FOR-81: Kentucky Shiitake Production Workbook: Inoculation

Deborah Hill | March 23, 2011 (Minor Revision)

To begin the process of shiitake mushroom production, you must "sow the seed" just as you would with any other agronomic crop. For shiitake, the "seed" is called spawn and consists of the mushroom spores mixed with sawdust (for sawdust spawn) or wood (for dowel spawn) and a little grain to add a higher level of carbohydrate for the organism to feed on.

FOR-85: Shiitake Production: Harvesting

Deborah Hill | March 23, 2011 (Minor Revision)

If you started with live spawn from a reputable supplier and freshly cut logs from living hardwood trees, your logs should be ready to produce shiitake mushrooms after 6 to 18 months of incubation.

FOR-78: Introduction to Shiitake: The Forest Mushroom

Deborah Hill | February 3, 2011 (Minor Revision)

Shiitake mushrooms may prove to be a new commodity that will provide some economic return on small diameter wood from private woodlands that otherwise would be used only for firewood.

FOR-80: Shiitake Production: Spawn Selection

Deborah Hill | February 3, 2011 (Minor Revision)

Shiitake mushrooms are like any other plant crop--they must be started from "seed." For mushrooms, this process begins when the mushroom's spores (normally located in the cap on the underside between the gills) are mixed with nutrients and a cellulose source, usually hardwood sawdust.

FOR-82: Shiitake Production: Monitoring Moisture Content of Logs

Deborah Hill | February 3, 2011 (Minor Revision)

Shiitake spawn cannot survive in logs that have a moisture content of less than 23%. Ideal moisture conditions for shiitake growth are log moisture content of 35% or more. If logs are left in the open air and are not monitored for moisture content, and climatic conditions are dry, the moisture content of the logs can fall to 20% to 25%.

FOR-77: Shiitake Production on Logs: Step by Step in Pictures

Deborah Hill | June 17, 2010 (Minor Revision)

FOR-118: Have Maples Will Sugar

Deborah Hill | May 20, 2010 (New)

Woodland owners may find that they have many maple trees in their woodlots. If these trees are larger than 10 inches in diameter, and if there are 25 to 40 maple trees per acre, woodland owners might want to think about making maple syrup as a possibility for increased income from their woodlots.

FOR-96: Forest Water Quality Plan: Preparing an Agriculture Water Quality Plan for Your Woodlands

Jeff Stringer | May 18, 2010 (Reprinted)

All parties involved in woodland operations are responsible for water quality protection. One of the most effective methods of protecting water quality during forestry operations is to use BMPs. BMPs are guidelines and techniques that, when used properly, can help reduce impact to our waters. They do this by decreasing erosion and the creation of muddy water, keeping chemicals and fluids out of streams, and limiting changes in the woods next to streams.

FOR-107: Site Preparation and Competition Control Guidelines for Hardwood Tree Plantings

Jeff Stringer | August 13, 2009 (New)

This publication presents recommendations for key factors associated with hardwood planting success. The publication also provides competition control and site preparation alternatives for a number of common planting sites and conditions. For each site and condition, several alternatives provide a range of options, allowing users to select the alternative that best fits their objectives and timetables.

FOR-110: Non-Timber Forest Products and Agroforestry

Deborah Hill | August 11, 2009 (New)

Agroforestry is the practice of integrating long-term tree crops with annual agronomic crops and/or livestock. This type of integrated agriculture has been successfully practiced for thousands of years in many parts of the world, especially in the tropics. Temperate regions have been a bit slower to adopt agroforestry practices, but in the past decade or so, there has been increasing interest in using agroforestry techniques in temperate countries around the world.