Why grow mushrooms on logs?

Mushroom Logs are a sustainable practise and offer a wealth of exotic varieties that can be grown, such as Shiitake, Lion's Mane and White Oyster. Cultivating mushrooms this way is a rewarding experience that rewards your taste buds with tasty mushrooms often not found within the supermarkets.

With mushroom log cultivation, we are harnessing a waste and underutilized resource and turning this into an edible food source, if a tree has fallen or branches pruned, this is the perfect use for them.

Growing mushrooms on logs in a low risk, easy way of mushroom growing, albeit slow compared to our mushroom growing kits, once setup you can just leave them to their own devices and the mushrooms will grow overtime.

What types of mushrooms can I grow in the UK?

We sell Lion's Mane, Shiitake and White Oyster spawn plugs, we have selected these varieties as they will grow well within the UK Climate, for example we wouldn't be able to grow pink oyster mushrooms on logs in the UK as they are an exotic species and the outside temperatures drop too low in this country!

We sell Lion's Mane, Shiitake and White Oyster spawn plugs, we have selected these varieties as they will grow well within the UK Climate, for example we wouldn't be able to grow pink oyster mushrooms on logs in the UK as they are an exotic species and the outside temperatures drop too low in this country!

What equipment do I need to inoculate logs with mushrooms?

You will need an electric drill, an 8mm drill bit, Merryhill Mushrooms inoculated spawn plugs, wax to seal the holes and something to melt your wax in.

What types of logs are best to grow mushrooms on?

Your log should be 15-20cm in diameter and around 1 meter in length.
> Hardwood is best (oak, beech, birch, alder, ash, elm etc).

> Fruit trees (apple, plum, cherry etc) are also good but will take longer to fruit.

> Soft wood / pines / conifers cannot be used due to their natural anti-fungal properties.

It is best to plant the spawn plugs on logs that are freshly cut from a living tree, it is best to give a gap of 2-8 weeks otherwise the logs will be naturally resistant to the fungal spawn plugs that you plant on your logs. Older than 8 weeks can result in a log already being present with a rival mycelium which could outfight your own desired species of mushroom.

It is of great importance that the logs you use are freshly cut from a living tree somewhere between 2 to 8 weeks when you use them. Using them earlier than 2 weeks can result in residual antifungal components of the tree stopping your plugs growth and older than 8 weeks risks that other mycelium present in the wood and environment take over the log.

We recommend the logs should be used between 2-8 weeks after cutting from a living tree.

How to setup my mushroom growing log.

Once received your should refrigerate your outdoor log growing kit spawn to ensure the mycelium remains healthy and viable. The plugs can be used any time throughout the year.

Once you have the correct log cut and ready to use you should drill holes all around the log, typically 5/6 rows of plugs should be drilled on each log, it is best to off set these rather than these being in a flat line to ensure even colonisation of the log.

Hammer in the plugs so that they are flush with the log surface then sealed these holes and any other wounds on the log with the melted wax.

The now plugged logs should be placed somewhere shaded and given a soak with water when it is dry throughout the summer months, taking 12-18 months to fully colonise.

When is it best to inoculate my logs with mushroom plugs?

You can start logs at any time of the year but spring and autumn are slightly better as the increased rain helps the mycelium get established. If starting in the summer, you will need to supply extra water weekly if there is a lack of rain.

When can I expect mushrooms to start growing?

The mycelium needs time to colonise the log and that can take anywhere between 1 and 2 years, Once the log is fully colonised mushrooms will grow after rain for 3-5 years.