Michael Davis
Oyster mushroom mycelium plugs are a popular way to grow edible gourmet and medicinal fungi at home. They are easy to grow and produce delicious oyster mushrooms. The plugs are hardwood dowels laced with mushroom mycelium and are placed into freshly cut logs or stumps to inoculate them. The mycelium will start producing fruiting bodies after a full year of growing and can go on to produce every year for up to five years. The first step to growing oyster mushrooms is to find the right kind of wood. Oyster mushrooms prefer hardwood tree species such as alder, birch, oak, maple, cottonwood, and beech. The logs should be harvested during the fall or winter and inoculated as soon as possible. Blue oyster mushrooms can start producing in 4-12 months and fruit best in spring and fall.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Ease of use | Easy to use, low maintenance, and reliable |
| Time to grow | 6-12 months |
| Yield | Seasonal crops for up to 5 years |
| Species | Shiitake, Oysters, Reishi, Lion's Mane |
| Tree species | Alder, birch, oak, maple, cottonwood, beech, poplar, aspen |
| Additional requirements | Drill bit, log sealing wax, wax daubers, wood chips |
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What You'll Learn
Choosing the right wood
Oyster mushrooms are flexible organisms and can grow on a variety of trees. However, it is important to choose the right type of wood to ensure a successful and abundant harvest.
Oyster mushrooms, like most edible mushrooms, grow on deciduous hardwood trees. Hardwoods such as oak, birch, maple, cottonwood, and beech are preferred by oyster mushrooms. Oaks, in particular, are dense and offer plenty of nutrition for a longer, sustained fruiting period. They are also known for their durability and slow decay, making them ideal for long-term mushroom production. The natural tannins found in oak also help to deter competing fungi, ensuring healthier mushrooms.
While soft hardwoods such as poplars and aspens will produce mushrooms sooner, they generally don't yield as much or produce for as many years. Italian oyster mushrooms can also grow on some pine family trees, although the flushes will be smaller or less frequent than on hardwoods. However, it is important to note that regular oyster mushrooms have difficulty colonizing conifers, and other fungi may take over.
When choosing a tree for mushroom cultivation, it is also important to consider the health of the tree. Trees that are already decaying may have other species of fungi growing in them, creating more competition for your mushroom spawn. It is recommended to select fresh, healthy trees and inoculate them as soon as possible after they have been cut down.
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Inoculating the logs
Oyster mushrooms are known for their beautiful colours and wide range of fruiting temperatures. They can be grown on logs using mycelium plugs. The process of inoculating logs is simple and straightforward, but it requires patience and proper moisture management.
Firstly, it is important to select the right logs. Oyster mushrooms prefer hardwood tree species such as alder, birch, oak, maple, cottonwood, and beech. Choose fresh, healthy trees that are free from decay and other fungal species. Harvest your tree(s) during the fall or winter when their sugar concentration is highest.
Once the trees have been cut down, the logs should be rested for a minimum of two weeks before inoculation. This allows time for the tree's defence system to die back. Protect the logs from drying out by storing them in a cool, shaded area where they can receive natural rainfall.
For smaller projects or those who are new to mushroom cultivation, plug spawn is the ideal spawn type to use. To inoculate the logs, drill holes into the logs and insert the mycelium plugs. Seal the holes with wax to prevent contamination and promote the growth of the mycelium.
After inoculation, the logs should be stored in a humid environment with indirect sunlight. The mycelium will take time to colonize the logs, and it may be several months before the first fruiting bodies appear. During this time, maintain proper moisture levels and protect the logs from pests and other contaminants.
With proper care and patience, your inoculated logs will produce delicious oyster mushrooms for years to come.
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Fruiting and harvesting
Oyster mushrooms are easy to grow and are the most forgiving of all mushroom species. They come in fun colours, including blue, pink, and yellow. They are also less fussy about temperature and humidity conditions than many other mushroom types.
Oyster mushrooms need light to grow, but direct sunlight should be avoided. Place your fruiting chamber in a room with indirect light or use artificial lighting such as fluorescent lamps. Aim for a humidity of around 90%. You can achieve this by misting regularly with a spray bottle or by using a humidifier. Oyster mushrooms thrive at temperatures between 15-25 degrees Celsius. Keep temperatures stable to ensure optimal growing conditions.
After inoculation, the spawn needs time to grow through the substrate. This process is called incubation. Incubation starts with leap off, which is the moment when the mycelium initially leaps off the spawn onto the new substrate. This typically occurs around four days to upwards of 10 days after inoculation. The mycelium expands through the substrate in a three-dimensional sphere. When the mycelium runs into another leap-off point, the mycelium fuse together until the entire substrate becomes one mycelial organism. When the mycelium has grown throughout all of the available food, full colonisation has been achieved and they can now be initiated into fruiting. The rate at which spawn run happens will vary given the density of the substrate and species of mushroom. Oyster mushrooms, for instance, are faster-growing than shiitake. A sawdust-based substrate is much faster than logs.
