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There are many different ways you can grow mushrooms yourself. Many growers like to grow mushrooms themselves using buckets, bags, or other efficient methods. Some people also like to grow mushrooms outside. In this guide, we’ll be showing you how to grow mushrooms on a log.
Of course, not all mushrooms can grow on logs easily. Many mushrooms grow out of soil or other materials better than they grow on logs. But, there are a few key mushrooms in the mushroom kingdom that grow best on logs.
The first step is identifying which mushrooms grow on logs.
Which mushrooms grow on logs?
While many mushrooms can grow on logs in nature, some mushrooms need very specific conditions to actually grow successfully on logs. In some cases, some mushrooms require years of colonization inside a tree before they actually grow.
The easiest and best mushrooms to grow out of logs are oyster mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms.
Oyster mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms grow very well out of wood. The wood provides enough nutrition and support for the mushrooms, and they can grow very strong out of wood.
For the purposes of this guide, we will be covering how to grow oyster mushrooms on logs. This is because oyster mushrooms are strong against contamination and they grow very well!
Learning how to grow mushrooms on a log will be tricky at first, so try to make things easier for yourself and go with a very general mushroom such as oyster mushrooms. If you make things complicated, you may risk wasting time or running into early failures.
Required materials to grow oyster mushrooms on a log
Spore syringe
The first thing you’ll need are oyster mushroom spores. These can be found in abundance online, and are very easy to buy and ship to your house. We recommend browsing Amazon.com for oyster mushroom spores. There are many sellers!
Oyster mushroom spores will most commonly come in the form of spore syringes. These are small plastic syringes that contain liquid with the spores inside of the liquid. They are very easy to use, all you have to do is lightly press on the plunger and the spore liquid will drip out.
You can also use spawn plugs instead of mushroom spore syringes. These are material that are pre-inoculated with mushroom spores that you can simply drive into your log, and then they will spawn into the log. These can be a great alternative to spore syringes and may be more reliable.
We recommend using either spore syringes or plug spawns for growing mushrooms on a log. Otherwise, you will risk contamination or other problems. These are the most reliable ways.
Hot wax or heavy duty plastic
You will need access to wax that you will heat up and use to cover the holes on the log that you fill with your spores. This is very important, as it protects the mycelium and mushrooms from outside contamination and it also keeps the moisture inside the log.
You will need to to be able to heat up the wax and immediately place it over the holes that you will drill later on in this guide.
It’s also possible to cover the entire log in plastic or some other wrap which will allow the spores to colonize the log and still be safe from contamination. You will keep them wrapped until it is time to fruit the mushrooms.
Choosing a log to grow oysters on
You will also, of course, need to find a log that will support your oyster mushrooms! In common practice, many different types of trees will work. But remember, not all trees are made the same. Some trees have dense wood, and others are lighter which provide more air pockets for the mushrooms to grow and colonize.
The best type of tree to grow oyster mushrooms with will be white birch log. You can, however, attempt to use another type log such as oak, maple, or willow. These will all theoretically work well, as long as you follow the rest of the steps closely.
Choosing a healthy log for mushroom growing
It’s important you find a freshly cut, healthy log or tree that you plan to use for growing your oyster mushrooms. Don’t use a log that is already rotting or dying, as these will already contain other fungi or molds that will contaminate and ruin your grow.
Try to find a freshly cut log that was healthy when it was cut down.
Reminder: If you choose a log that is very large, long, or otherwise heavy, it will be hard to move it in the right place. Try to find a small-to-medium size log to grow on.
Finding a log around you to grow with
There are a few ways you can go about finding a log for growing mushrooms with. We recommend searching around your local businesses for any woodworkers, logging companies, or even a garden store.
If you start asking around, someone will probably refer you to where you can find a birch log or other type. Should you already live in an area with woods, you can even find your own log out in nature!
If you have a tree stump in your backyard or area, you can even use this for the mushroom growing process!
Gardening equipment for growing mushrooms on logs
The last thing you will want to make sure you have are some general tools that you may have already on-hand for gardening or landscaping outdoors. These tools will be things like a shovel and a trowel.
