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Ferg
Tenderfoot
Registered: 09/16/10
Posts: 58
Loc: Oregon
Last seen: 12 years, 10 months
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Shiitake on fir?
#13205420 - 09/16/10 04:57 PM (13 years, 6 months ago) |
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Hi, I'm new to the forums but have been reading posts for several months and have greatly benefited from the knowledge shared here.
I have previously grown several species of grain loving mushrooms, and now I want to try shiitake. Oak chips and dust seem to be very uncommon in the pacific northwest. Fir wood pellets are 4 dollars for a 40 lb bag. Has anyone tried it, and if so, were chips or other amendments added?
Thanks for reading.
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Prisoner#1
Even Dumber ThanAdvertized!
Registered: 01/22/03
Posts: 193,665
Loc: Pvt. Pubfag NutSuck
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Re: Shiitake on fir? (moved) [Re: Ferg]
#13205515 - 09/16/10 05:12 PM (13 years, 6 months ago) |
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This thread was moved from Mushroom Cultivation.
Reason: hardwood sawdust is easy to obtain, call sawmills and cabinet shops
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cloudwalker
Sonic Tinkerer
Registered: 07/04/10
Posts: 195
Loc: in the studio
Last seen: 6 years, 6 months
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Re: Shiitake on fir? (moved) [Re: Prisoner#1]
#13205562 - 09/16/10 05:22 PM (13 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
hardwood sawdust is easy to obtain, call sawmills and cabinet shops
Not so for me. Called 5 or 6 different places...all the sawdust around here is contracted out to local farmers. BUT, I have managed to 'ninja' a couple bag-fulls of scrap from the aftermath of a local tree being cut down...
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fungus_tao
Hah Zah!
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Re: Shiitake on fir? (moved) [Re: cloudwalker]
#13205619 - 09/16/10 05:33 PM (13 years, 6 months ago) |
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I live in a city and I can't find sawdust anywhere. I am using fuel pellets and they work perfectly. This tek may be what your looking for if you use fuel pellets.
-------------------- Follow the light The Light is your guide.
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MonkeyKnifeFight
Stranger
Registered: 06/08/10
Posts: 772
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Re: Shiitake on fir? (moved) [Re: fungus_tao]
#13205888 - 09/16/10 06:34 PM (13 years, 6 months ago) |
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I've used wood pellets from the pet store that work well. They're for cat litter or rodent bedding or something. But I also get hardwood sawdust from the local high school that has a woodshop. All of the cabinet/flooring companies I called had contracts with mushrooms farms already. My area is fairly hep to gourmet mushrooms.
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RogerRabbit
Bans for Pleasure
Registered: 03/26/03
Posts: 42,214
Loc: Seattle
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Re: Shiitake on fir? (moved) [Re: Ferg]
#13206464 - 09/16/10 08:17 PM (13 years, 6 months ago) |
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I'm running some tests on a mixture of Douglas fir and Western larch at the moment. The first substrate blocks went into fruiting today. Previous tests with fir showed some strains will fruit on it while others won't. I'm currently using the 75 strain from aloha, and the Douglas fir I'm using is well-aged, which should help quite a bit. I'll update when I know how it performs.
Alder sawdust is available for $25 per cubic yard from Sawdust Supply in Seattle. It's worth a drive up there. I've done it and I live a lot farther from Seattle than you do. When I go, I fill up my truck and also a 10' trailer I pull behind. I get about 6,000 pounds each trip. You can carry 2 1/2 yards in a long bed pickup truck, and more if it's a 3/4 ton with side boards. RR
-------------------- Download Let's Grow Mushrooms semper in excretia sumus solim profundum variat "I've never had a failed experiment. I've only discovered 10,000 methods which do not work." Thomas Edison
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Ferg
Tenderfoot
Registered: 09/16/10
Posts: 58
Loc: Oregon
Last seen: 12 years, 10 months
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Re: Shiitake on fir? (moved) [Re: RogerRabbit]
#13210174 - 09/17/10 03:41 PM (13 years, 6 months ago) |
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Thanks all. I will try the sawdust tek after a trip up to Sawdust Supply in Seattle. I think I'm going to have the same problem with hardwood chips unless I buy the expensive smoker chips used for food.
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shroom-jitsu
Divine Triangler
Registered: 01/24/10
Posts: 439
Loc: Here
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Re: Shiitake on fir? (moved) [Re: Ferg]
#13213961 - 09/18/10 12:52 PM (13 years, 6 months ago) |
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I use premium, top-quality Home Depot-brand floor sweepings. I'm a cheap bastard.
The only type of wood that has failed me entirely and consistantly is aspen.
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RogerRabbit
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Quote:
I think I'm going to have the same problem with hardwood chips unless I buy the expensive smoker chips used for food.
You can also get bulk Alder chips from Sawdust Supply. However, I get much better results with shiitake from sawdust only, no chips.
Call ahead before you leave to check stock. I've only known them to be out of Alder once, but I was glad I called. RR
-------------------- Download Let's Grow Mushrooms semper in excretia sumus solim profundum variat "I've never had a failed experiment. I've only discovered 10,000 methods which do not work." Thomas Edison
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Ferg
Tenderfoot
Registered: 09/16/10
Posts: 58
Loc: Oregon
Last seen: 12 years, 10 months
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Re: Shiitake on fir? (moved) [Re: RogerRabbit]
#13215971 - 09/18/10 09:28 PM (13 years, 6 months ago) |
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Better results with just sawdust with Shiitake eh? That's great and makes much easier. Thanks for steering me in the right direction. I'm going to start a log when I receive my lc from Spore Works.
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Ferg
Tenderfoot
Registered: 09/16/10
Posts: 58
Loc: Oregon
Last seen: 12 years, 10 months
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Re: Shiitake on fir? (moved) [Re: Ferg]
#13216049 - 09/18/10 09:41 PM (13 years, 6 months ago) |
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RR, is sawdust only good for just one flush? I read a post from you mentioning that, but it was quite some time ago.
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RogerRabbit
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Registered: 03/26/03
Posts: 42,214
Loc: Seattle
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Re: Shiitake on fir? (moved) [Re: Ferg]
#13216283 - 09/18/10 10:47 PM (13 years, 6 months ago) |
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No, my blocks fruit again, but outdoors. Sawdust returns a very good first flush, and then I release that grow-room space for a fresh block to get the most production per square foot/month. (Did I just invent a new unit of measurement?) The spent blocks are then moved outdoors by our creek where they fruit again several more times. They survive under the snow all winter and give a nice flush the following spring too. RR
-------------------- Download Let's Grow Mushrooms semper in excretia sumus solim profundum variat "I've never had a failed experiment. I've only discovered 10,000 methods which do not work." Thomas Edison
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