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Post by philagardener on Mar 4, 2016 19:59:57 GMT -6
I have had great luck starting Shiitakes from sawdust spawn on oak. First fruiting was about a year, but I have consistently had 3-4 flushes each growing season since. Good luck!
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Post by Heavy Hitter Okra on Mar 4, 2016 23:11:51 GMT -6
philagardener,
What part of the Country are you located?
Do you grow your Shiitakes indoors, or outdoors?
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Post by philagardener on Mar 5, 2016 13:29:45 GMT -6
I'm located outside of Philadelphia. I had a couple of large oak trees taken down and simply used the large trunk pieces. Drilled 1" holes 2-3" deep and packed with spawn, and then sealed with cheese wax. About a year later this is what I got :>)
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Post by Heavy Hitter Okra on Mar 5, 2016 17:54:19 GMT -6
philagardener,
Thanks for posting the photo.
NICE!
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Post by philagardener on Mar 5, 2016 18:59:53 GMT -6
Thanks - I hope you have good luck with yours as well!
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Post by Heavy Hitter Okra on Mar 5, 2016 20:52:53 GMT -6
Philagardener,
I believe George has been at it for most of the day, drilling, and seeding oak logs with Shiitake Mushroom spores.
I'm looking forward to hearing of his success this Fall when it cools off, after the spores have had all Summer to grow their mycelium.
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Post by Heavy Hitter Okra on Mar 15, 2016 10:26:09 GMT -6
Today is March 15, 2016. It's been getting into the high 70s for the past two days, so it could end up being an early season for morels this year? I just looked at the Morel Mushroom Hunting Club 2016 mushroom map, and saw they are already finding small grays in Southern Oklahoma. Here in Tahlequah, we are usually within a two week period of the first finds in Oklahoma. Check out the map at their website: morelmushroomhunting.com/morel_progression_sightings_map.htm
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Post by Heavy Hitter Okra on Mar 18, 2016 7:20:28 GMT -6
I just got my 4th annual morel mushroom spores in the mail yesterday. There is a note on the package that says to let them "rest" for two days, before planting. So, they are in the crisper drawer of my refrigerator, "resting".
Man, if you want to make two days seem like an eternity, just take something that you're aching to get planted, and put it in the refrigerator for two days!
On the bright side... I did manage to get all one hundred of my sugar maple trees planted along the creek, while I was waiting for the spores to "rest".
I think my next project will be muscadine grapes.
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Post by Heavy Hitter Okra on Mar 21, 2016 16:18:16 GMT -6
Today is March 21st. Morels have been reported as far North as Oklahoma City today, but our soil temperatures in Tahlequah are still too cool for morels here. Last night dropped down into the mid to low 20s depending on your elevation. It's hard to say when we'll have more favorable conditions? It looks like it may still be a couple weeks out?
I finally got my 4th generation morel spores planted out today. Maybe, I'll be harvesting them in about two more years. They are kind of like planting asparagus; you've got to be looking way ahead when you make that commitment.
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Post by Heavy Hitter Okra on Mar 24, 2016 8:00:47 GMT -6
I dug a few two foot deep holes yesterday, and planted some muscadine grape vines right before the thunderstorm. I planted them with fresh top soil against the roots, then packed in fresh mulch of green henbit, chickweed, dead oak leaves, and side dressed them with chicken litter, and hog manure. The rain soaked them in really well.
Just before I planted the muscadines, I planted some more morel mushroom spawn around some old dead and dying elm trees at the North edge of the woods. The ground there by the creek is all silt. I dressed the holes with mulch the same as I did the muscadines, except no manure. In a few more years, I should have mushrooms, and variety of pawpaw trees, apple, pear, peach, apricot, paper shell pecans, walnuts, sugar maple, and plums, growing everywhere.
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Post by Heavy Hitter Okra on Apr 1, 2016 14:08:14 GMT -6
April 12th was the first good morel mushroom hunting day last year... Today, is April 1st, so maybe in the next week or so, things will start heating up out in the woods! The Morel Mushroom Hunting Club's USA Morel Progression Map, says people all over the State of Oklahoma are finding Morel Mushrooms today!!! morelmushroomhunting.com/morel_progression_sightings_map.htm
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Post by h on Apr 5, 2016 20:24:41 GMT -6
Don Ogle of Moodys found the first morels Saturday afternoon in an undisclosed Cherokee County, Oklahoma location, but he said there were not enough there to mess with yet. He'll keep an eye on them.
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Post by Heavy Hitter Okra on Apr 6, 2016 14:26:22 GMT -6
I was down by the Illinois River this afternoon, looking for morels in a spot where I've had some luck in years past, but it was too dusty dry there, and wind swept. The winds have been blowing 20 to 30 mph for two or three days now.
It's been too cold, windy, and dry.
We need a good, soaking rain to bring the mushrooms, but have none in the immediate forecast.
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Post by Heavy Hitter Okra on Apr 13, 2016 20:03:00 GMT -6
Today is April 13th 2016... Still no morels worth mentioning, but there is more rain in the forecast for next week. That, coupled with warmer temperatures (in the mid 70s) starting tomorrow afternoon, might possibly bring on the harvest (I hope).
Asparagus is just now starting to get serious about popping up, usually morels follow the same pattern.
Poke is coming in lightly, and wild onions are making flower buds, but have not yet opened.
Sheep Sorrel is ahead of schedule, and already in full flower in some places along the Illinois River, but just now breaking ground farther away from the water, where temperatures fluctuate more, without the large body of water nearby acting as a giant heat sink.
I'm going to guess morels are probably cropping up on the West edge of Cherokee County, in the woods of Sequoyah Park, along highway 51, but I've not been there yet to confirm my suspicions.
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Post by heavy hitter okra on Mar 6, 2017 18:14:10 GMT -6
March 6th, 2017---Morel Mushroom Report Cherokee County, Oklahoma.
What a crazy year! It's 72 degrees outside at 6:00 pm. It has been as high as 81 degrees this month already. A few days in mid-February also reached as high as 80. The ambient temperature of the soil in the deep woods, in the lowest places, out of direct sunlight, is 59 degrees down to 5" inches deep. Surface soil temperatures in the deep woods is 63 degrees down to 1" inch deep.
Soil temperatures in direct light are as high as 63 degrees down to 5" inches deep.
It's dry and windy. There was a 40 mph wind today. Cherokee County is listed as one of 55 Counties in Oklahoma currently eligible for disaster relief by the Farm Service Agency due to drought.
Tonight, we stand a 90% chance of severe thunderstorms, so maybe we'll be getting a break from the dry weather soon.
It is possible to start seeing morels once soil temperatures reach 53 degrees, however, that depends on soil moisture content. Morels are reported to have been sighted in parts of Oklahoma already, but not here, due to arid soil conditions and high winds.
Hopefully, next week will bring a better report.
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