Organic Shiitake Mushroom Plug Spawn

Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) is a nutritious mushroom that produces medium-to-large, brown, umbrella-shaped caps that tend to fruit throughout the summer to fall growing season. They are a delicious edible fungus from East Asia and their flavor is often described as rich, savory, buttery, and umami.

Shiitake tends to produce generous flushes and they are a great mushroom for beginners. They colonize quickly and are the most reliable producers of any species.

Note: Dowel may be fluted or spiral. Aside from being kiln dried, our wooden dowels are not treated in any other way.

Shiitake wood chart:

BEST WOOD SPECIES*
Alder, Beech, Hophornbeam, Hornbeam, Hard Maple, Oak, Sweetgum

OTHER SUITABLE SPECIES
Basswood, Birch, Chestnut, Eucalyptus, Hickory, Soft Maple, Pecan, Sassafrass, Sycamore, Tuliptree, Tupelo, Willow

AVOID
Ash, Aspen, Black Walnut, Cottonwood, Elm, Hemlock, Peach, Pear, Pine

Ideal project size:

Plug spawn is ideal for smaller projects of 1-10 logs, though some log cultivators will use them for larger projects.

That’s not mold, it’s mycelium!

Your kit includes plug spawn colonized with mushroom mycelium. It may appear covered with a soft, white, mold-like substance – that’s the mushroom mycelium! It is completely normal. The mycelium of some species is more prominent than others.