Grey Oyster Mushroom - Mycelium on Organic Wood Dowels

Pleurotus ostreatus

It is also called the winter oyster mushroom, because it naturally fruits during this period.

For more information, we recommend reading our guide: "Log Cultivation"

How to inoculate logs with mycelium on wooden dowels?

The optimal periods to inoculate the logs are autumn, winter, and early spring, before the sap rises.

Our quality commitment:

We produce our myceliums under laboratory conditions, which guarantees purity of strains and optimal quality.

We produce our myceliums in a 100% organic way and all our products are certified "BE-BIO-01, Agriculture Belgium" by CERTISYS.

Necessary equipment

• Log or recently cut block of wood (max 3 months). Avoid resinous woods. Most hardwoods are suitable. Contact us if you want more specific information. Log diameter: between 10 and 25 cm. Length: between 50 and 150 cm.
• Mycelium on dowels: For a length of 1 m, multiply the diameter of a log by 2.5. Example: a log 1 m long and 20 cm wide requires 20 x 2.5 = 50 dowels.
• Drill and 8-9 mm bit
• Hammer
• Optional : vegetable wax, beeswax, paraffin, or green clay to cover the holes.

Instructions

* Store your dowels in the fridge until use (maximum 3 months);

* Wash your hands before touching the mycelium to maximize the chances of success;

* Drill holes in your log using a drill. The holes should be slightly deeper than the height of the dowel. Space the holes about 10 cm apart. A 1m long log requires about 50 dowels;

* Insert the dowels into the holes using a hammer. The dowels should not protrude from the holes;

* Cover with wax. The wax protects the mycelium from insects and diseases as well as from drying out. Alternatively, you can also use paraffin, cheese wax, or green clay;

* Be patient: Place your logs in a shaded area sheltered from the wind. Avoid direct contact with the ground which could bring small insects and contamination. You can, for example, place them on a pallet covered with a tarp. In case of heat, occasionally pour a watering can of water on the logs to prevent them from drying out. For this first incubation phase, the logs can be stacked. After 3 to 6 months, you can space them out and bury them one-third in the soil so they can absorb water from the ground. Oyster mushrooms generally appear at the end of autumn and the beginning of spring.

* Harvest and enjoy your production. A log made under good conditions can produce mushrooms for 3 to 5 years. The mycelium can be stored for 1 month or more in the fridge before use.  

For more information, we recommend reading our guide: "Log Cultivation"

Notes

The optimal periods to inoculate the logs are autumn, winter, and early spring, before the sap rises.

The main enemy of this cultivation is dryness: cover the wood with a tarp or veil if necessary to maintain the moisture of the logs, especially during incubation.

We prepare our bags by weight, so there may be slight variations compared to the indicated number.

We inoculate the dowels with a mixture of grains and wood shavings. It is therefore normal to have some sawdust mixed with the dowels. This remaining sawdust can also serve as inoculum.