Off Grid Food Sources: Making Mushroom Logs

In many off grid applications a natural source of wood is nearby. growing food and being surrounded by trees and shade can be a blessing when it comes to growing other food sources which do not rely on sun for growth. Mushrooms! You don't always have to clear land for a garden if shade is all you have. We are new to growing mushrooms shiitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms and bear's head mushrooms..This is our first year and are doing diy mushroom logs but in our first year we are going to be attempting to grow 4 different mushrooms: shiitake ( 2 varieties ), oyster and bear's head mushrooms. We are very excited to say the least and in this video we take you through all of the steps to cultivate mushrooms to give your mushrooms all of the conditions which they need to grow into a delicious gourmet mushroom. What type of wood you use for each mushroom variety is important. Hardwood vs softwood trees as a growth medium? Where should I grow my mushrooms? How do I inoculate logs so mushrooms can grow? We take you through all of these questions and talk about locations; wood types for particular mushrooms as well as actually doing the work! The work itself starts with us cutting down some hardwood to grow our shiitake and oyster mushrooms from spore plugs. Then we wander into the woods near our place to try to locate the perfect spot for growing mushrooms: high humidity and dappled light..we find a couple of locations ( but choose the one which is closest to the house ) and then we get to drilling our logs ( after properly marking our drill bit for depth ), inserting our 4 types of plugs into the wood appropriate growth medium ( the log ) and finally sealing things up with melted soy wax. Finally we stack our logs into a configuration to optimize shade and moisture retention...and we are on to waiting for delicious mushrooms! Of course we will need to monitor and water..but the hard work is done! Blog: https://eagergridlessbeaver.wordpress.com/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/eagergridlessbeaver