“Sorry Charlie”

While out in the woods Sunday and thinking of mushrooms, I stumbled across this edible polypore fungus. Locally called “Chicken of the Woods”. It’s also called a Sulphur Shelf mushroom. After a long drought, we’ve finally got a little rain over the past 2 days. I went back to check on it today and found it had nearly doubled in size. They are considered choice eating. I’ve never yet tried one. In a couple days I’ll probably harvest this one. Likely stir-fry it. And experimentally try a tiny piece. If I were a completely healthy person, maybe I wouldn’t be so cautious. I have to consider the well-documented history of a mildly severe allergic reaction with this species in 5-10% of the general population. I’ll let you know the outcome. Life is risk, eh?

Shiitake Surprise

Shiitake Surprise

We hiked a path less-taken in our woods yesterday and went down into a valley where we seldom walk. I'd placed a bunch of logs down there 2.5 years ago that I'd bored holes in and inoculated with mushroom mycelium. I put them in the deep valley by a small creek hoping they would get enough moisture to grow. For the first year or so, I would check them periodically to see if they were fruiting. After a while I gave up thinking they were probably dead from the summer droughts.

To my great surprise and joy, we found shiitakes sprouting from them yesterday.

We had the first harvest in some soup last night. Delicious. So much better than whatever variety we get from the grocery store.

These are the Night Velvet strain. A warm weather variety. With fall manifesting here in earnest now, I'm not sure how much more we'll get this year.

I bought the inoculate, a punch-tool and some wax daubers from Field and Forest. I happened to have some paraffin on hand to seal the holes up.

I recommend it to anyone with some smallish diameter hardwood trees that need thinning. I understand oak is best. Poplar and others will work, but aren't as productive. Just don't experiment with hickory (like me), unless you want to wait a while! Harvest the green logs in the very early spring, before they start budding. It's an inexpensive, low-maintenance way to grow something tasty.