With mushroom blocks that arrive ready to fruit, you should see mushrooms forming in 1-2 weeks. Oyster mushrooms need airflow and indirect sunlight to form the fruiting bodies, which is the part of the mushroom we eat. Pins (or baby mushrooms) will begin to grow. The pins will proliferate into full-sized mushrooms quickly. Oyster mushrooms are ready to harvest when the caps are fully open but before the edges begin to curl. Carefully twist and pull off the mushrooms so as not to damage the mycelium. Each mushroom variety has its maturity signs. In general, you will want to harvest your mushrooms when they are a similar size and texture to what you have seen in pictures or what is recommended by the spawn provider. After two to three weeks of fruiting, the harvest will start to taper off. At that point, the mycelium needs a few weeks to digest more wood for the next fruiting. During this time, little watering is required. After the resting period, another fruiting can be started.
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Environmental triggers
The growth of mycelium plugs for oyster mushrooms is influenced by various environmental factors. These factors play a crucial role in triggering and supporting the development of the mycelium and the subsequent fruiting of mushrooms. Here are some key environmental considerations:
Temperature
Temperature significantly impacts the growth of oyster mushroom mycelium. Laboratory experiments have shown that an optimal temperature of 28°C (82.4°F) enhances the growth of oyster mushroom species Pleurotus ostreatus (PO) and Pleurotus cystidiosus (PC). Maintaining this temperature range can promote the expansion of the mycelium colony diameter and facilitate faster and healthier growth.
Nutrition and Substrate
Nutritional conditions and the choice of substrate are other critical environmental factors. For the oyster mushroom species PO, potato dextrose agar (PDA) and yam dextrose agar (YDA) were found to be the most suitable media for mycelium growth. Meanwhile, oyster mushroom species PC showed good growth with carbon sources like glucose, dextrose, and sucrose. Additionally, specific substrates, such as brown rice, sugarcane residue, acasia sawdust, and corn cob, were favourable for the growth of both oyster mushroom species.
Hardwood Species
The type of hardwood used is an essential environmental consideration for oyster mushroom cultivation. Oyster mushrooms prefer hardwood tree species such as alder, birch, oak, maple, cottonwood, and beech. The choice of the right hardwood species provides the optimal environment for the mycelium to thrive and produce mushrooms.
Weather Conditions
Weather conditions play a pivotal role in triggering mushroom fruiting. Oyster mushrooms typically fruit best in the spring and fall seasons. The environmental conditions during these seasons, including temperature, humidity, and daylight duration, create an ideal setting for the mushrooms to emerge from the logs and be harvested.
Moisture and Humidity
Moisture and humidity levels are crucial environmental factors for mycelium plug growth and mushroom development. Maintaining adequate moisture is essential, as oyster mushrooms retain water. However, overwatering should be avoided, especially during the resting period after the initial fruiting phase. Proper moisture management helps regulate the growth and fruiting cycles.
Competition and Spacing
When cultivating oyster mushrooms using mycelium plugs, it is important to consider the spacing and potential competition from other fungal species. Harvesting trees during the fall or winter ensures lower competition for your mushroom spawn, as freshly cut logs have fewer existing fungi. Staggering soakings for multiple logs can also help maintain near-constant mushroom growth during the season.
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Storing the spawn
Storing mushroom spawn correctly is essential to ensure that it remains viable for use. Mushroom spawn is a living substance, prone to bacteria, mould, and waste produced by the mycelium. Therefore, it has a limited shelf life, and the sooner it is used, the better.
When storing mushroom spawn, it is crucial to keep it away from direct sunlight, as this can damage or even kill the spawn. Additionally, proper air circulation is necessary during storage. While airtight storage is not recommended, loosely tying the bag closed is suggested to allow the spawn to breathe. If the manufacturer specifies airtight storage, follow those directions.
The ideal storage temperature for mushroom spawn depends on when you plan to use it. If you intend to use the spawn within one or two days, store it in a dark spot at room temperature, ensuring it is not placed near any windows. However, if you are not planning to use the spawn within this timeframe, refrigeration is recommended.
For long-term storage, place the spawn in a refrigerator set to 0–2 °C (32–36 °F). At this temperature, the spawn can remain fresh for up to two to four months. It is important to note that Pink Oyster and Almond Agaricus spawn cannot be refrigerated and should be used within a month when stored at room temperature.
When storing mushroom spawn, it is best to leave it in its original packaging, as it is specifically designed to protect and preserve the spawn. The packaging is typically a single plastic bag, although some spawn come double-bagged. If your spawn arrived in two bags, remove the outer bag and use the inner bag for storage. If you do not have the original packaging, a plastic sandwich bag can be used instead.
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Frequently asked questions
Blue oyster mushroom plugs may start producing in 4-12 months, although this is dependent on environmental triggers. The mushrooms fruit best in spring and fall.
The mycelium will start producing fruiting bodies after a full year of growing and can go on to produce every year for up to five years or even longer, depending on how long the log takes to fully decompose.
Oyster mushrooms prefer hardwood tree species such as alder, birch, oak, maple, cottonwood, and beech.
First, inoculate the plugs with a mushroom culture such as grain spawn, wedges of mycelium on agar, or liquid culture syringes. Next, sterilize the plugs by boiling or soaking them in hot water, or by using a pressure cooker. Then, soak the plugs in clean water for about 24 hours. Finally, insert the plugs into freshly cut logs or stumps.
