Anyone finding any yet?
With the moisture and the warmer temps, it’s gotta be close to time.
Ground temps should be close to 50 and the Lilac’s should be close to blooming.
I am going out Monday to start my annual hunt. 
I’ve been out twice in two days and haven’t found anything. My Shitakis are starting to go great guns right now though. I cut a half dozen off the logs yesterday and today the logs are peppered with new mushrooms….gonna have to cut again tomorrow.
All we need are some heat units and it looks like they will be here soon. Tuesday it could hit 80.
Tom-
are you raising those shitakis ‘artifically’, or are they volunteer??
I bought the spawn plugs and pegged a mess of oak logs. I pegged last spring and last fall I had a flush of mushrooms with some weighing over a pound and measuring well over 8″ across. One of those was enough for a side with a meal. I cut mushrooms off the logs three days ago and already have more growing from those sites as well as several new spots on the logs.
Go to http://www.fieldforest.net and order a catalog. Mushrooms are a great hobby that requires little more than patience. And if you think it doesn’t matter whether mushroom come from a store or the woods, I can assure you that these home-grown animals are ones to spoil you. A thirty five dollar investment will supply you for upwards of seven years. Shitakis bear caps in the spring and again in the fall.
That sounds really cool.
I didn’t cut the part of the yard I found a morel last year. I know it is a long shot, but I am not taking any chances of accidentally uprooting a new one like last year.
Tell me more about the siting and the medium: shade v sun, water v dry, mulch v log, etc.
I am interested. Can you dry them??
You’ll want to use oak logs in the 4 to 6 inch diameter range. I cut mine about two feet long so I can handle them with ease. I have done really well using logs from a tree cut while it was alive, but oak with the bark still firm to it will work. Red Oak or White oak works, definitely will want oak though. The spawn I use is peg spawn. These are 3/8 gluing pegs you can find in Menards for woodworking projects, except they have been innoculated with Shitaki spores, or spawn. The company likes to sell you the drill bit to bore the logs so these pegs can be driven in, but Menards does sell cheap bits that work great. You drill the logs, tap in the pegs and then seal the top of the peg with some bees wax which comes with the pegs. The logs need to be soaked for 24 hours after you peg and seal them, another reason to keep the,length managable.
Once the logs are prepped, you just find a place that is sort of sheltered from wind so drying the logs out isn’t going to be an issue, but be sure they recieve at least a little daylight or broken light during the daytime. I keep mine along a fence, standing up-right on end. I make sure that they get water if I am watering the garden flowers or yard. If the ground is dry enough to warrant wateriing, do the logs at the same time. Other than that, you do nothing but wait. And wait.
I pegged my logs a year ago and had some mushrooms last fall already, but I am told that this is NOT the norm. It generally takes a year for the mushrooms to show. The last time I ordered spawn pegs it took 18 months to see a mushroom. That was like ten years ago. I’m not sure if the more recent mediums are faster to start or if the spawn has been hybridized to work quicker, but go at this with the 18 month mind-set so you have a timeline to look forward to. If they come earlier, surprise, surprise, eh?
The spawn pegs come in a large number. You drill the peg holes about every three inches in a staggered pattern [directions are included]. I did fifteen logs and had some remaining. When I cut the logs to length I did it in the driveway and swept up the oak sawdust and saved it. The remaining pegs went into the sawdust in a five gallon pail, watered well but not sopping, and the bucket was placed in an area where some rain can hit it but its not completely exposed to the elements. I have taken three mushroom s from that this spring too.
Contact them and order that catalog…its free and has a ton of info in it. You might be amazed at how many growing options there are and at how many different types of mushrooms can be grown at home. The people at Field/forest are great to work with. Its a Wisconsin company. I’ve been toying with the fungus for about 12 years will say that this company has been the best of the best for me.
Drying? Absolutely. I know another grower who dehydrates Shitakis and then grinds them to a power and makes fish breading from them.
i’ve got lots of oak that is UDL (undesirably located), but a ton of elm right in the yard that we are taking down on a routine basis. Any idea if elm would work??
Very interesting Tom. 
I may have to check into this. One more way to have more mushrooms.
and to have mushrooms to go with the filets routinely…
Oak is the suggested growing medium. I can’t say if elm will support the Shitaki growth. Keep in mind now that these mushrooms go dormant when the heat gets wound up in the middle of summer….of course if you dehydrate them whole or sliced the should re-constitute fairly well to go with the fillets.
I found another few to cut to go with some left-over venison roast that I grilled the other night. Going to slice the meat thin and saute it with the mushrooms and some thinly sliced onions in butter with a small dollop of beef base added. We’ll be spooning this on burger buns and serving it up with home-made mac and cheese. Dinner will be served shortly.
We found about a dozen small greys today. Looks like they are just starting to pop here in SW WI
Makes sense, the greys usually come first…
Dinner was disgusting.
Went to the race track tonight and a friend was there and gave me 3 pounds of yellows.
The kid had another good night winning his heat and the feature event.
great night for racing and free morels.
They are out but not a ton of them.
Looks like next week will be spent hunting morels.
Went out this am after the rain and found 48 medium grays.
I left about 120 grays as they were small and I did not need them for the steak and sauteed morels for supper.
Two more days and I am going to go back to that spot to hopefully find some of those I left a bit larger.
Also found 2 yellows.
No squeets in the woods and no ticks so it was a good morning in the woods.
Found about 2 dozen pickers today small and yellow. Next week is going to be the week to find them I think!!
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