We highly recommend you use a drill for the process of growing mushrooms on logs. You will need a drill for when it’s time to cut holes in your log to put the mushroom spores in. There are other ways you can make small, long holes in logs, but a drill is best.
We also recommend having a strong pair of gardening gloves that will protect your hands while you carry and move around a potentially large log.
Lastly, you will need a way to transport water for all mushroom growing activities. A basic garden sprinkler bucket will work fine, or a large spray bottle that you can fill with water.
How to grow mushrooms on a log: Preparing your log
Outdoor conditions for mushroom growing
Since you are growing your mushrooms in a log outside, you will want the outdoor conditions to be ideal for mushroom growing.
This means you should grow your mushrooms in the springtime or summertime. In the winter, mushrooms can’t grow due to the extreme cold conditions.
Secondly, you will want to keep your logs in one place throughout the growing process. This matters a lot, because mushrooms (oyster mushrooms) don’t always like a lot of sunlight. Oftentimes, a mild amount of sunlight is best, so find a shady area to place your log.
You will also want a water source nearby to be able to regularly add water to your log once the grow begins. Make sure you have a clean river, stream, or garden hose tap nearby.
For the best setup, we recommend laying your logs up against a wall or another wooden structure. This helps keep drainage proper, and it also will keep your log from picking up any unwanted contaminants from the ground.
Preparing your log for inoculation
Once you have your healthy log in your yard or outdoor area and you are preparing your mushroom grow in the right season, you are ready to prepare the log.
Take your healthy log and begin by drilling holes equally throughout the log about 6-12 inches apart. These holes are where you will place your mushroom spores from your syringe. See this example:
You can make many holes, almost as much as you want without compromising the wood or structure of the log. The more holes and spores or plugs you fill, the more mushrooms you will have. It can also speed up the colonization process by having many holes inoculated in the log.
Once you’ve cut the holes, then take your spore syringe and drop a few drops from the spore syringe into the holes. You will want to use about 3-4 drops per hole, and you may have some left over. With mushroom spores, more is not always better.
Now that your holes are filled with either your mushroom spores or your mushroom spawn plugs, you will need to cover the holes with wax or wrap the entire log in protective plastic.
This is very important, because it will keep the log safe from any outside issues while the mushroom mycelium is growing and taking over the log for nutrition. If you skip this step, your grow can very easily be ruined by outside contamination or bugs.
Growing mushrooms on a log: Colonization and fruiting
Now, since logs are so large, it will take a long time for the mushroom mycelium to completely overtake the log and be able to fruit mushrooms. You will need to wait around 6-8 months in this initial, protected stage for the mushrooms to colonize a log.
Watering your mushroom growing log
You will need to completely water the entire log once or twice a week throughout this entire process in order to keep the growing mycelium effectively wet. Without this, you risk killing the mycelium. If you are in an area with regular rain, this can help you from having to manually water the logs all the time.
Remember, sometimes growing mushrooms can take a very long time. Mushrooms like to take their time to fully colonize a material before they begin to fruit, so be patient with this. In growing mushrooms on logs, patience is rewarding because you can get many, many mushrooms for years to come from this process.
Fruiting mushrooms out of the log
Once the mushrooms have comfortably colonized the wood material, they will eventually produce mushrooms from the sides of the log. Chances are, one log will produce many flushes of mushrooms.
Always try to harvest your mushrooms right when they reach maximum length, which depends on the mushroom you are growing. The longer they sit, the more stale they become. Always harvest properly, or you risk your work going to waste.
Store your mushrooms or begin grinding them up immediately, depending on your purposes for growing mushrooms.
Again, the same log may fruit many, many flushes of mushrooms for a couple of years to come! Keep up the process and this will work out just fine.
We have a detailed article with a section on harvesting mushrooms carefully here.
Conclusion
In this guide, we presented an overview of how to grow mushrooms on a log. This can be a fruitful and fun process to do at home with your family or friends. Who doesn’t like freshly grown mushrooms?
We recommend following this guide as closely and carefully as you can. This will ensure you unlock the most potential for your mushroom growing.
If at first you fail with this process, try again! Growing mushrooms takes time to understand, and patience is very key. So keep trying!
