This time of year the big topic of conversation in spring is maple sugaring. The trees get tapped and then it’s a mad rush to get the sap in and boiled down. For us, our big rush is to get out and cut our Shiitake logs for spring inoculation. We have been harvesting oak logs off the State woodlot because we do not have oak on our property and oak works best for growing the mushroom.
The state agent marks the trees for us and then we go in, drop them, measure 36” sections and then cut them up. Anything from 4” to 10” in diameter. We then carry them on our mule UTV to the trailer by the road and then to the Heron Mushroom yard.
Oak is dense and heavy and this job is not for the faint of heart. It definitely is a labor of love for the fungi and the pleasure of consuming the mushroom. We generally will inoculate in the neighborhood of 500 logs a season. We started last week but this week seems to be a rain out. Hopefully we can get it finished next week.