mushroom logs

I forced a couple of my logs to give me a flush of shiitake mushrooms.

 

I drilled and plugged logs with small dowels colonized with shiitake mycelium then inserted them into the holes drilled into logs. It take a while ...a entire warm season for the log to become colonized so basically a year. Water the logs well every 2 weeks or so and keep them in a shady spot. While the "spawn run" or colonizing is happening. After the initial year as long as the logs didn't dry out. They can just sit around and wait for spring and fall weather and rains to fruit naturally or they can be forcefully fruited by shocking them in a cold water soak for 24 hours. This can only be done about every 2 months as the mycelium will need to digest more wood. The logs can last and produce mushrooms for years of you keep them hydrated and maintained. Also once colonized freezing weather doesn't hurt the logs. Another thing the wood needs to be cut fresh in the last of winter then innoculated as spring is arriving. Can be grown indoor or outdoor.

 

Here is the final count ...well 2 are left on log. Now to figure out what to make with them ...ideas?