Lyle, my boss, is an interesting man. Besides being the CEO of our company, he has started a company to manufacture biofuel, and he has a company that makes metal sculptures. So when he said we should grow shiitake mushrooms, I said “sure”.

The process starts with a few hardwood logs and a package of mushroom spores.

Shiitake spawn is shipped on small dowel rods that have rings cut into them. It’s white, and not quite a powder. It sort of has the consistancy of toothpaste that fell on the counter and was left to dry for a few days.

Taking a 5/16th drill bit, you drill numerous holes in your hardwood logs. My cordless drill gave up the ghost quickly, so corded drills are your best bet, like the one Lyle is using:

Lyle’s sons, Arlo and Zafer, helped out quite a bit. Once some of the holes were drilled, they got busy hammering the spawn into them (this is Arlo – Zafer avoided my camera).

Finally, in order to keep moisture in, you cover the spot where you innoculated the log with beeswax:

We finished as it was getting dark, and moved the logs to the north side of the building. In six to twelve short months, we shall have some good eats. Since we did most of the work, Lyle, Arlo, Zafer and I have dibs.