Winecap companion planting

General Fruit Growing
81

I saw a couple random ones out there the other day.

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82

Iā€™ve seen none since we got down to the 30s F. I hope they come back in spring, I put down fresh wood chip to that bed

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83

as long as you gave them something to eat, they will be back and pop up all over the place.

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84

I am starting to think of ordering some mushrooms in my nursery orders. :grin:

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85

if you got access to oaks, id get some logs to inoculate with shitake spawn. :wink: no oaks here so i tried maple but it didnt take. maybe our winters were too cold for them.

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86

Plenty oaks. Several species. Have some 6 inchers I mean to clear for planting apples.

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87

perfect! id get the loose spawn with the inoculator tool. i read the colonized pegs dont work.

88

If you have a source for wheat or oat straw thatā€™s the best medium for starting a bed. Once the mycelium starts spreading in the straw add your hardwood chips or sawdust, the wood chips hold more volume to consume so they do a good job of feeding for a more durable bed that can last several years, especially if you keep adding chips or straw. The bed is best kept for early morning sun and shade remainder of the day. So underneath and eastern facing shade is ideal. Early spring is the best time to innoculate a new bed
Dennis
Kent wa

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89

Thanks for source
Dennis

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90

I couldnā€™t find oak! I looked for two years nearly

I threw all the shiitake spawn into the woodchips - thereā€™s maple in there so we did get one or two over the summer. hoping they may come back too in spring.

I laid the spawn for the winecap right on the dirt and covered with woodchipsa few inches deep, a little straw on top to help hold moisture in

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91

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Shitaki on sugar maple. I didnā€™t think they took, but 2 years later, bam!

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92

Glad you posted that. Mine are going on their second year and losing hope.

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93

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I had given up hope. Woodpeckers had torn out the spawn, and other fungus started growing on the logs. These are chestnut mushrooms.

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94

I think that they usually take more than 1 year, but then last for many years.

John S
PDX OR

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95

They do last many year, unless you soak them with water to make them flush more than normal. My brother in law grew mushrooms on logs & would force them to flush & that will turn a five year log into a one or two year log. It is like a light in the hen house will make hen lay more eggs per year, but for less years.

96

wine caps will continue to grow for many years as long as you give them fresh mulch every spring. mine flushed for 7 years before pettering out. just dont put them near your wood raised beds or the mycelium will eat the wood.

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97

@steveb4 When do you usually start seeing your first flush of the year?

98

last year i put Italian oyster into the bed where the winecap were showing up less and Iā€™ve already had a few pop up. no winecap yet though

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99

I just need to ask, specifically if you get your chips from chip-dropā€¦ you might not know what the chips are or if any unwanted sorts of pesticides were used on things in your delivery. Is this not a concern when growing mushrooms for eating? Are the mushrooms going to uptake toxicity and possibly affect you?

100

itā€™s very unlikely chip-drop is spraying chips with pesticides. That would be something you do to add value and not something you do when your giving chips away to save an arborist money.

Though there is cause to be concerned if your chips are coming with lawn clippings.

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