 3/4 American Chestnuts 1/4 Chinese Chestnuts, but have buartnuts, hybrid sweet oak, king nut hickory and much more. Thanks for the video and am currently trying cultivating both winecap and shitake, so appreciate your focus!
I’d love to have a few of those hybrid chestnut trees. I’m In southern Iowa and uncertain if your hybrids would be suited for this area.
Thomas, I would love any tips you have for harvesting black walnuts. TYIA.
better to selectively breed 100% than dilute the genes
sure it'll take longer, but they'll stay pure
Hi, I would like do permaculture farming in Mexico I have big land
But I need help !!!
Your reality is my dream! I love your videos.
Wow, thank you! We have plenty more in the works. It's been a bit slow going releasing them lately, but we should have another posted by the end of August!
Thank you so much for this channel. I’ve always wanted to have a farm off my own and this is something I want to learn
Our pleasure!
I think it would be kool to see a huge pond with creatures in it as well as using it for auqaponics
Great video! Thank you my fellow Mainers!
Our pleasure!
Simply amazing!
2:27 is the only hand i trust picking mushrooms off a log
I live in central FL in old oak woods and when the summer rains come out place is just full of hundreds of wild mushrooms. We are doing a trial with shiitake and thinking about trying winecaps too. If it things go well we’ll have a small scale mushroom farm here.
Nice! central FL has a great climate for mushroom cultivation I bet you'll have success with both species! Stay in touch and let us know how it develops!
Hi where in Central Florida are you ? Im here too. Thanks
This looks like such a fulfilling way of life! One can only dream 🤣🤞🏻
You can do it!
Ni e work mate. Real eco loop👌
this is the future yo!!
we think so!
Damn this is inspiring af.
I think I found what I want to do now.
Love it
Great video!
Glad you enjoyed it
Great Video! If you use different wood to inoculate- oak, maple, etc are there different time frames to allow for when cutting then innoculating- how long do you wait to inoculate or do you do it when you cut the tree down? Are there cold weather consideration- like do it when temp are above freezing etc? Thanks
Good question, but all the trees are treated pretty much the same way regarding timeline. You can inoculate right away or within about a month. The sooner the better. The exception is for times and places where you get a hard freeze. This basically stops the clock. I recommend waiting until right around when things begin to thaw.
Great video. Your farm looks amazing! I have thinking about wine caps, you have secured my decision 👍. We are in southern New Brunswick, maybe we can check out your farm/farmstand someday.
Sounds great!
I have just moved to the Caribbean island and I would love to learn how to grow it here.
That could be a fantastic place to grow many species!
Amazing! Some questions: I have inoculated oak logs .What other tree species can I use? Chestnut tree?
Can I inoculate some logs in winter?
Thank a lot!
northspore.com/pages/grow-mushrooms-on-logs-videos
@@NorthSpore Thanks a lot for your answer. And, what about black locust? Can I grow some species o mushroom on it?
🥳 awesome 🍄 thank you 💗
You are so welcome!
@@NorthSpore Grateful ❣️
I'm a forager from Belgrade lakes area would like to come check you guys out itching to get out and find some morals soon I hope
Join us for for a tour or other event! northspore.com/pages/events
I agree with you on the maple logs but oak takes considerably more time to grow then maple dose
A good point!
great video 😊
Thanks for watching!
Curiosity question, just wondering how much difference in yield between comparable sized oak and silver maple logs? I have both and will be experimenting with soft maple next spring. Thanks!
The oak is likely to be a better candidate with higher yields.
Which mushrooms can we grow from just pure dirt
Nothing commercially available (that I know about) can be grown on just plain average soil.
Amazing video! Can I grow some species of mushrooms using chestnut tree logs? Thank you.
lions mane or shiitake would be good mushrooms to try!
You are living the American dream!
Falmouth, MAINE ~!
woop!
