It is important to remember that the mycelium is adversely affected by lack of moisture inside the log and/or high temperature. The logs must be prevented from drying out inside and from overheating. This can be achieved by keeping them under the forest canopy and watering when necessary. Shade can be natural, as under trees or bushes, or man-made, as under a porch or breathable shade cloth. The logs should not be exposed to hours of direct sunlight, especially in the later afternoon; breathable shade cloth, burlap, or even cedar boughs can be sued to protect logs from direct sunlight. Dehydration can be avoided by exposure to natural rainfall or by manually watering – soaking or sprinkling. During a drought you may have to water the logs on a regular basis to prevent them from drying out. However, sprinkling logs for short intervals on a regular basis (like a garden) will result in de-barking and will shorten the life of the log. The integrity of the bark must be maintained because it is the ‘skin’ of the log – it keeps moisture in and other organisms out. The bark is negatively affected by UV rays and by constant wet/dampness.

Another potential problem is debarking – handle logs to minimize damage to the bark.

A natural fruiting will generally occur in the early spring following an intensive rainfall event. To get predictable mushroom harvests the logs must be ‘forced’. Logs can be ‘forced’ to fruit at 8-week intervals by soaking or sprinkling for 24 to 48 hours (diameter and age of log determines soaking/sprinkling time; older more porous logs and thinner logs require shorter soaking/sprinkling times). The logs can also be physically “shocked”. This can be achieved either by movement, or by dropping them to the ground as you harvest. Some growers even hit the logs on the end with a hammer to induce fruiting. Large commercial growers control fruiting to avoid having all logs producing at the same time; they cover some of their logs to protect from rainfall and sprinkle some in batches.

Logs can also be put into metal racks and moved by tractor to soaking tanks, but this is problematic as the logs will float; to prevent floating the logs have to be put into the tank in racks prior to filling with water. Small growers can achieve this by forcing several logs at a time; cover some logs to protect from rainfall and sprinkle/soak several logs at a time. Another option is to stand them in clean garbage cans or tanks filled with water; logs must be weighted with a brick or stone so they won’t float. If using municipal chlorinated water you can fill the can and let it stand for 24 hours before putting the log/s in but this is difficult because the log will pop up/float. Soaking logs in a pond can be a problem since the logs will float and may not soak through. Sprinkling is the best option.

NOTE: We advise cultivators to wait until one ‘natural’ fruiting has occurred before ‘forcing’ the logs to fruit.

Approximately a week after soaking or irrigation the logs will start to pin. From the time you see little mushroom ‘pins’ coming out, to maturity, depends on the ambient temperature and humidity. Spring and fall growth is usually slow but summer mushrooms can mature in a couple of days. The mushrooms should be harvested shortly after the veil has broken under the cap revealing the gills. Following harvesting the logs should be left alone so the mycelium can re-energize itself by digesting more wood lignan. This means six to eight weeks rest and then the soaking/sprinkling can be repeated. Using this management regime the logs can produce 3 to 4 harvests per season yielding up to a total of 1 Kilogram of mushrooms per year. Less frequent soakings, which allows time for the mycelium to store more nutrients between harvests, will generally produce larger mushrooms. Harvest Shiitake when cap is well formed and gills have separated from stalk. Harvest Oysters when clumps are well formed and caps have not flattened. Harvest Lion’s Mane when clumps are well formed and quite firm.