How to Grow Mushrooms on an Old Stump

Shiitake and oyster mushrooms are easy to grow in a small outdoor area. All you need is access to some healthy hardwood, such as oak, and mushroom spawn. Mushroom spawn is commercially available and ready to use. After the initial set-up of the logs, growing mushrooms is not labor intensive. The logs will produce mushrooms for more than one harvest, and if you have an indoor area where you can store the logs in cold weather, you can harvest mushrooms year-around.

Oak logs
Drill
Mushroom spawn
Paraffin
Paintbrush

Instructions

- 1
  Cut a selection of oak logs that are between 3 and 8 inches in diameter. The logs should be healthy, with no signs of decay, and the bark should be in good condition.
- 2
  Drill holes in each log, spacing the holes between 6 and 8 inches apart. Leave approximately 4 inches between each row. Leaving adequate room between rows increases the success rate of the inoculation.
- 3
  Insert the mushroom spawn. You can purchase spawn in sawdust, plugs and dowels. It is important to insert the spawn into the holes as soon as they are drilled. This will prevent other types of fungi from contaminating the holes.
- 4
  Melt paraffin in a saucepan, and use the melted wax and a paintbrush to seal the holes.
- 5
  Stack the logs in a shady, moist environment. When white growth develops on the ends of the logs it means that the mushroom spawn had spread through the log. You can allow the mushrooms to develop at a natural pace at this point, or force them by soaking in water overnight.
- 6
  Harvest the mushrooms by twisting each mushroom off at the base of the plant.

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