Would you be able to give a breakdown on how you started your farm??? I wanna know what I have to do to start my own to be self reliant for my family
That's a big question. I can first tell you to please check out our website and look up articles written about us or that we are featured in. There are some good ones. Basically, it started really simple with farmer's markets an restaurants. We grew out of buckets. This was out of rented garage space. There were simple fruiting rooms (wooden frame with plastic sheeting) that had humidiers and fans. We eventually began brokering mushrooms as well for all of the best restaurants in Maine. With the Pandemic we had pivot to primarily sterile substrate, kits, and spawn. This was probably going to happen anyway.
@@NorthSpore I’ll definitely read your articles religiously. I’m so excited to see others make it, it’s really encouraging!!!!
I live in Texas, near Austin. Do you think this hot humid climate will be good for shitakes?
I know that people cultivate shiitakes in Texas. The heat isn't as much of an issue as moisture. Just make sure you keep your logs shaded and soak them periodically if it has been particularly hot or dry
Really informative video. A question- how do you sell the mushrooms is it on the online or the offline market . Thanks😊
Online at www.northspore.com! We also sell through some retailers and at the Portland Farmers Market.
What other mushrooms do you recommend to grow on logs besides shiitake
Oyster varieties, lions mane, and chestnut to name a few!
@@NorthSpore which ones would you recommend the most for logs? Have you ever planted any in mulch if so which do you recommend
did you say shitakes regrow after harvest without replanting? does the log have to be dead or alive?
You want fresh cut wood. The logs can produce for many years! Learn more here: northspore.com/pages/grow-mushrooms-on-logs-videos
As is so often the case, growing the mushroom is the easy part. There's nowhere near enough demand to unload this crop in my area ... someone has to get out there and make the hard sell, day in, day out. God knows if I wanted to work in sales and marketing I'd be doing that already
I'm sorry to hear that. Demand for log grown mushrooms is very dependent on the locality. Areas with strong food/farming/restaurant scenes are often receptive, but alternatives to the familiar button mushrooms can require education and market development in areas that don't have as much prior experience with a diversity of mushroom species.
Thought about doing online sale?
This was an incredibly interesting and enjoyable video. Thank you for your time.
Nice!
Thanks!
still no explanation on how to fund customers to determine demand
Is late winter or early summer the only season for this log growing? Can I start now, in August?
Hi there! The best times to start slightly depend on where you live! You want to be sure you are harvesting the logs when their energy isn't being pushed into leaf production, like in the early spring through summer. Late summer, fall, winter are all good times to inoculate logs!
What temperature is needed for the shiitakes to flush once you brought them out of the water tank?
This can depend on the shiitake strain, but ours is a wide range species that tends to prefer cooler temps 50-60.
@@NorthSpore Oh ok. I did get it from you all. You are talking about the the daily average temp I assume. It has been running cooler than that so there is my answer. Thanks
A tip for you is the logs I made from your shiitake product will produce a flush at much warmer daily temperatures. I had an extended wet period here for the month of August, and the temperatures responded in kind by lower to a diurnal daily temperature of 74-75° Days ranging 85°-86, and nighttime of 65-66°. I had ignored them, knowing they were well watered, but too warm to flush have a surprise. I went down just to check on them and there were many many mushrooms. Most were already past prime and degraded. So I had missed about 95% of the flush and my avatar on photo here shows the remnant of good ones. Or I will change my avatar photo to that here shortly.
Is saw dust spawn better than plugs?
Sometimes! If you're doing more than like 10 logs, then yes, for sure. It is more prone to falling out of holes and might need more protection at first. You need to be sure the wax coverage is good and agricultural cloth can help keep critters away during the critical early stage.
Cool x
🍄
Are you hiring? I live nearby.
Not at the moment, but shoot us a resume and keep an eye on our website and Insta account
How large is your property (acres)? I love your video!
This video is taken on a local farm in Falmouth, ME! Not sure the acreage, but it's a great place!
i am just starting to learn about mushrooms. I wonder when Max says (I paraphrase) some areas are very dense and need the space, so chopping the shorter one would be beneficial to the ecosystem. What if the world goes crazy about mushrooms? And they see log culture as the most productive one in the long run? Who will tell how much tree space is ideal in the long run and who will stop producers hungry for money to not cut trees to grow more? Seemed a little too far-fetched.