FOR-91: Growing Forest Botanicals and Medicinals

Deborah Hill | Mar. 15, 2013 (New)

If you are interested in producing some of Kentucky's native medicinal plants, the first step is to gather as much information about them as possible. This publication includes useful information including a list of helpful books, contacts, and organizations.

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FOR-79: Shiitake Production: Log Selection and Preparation

Deborah Hill | Mar. 12, 2013 (New)

Shiitake mushrooms grow well on many species of hardwood tree. The Shii tree, native to Japan where these mushrooms originate, is in the same family as our oak trees, so all kinds of oaks are useful for shiitake production.

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FOR-83: Shiitake Production: Incubation and Stacking

Deborah Hill | Mar. 12, 2013 (New)

Monitor your logs for shade, moisture, and pest and disease problems while they are incubating. If firewood- or teepee-stacked logs are losing too much moisture, you may need to rearrange the stacks. (The bottom logs will always retain more moisture). Lean-to stacked logs should be more even in their moisture content, but they too can be reversed if necessary.

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FOR-86: Shiitake Production: Processing and Storage

Deborah Hill | Mar. 12, 2013 (New)

How you handle your mushrooms depends on whether you plan to market them fresh or dried, retail or wholesale.

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FOR-84: Shiitake Production: Pest Control

Deborah Hill | Mar. 12, 2013 (New)

Shiitake mushrooms do not have many pests. Many problems with insects and competitive fungi can be avoided by timely cutting and inoculating of shiitake logs, and by good hygiene and maintenance practices.

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FOR-87: Shiitake Production: Marketing

Deborah Hill | Mar. 12, 2013 (New)

The most common outlets for marketing your shiitake mushrooms are farmers markets, whole food and health food stores, restaurants and restaurant suppliers, supermarkets (especially locally owned rather than the national chains), produce buyers, and produce wholesalers.

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FOR-90: Shiitake Production: Production Options

Deborah Hill | Mar. 12, 2013 (New)

This series of publications emphasizes growing shiitake mushrooms on natural hardwood logs. The denser hardwoods (oaks, hickories, chestnut) seem to produce better over the long run, and other hardwoods (maples, sweetgum) may begin to produce more quickly but will exhaust more quickly also.

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FOR-85: Shiitake Production: Harvesting

Deborah Hill | Mar. 23, 2011 (Minor Revision)

If you started with live spawn from a reputable supplier and freshly cut logs from living hardwood trees, your logs should be ready to produce shiitake mushrooms after 6 to 18 months of incubation.

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FOR-81: Kentucky Shiitake Production Workbook: Inoculation

Deborah Hill | Mar. 23, 2011 (Minor Revision)

To begin the process of shiitake mushroom production, you must "sow the seed" just as you would with any other agronomic crop. For shiitake, the "seed" is called spawn and consists of the mushroom spores mixed with sawdust (for sawdust spawn) or wood (for dowel spawn) and a little grain to add a higher level of carbohydrate for the organism to feed on.

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FOR-82: Shiitake Production: Monitoring Moisture Content of Logs

Deborah Hill | Feb. 3, 2011 (Minor Revision)

Shiitake spawn cannot survive in logs that have a moisture content of less than 23%. Ideal moisture conditions for shiitake growth are log moisture content of 35% or more. If logs are left in the open air and are not monitored for moisture content, and climatic conditions are dry, the moisture content of the logs can fall to 20% to 25%.