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theonceandfuture
Young Man of the Woods
Registered: 12/11/13
Posts: 41
Last seen: 7 years, 4 months
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Chaga Farming, on actual trees. Any experiences?
#22670915 - 12/18/15 07:20 AM (8 years, 2 months ago) |
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I've been in the chaga business for some years now. I used to brush off people who would question the sustainability of wild harvesting chaga, but as the years go on and pressure increases as more and more pickers get involved; I am starting to get concerned about the future of wild chaga.
The most obvious solution is to start cultivating it, and I feel like I'm in a unique position to do so; having started my 'mushroom career' as a mid-sized gourmet mushroom farmer.
I am wondering if anyone has any experience with inoculating live birch trees with chaga mycelium, chaga conk material, or even bits of chaga fruitbody?
We have attempted this with bits of the inner material from the chaga conk, but it has not been successful. I have an amount of collected chaga fruitbodies that I will try in the spring, and that failing I will try actual chaga cultured mycelium.
Any experience from anyone along these lines would be very appreciated.
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dhype773
Enter the Void


Registered: 10/29/15
Posts: 2,182
Loc: Valhalla
Last seen: 6 years, 3 months
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Re: Chaga Farming, on actual trees. Any experiences? [Re: theonceandfuture]
#22671117 - 12/18/15 09:00 AM (8 years, 2 months ago) |
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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inonotus_obliquus. Scroll down to cultivation, you should find a decent knowledge base to kick start your research with. Best of luck!
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knomadic_niki
A mile high



Registered: 06/30/14
Posts: 1,275
Loc: 6200' Colorado
Last seen: 6 years, 6 months
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Re: Chaga Farming, on actual trees. Any experiences? [Re: dhype773]
#22671561 - 12/18/15 11:34 AM (8 years, 2 months ago) |
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you'd be infecting the trees with a disease that could eventually kill them...but i suspect you know that. i'd have ethical issues with that kind of meddling. but to each their own....
-------------------- My trade list In search of sporeless oyster cultures
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theonceandfuture
Young Man of the Woods
Registered: 12/11/13
Posts: 41
Last seen: 7 years, 4 months
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Re: Chaga Farming, on actual trees. Any experiences? [Re: knomadic_niki]
#22672774 - 12/18/15 04:37 PM (8 years, 2 months ago) |
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Chaga doesn't kill its host. It won't sporulate until the tree is dead, but the trees run their natural life span first. Birches aren't usually particularly long lived trees in any case.
The one context I have heard of people inoculating trees with chaga was to protect them from other types of blight.
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knomadic_niki
A mile high



Registered: 06/30/14
Posts: 1,275
Loc: 6200' Colorado
Last seen: 6 years, 6 months
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Re: Chaga Farming, on actual trees. Any experiences? [Re: theonceandfuture]
#22672803 - 12/18/15 04:48 PM (8 years, 2 months ago) |
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i hadn't heard of that. something about intentionally spreading an infection to living trees sounds weird to me. interested to hear how it goes, though...
-------------------- My trade list In search of sporeless oyster cultures
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sauroman1
Emrys

Registered: 03/22/14
Posts: 206
Loc: Shangrila
Last seen: 2 days, 5 hours
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Re: Chaga Farming, on actual trees. Any experiences? [Re: knomadic_niki]
#25416515 - 08/27/18 10:06 AM (5 years, 5 months ago) |
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it's just tree, not conscious animal so I see nothing wrong in inoculating trees. Besides there are many parasites in nature.
-------------------- "You come from realms of unimaginable power and light, and you will return to those realms.” ― Terence McKenna
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The Common Man
The peasantry

Registered: 07/26/17
Posts: 79
Loc: Canada
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Re: Chaga Farming, on actual trees. Any experiences? [Re: sauroman1]
#25416689 - 08/27/18 12:00 PM (5 years, 5 months ago) |
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You will need to culture the chaga on agar before you do anything. once its clean and on agar you can inoculate a jar or two of wooden dowels. once you have clean growth on dowels you can inoculate live trees with dowels...the number of dowels per tree i'm not exactly sure of. I have some chaga on trees at my family property and culturing the chaga isn't all that difficult but getting it to be clean is a different story. I have read that it will take about 5 . years before seeing any growth. I wont lecture you on environmental ethics since that is your personal choice and decision. So best of luck with your venture!
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