MMelton Posted July 30, 2023 Report Share Posted July 30, 2023 Hi. New to forum but have decided to try and grow mushrooms on the 5 acre property we bought last year in Southern Indiana. TLDR: I believe I have logs with Ambrosia Beetles/Ambrosia Fungus present in them. Is this going to inhibit or completely prevent my Oyster's from establishing and growing in/on these logs? TIA! An Aspen tree fell in March of this year and I processed it into firewood and any 3-5 inch branch sections into future Mushroom logs. I know Aspen isn't the best for oysters but according to the chart at Field and Forest Products (where I got my spawn) it will work ok. I'm late in getting these logs done due to circumstances around the property (adding chickens and geese). I got a bed of Winecaps done in May. But, I'm just now getting to the logs which have been sitting on racks. When I went to start drilling I noticed what looked like little brown tubular formations over many of the logs. I believe I've correctly identified it as 'fras toothpicks' from the Ambrosia Beetle digging tunnels in the wood. So, now I'm assuming the Ambrosia Fungus is no in the logs. Otherwise, I walk the property daily with our new pup and have photo documented several species of mushrooms. We have wild Oysters in several places, Deathcaps have popped up a couple times, A huge Dyers Polypore on an old stump and many others I'm not sure about the exact identification of. I may start a thread with photos of everything I've found. I've long been curious about wild mushrooms but never had the time till now to think about learning to identify correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted July 31, 2023 Report Share Posted July 31, 2023 Oysters will grow happily and quickly on aspen. They like just about anything but conifers. As logs rot, they are taken over by a progression of fungi. Oysters prefer to be the first, and will feast on the sugars that remain in the wood. Waiting 4-5 months from tree death to inoculation is not a good idea. Drop a live tree, buck it, and get your plugs in within the first 2-3 weeks. Even then, you'll get most of your production in year two or later. I'm not saying that your oysters won't grow anyway (they're very aggressive), but with consideration of how easy it is to just drop another small tree you'll be ahead of the game by starting out that way. Hope this helps, Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted July 31, 2023 Report Share Posted July 31, 2023 By the way, fence your chickens away from your winecaps, or any other mushroom plot. If you don't, they'll eat the mycelium and you'll get no mushrooms. Been there, done that. Bruce 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMelton Posted January 4 Author Report Share Posted January 4 Thanks, Bruce. Late getting back here...been a busy 6 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.