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wood chip
Stranger

Registered: 02/22/09
Posts: 210
Last seen: 10 years, 2 months
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substrate matrix, screening, and storage
#19092445 - 11/05/13 08:47 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Free wood chip substrate in quantity can be obtained from very loud chippers.
When growing shiitake using bags, does anyone screen this type of wood substrate on order to obtain a texture close to chain sawdust?
It is full of bark, leaves, and twigs and often has big chips.
Also, where do you store sawdust. It tends to ferment immediately when green trees are chipped in big piles. Which I think is a good thing. But, should rain be kept off the chips? and should they be stored directly on the dirt.
It seems like sawdust of chainsaw texture can only hold so much water. Should sawdust should be submerged than drained to create an even mix?
I have had mixes where the water content was not even causing shiitake to pin unevenly?
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nanncee



Registered: 12/01/12
Posts: 434
Loc: Utah
Last seen: 9 years, 1 month
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Re: substrate matrix, screening, and storage [Re: wood chip]
#19099694 - 11/07/13 10:25 AM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
wood chip said: Free wood chip substrate in quantity can be obtained from very loud chippers.
When growing shiitake using bags, does anyone screen this type of wood substrate on order to obtain a texture close to chain sawdust?
It is full of bark, leaves, and twigs and often has big chips.
Also, where do you store sawdust. It tends to ferment immediately when green trees are chipped in big piles. Which I think is a good thing. But, should rain be kept off the chips? and should they be stored directly on the dirt.
It seems like sawdust of chainsaw texture can only hold so much water. Should sawdust should be submerged than drained to create an even mix?
I have had mixes where the water content was not even causing shiitake to pin unevenly?
You can defeintly grow on the bigger stuff, just know it drastically slows down the blocks. If you can chip it or break it down more it would be best. I never worry if there are a few leaves in there.
We store ours outdoors, just on the ground. Keep it covered if there is a lot of rain/moisture.
If they are new chips you should age them. We are shooting for a year to age. I know RogerRabbit has mentioned how long he ages them in a few posts but not sure where they are at right now.
-------------------- I am a small scale farmer, come check out what we do. www.facebook.com/biocentricbros Check out our Youtube videos. www.youtube.com/biocentricbros
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wood chip
Stranger

Registered: 02/22/09
Posts: 210
Last seen: 10 years, 2 months
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Re: substrate matrix, screening, and storage [Re: nanncee]
#19100226 - 11/07/13 12:21 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
nanncee said:
You can defiantly grow on the bigger stuff, just know it drastically slows down the blocks. If you can chip it or break it down more it would be best.
Thanks for the reply Do you use substrate from road crew land cleaning chippers and then chip it further? Have you grown shiitkae on chips with no sawdust using bags?
I was thinking of using screens in order to get a variety of particle sizes in separate piles and then mix them together on cook day. Stamets analogy of starting a fire using a mix of particle size makes a lot of sense and I have observed the same in experiments, but there are so many variable and I find it difficult to obtain a single species of tree from mills, land, power, or road clearing.
However, it is very easy to get waste material from chippers it is often very hot and steaming.
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nanncee



Registered: 12/01/12
Posts: 434
Loc: Utah
Last seen: 9 years, 1 month
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Re: substrate matrix, screening, and storage [Re: wood chip]
#19104533 - 11/08/13 09:25 AM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
wood chip said:
Quote:
nanncee said:
You can defiantly grow on the bigger stuff, just know it drastically slows down the blocks. If you can chip it or break it down more it would be best.
Thanks for the reply Do you use substrate from road crew land cleaning chippers and then chip it further? Have you grown shiitkae on chips with no sawdust using bags?
I was thinking of using screens in order to get a variety of particle sizes in separate piles and then mix them together on cook day. Stamets analogy of starting a fire using a mix of particle size makes a lot of sense and I have observed the same in experiments, but there are so many variable and I find it difficult to obtain a single species of tree from mills, land, power, or road clearing.
However, it is very easy to get waste material from chippers it is often very hot and steaming.
Well we chip it ourselves using a commercial chipper. so yes it is the same stuff you would be getting. When we first started out we were using much larger pieces,1"-2" and they worked just fine. Like I said though, they will take much longer to colonize and to produce full fruit weight.
We have also used a mix of wood, alder, maple, oak and wild plum. But we try and stick with as much oak as possible.
-------------------- I am a small scale farmer, come check out what we do. www.facebook.com/biocentricbros Check out our Youtube videos. www.youtube.com/biocentricbros
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wood chip
Stranger

Registered: 02/22/09
Posts: 210
Last seen: 10 years, 2 months
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Re: substrate matrix, screening, and storage [Re: nanncee]
#19104932 - 11/08/13 10:42 AM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Do you screen the material you chip or do you have another source of fine sawdust?
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drake89
Mushroom Magnate



Registered: 06/26/11
Posts: 4,168
Loc: TN
Last seen: 4 years, 10 months
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Re: substrate matrix, screening, and storage [Re: wood chip]
#19106063 - 11/08/13 02:50 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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We can get sawdust for free from a local mill and kept it sandwiched between two tarps. We used a cement mixer to add bran, water and gypsum. That's why we switched back to fuel pellets this winter, they cost money but we value our labor at $20/hr. it takes about an hour to load 50 bags with pellets, compared to 1.5hrs when we use sawdust.
If you want finer sawdust get a chipper from lowes and throw the chips in there.
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wood chip
Stranger

Registered: 02/22/09
Posts: 210
Last seen: 10 years, 2 months
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Re: substrate matrix, screening, and storage [Re: drake89]
#19107340 - 11/08/13 07:38 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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"That's why we switched back to fuel pellets this winter",
What is why?
Do Lowes chippers make chainsaw texture sawdust? I thought they make wood chips similar in size to commercial chippers.
I know tub or horizontal grinders are sometimes used on commercial farms which can be adjusted to control chips size.
Edited by wood chip (11/08/13 07:44 PM)
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