its mushroom season...

[AlaskanGuy]

just a couple short vid's of Maria and i creaming the mushrooms...






have a great day ...

[mazo kid]

Mark, I don't see any video?!

[AlaskanGuy]

sorry.... try it now...

[mazo kid]

Got it! Thanks.

[ShotgunDave]

Giant mushrooms and a deer, all in one day. Sounds like a mighty fine day to me!

[mazo kid]

After "creaming", how are they kept?

[AlaskanGuy]

lol... we dont cream them... just a term I use for wiping them out and getting them in our buckets.

we sauté this type and then freeze in vacuum packing....

[mazo kid]

We love 'shrooms but didn't get any Morels this year. I have to settle for "store-bought" as I am not too familiar with too many other types.

[Badgerfarm]

We used to grow our own shiitakes on white oak logs harvested from our farm.  When dad was still alive he and I plugged over 300 logs with a plan for another 300 to rotate them into the stock as the others were consumed by the mushrooms.  I remember the best "flush" one summer after some good rain and watering with the rain water collected for that purpose my wife and I picked over 125 pounds in one day.  That particular summer the "flush" continued for nearly 4 months.   They will keep well fresh in paper bags with a damp paper towel for about ten days and we dried the rest.  That was before my back go so bad that I can't do that work anymore.  If anyone wants any information on how to prep the logs and grow the mushrooms give me a shout and I'll share the information with you.  They aren't difficult to grow but there are some tricks of the trade that come in handy when starting from scratch.  They are about 32% protein which can come in handy at times. 

We also have morels and hen of the woods growing here if the conditions are right.  It's a shame I can't walk in the woods anymore to find them. 

[mazo kid]

.......We also have morels and hen of the woods growing here if the conditions are right.  It's a shame I can't walk in the woods anymore to find them.

We have morels and Hen of the woods, also Puff Balls in the spring and probably a couple of other types. I have friends who are knowledgeable, but I don't share that. I need to get my mushroom books out again.

[mazo kid]

There are a couple of sites offering plugs here in-State (Field and Forest Products is one). I have often thought about getting some, but White Oaks are not too plentiful on our land. I guess the "logs"' don't have to be very big in diameter, might have to scout some up. But...like you, I am not able to run up and down our hill.

[Badgerfarm]

We bought our plugs from Fungi Perfecti and they were great.  They had good prices and the plugs were very active if you handle and use them properly.  Dad and I learned a great deal about growing Shiitakes over a ten to twelve year period.  There is some information on the net about plugging the logs but from what we found most of it was bunk and we developed our own system.

What type of logs do you have access to?  They don't necessarily have to be white oak but that is the preferred log.  Almost any type of hardwood will work with the exception of black walnut which I have an abundance of on the farm.  Other mushrooms like blue oyster will grow in softwood which we don't have much of here.  They will grow very well in other species of wood if handled properly.  The main trick is to get the timing right from the time the logs are cut until they are plugged.  It's not a very long window of opportunity and it is critical.  I was paying a local helper type man to come out and cut the logs for me since I couldn't do it myself and it worked out great.  He was charging me between $2 and $3 dollars for a 5 foot long log anywhere from 6 to 8 inches in diameter.  They will do really well in smaller logs and branches but they don't last as long but it does work.  The main idea is to use the size of log that is the easiest to handle and plug more logs. 

If you decide you want to give it a try send me a message and I'll share the information with you.  It would be best to talk on the phone as I have a little difficulty typing with the paralysis in my hands.  There are a lot people in this area that are growing them for sale at the local farmers markets but I found that the Asian restaurants and stores will pay more money for the organic grown shiitakes like we had. 

Badgerfarm

[mazo kid]

I know we have some hickory (pig nut), maybe Ironwood, conifers, Burr oak, paper birch and like you, lots of black walnut. I'll have to get out our forester's report from when he put our woodland in the tax saving program.

[AlaskanGuy]

we lack any real hardwood here. but the bears head here grows on Hemlock. wife and I have harvested about 60lbs of bears head alone this year. prolly at least 50lbs of golden chantrels, 40 lbs of puffballs, chicken of the woods, and other misc. we canned a ton, dried a bunch, i sold a bunch and shipped it out...

i still have some mushrooms to get yet, but the season is starting to wind down.. been picking for over a month now.