Spawn available as bulk sawdust spawn in bags, or as sawdust spawn plugs in sheets. Bulk sawdust spawn will require a drill and a bit, an inoculating tool, and the holes will need to be sealed with wax to prevent the spawn from drying out and killing the mycelium. If you use sawdust plugs you will only require a drill, as the plugs are backed with styrofoam are self sealing. Either of these can be used for logs or stumps. See a precis of the log inoculation process and see about Shiitake Log Production & Management.
You can only use FRESH LOGS, or freshly cut stumps. Old logs that have been laying in the bush for longer than six months WILL NOT work. They are either too dried out or contaminated with other fungi.
The best success is achieved with fresh winter cut logs. In other words they should be cut as the leaves are falling or later, and before the leaves come – before leaf bud – out in the spring. This will ensure the highest concentrations of vitamins and nutrients in the sap wood for the mycelium. Inoculation should take place in the early spring when the temperature is above 10 C or 55 F. There is no point in inoculating at much lower temperatures because the spawn will not be very active. Moreover fresh mycelium can be adversely affected by very low temperatures. Ideally inoculation should be finished before temperatures rise above 18 C or 70 F as higher temperatures can lead to more contamination.
For Shiitake, if your logs are cut in late fall or winter, inoculation can take place immediately in the spring. Logs can be cut up until the sap begins to run – best if they are cut before mid-March. If however they are cut just before leaf out, it is advisable to leave the logs for several weeks or a month so that secondary, anti-fungal substances produced by the living log can break down; these substances can inhibit the Shiitake mycelium. Be careful however not to dry out the logs. Do not leave them fully exposed to the sun, especially for long periods of time/hours in the late afternoon. The ideal moisture content should be close to 40%. If you think the logs are too dry you can soak, or sprinkle them with water for 24 hours several days prior to inoculation.
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SAWDUST SPAWN IS MADE TO ORDER AND MUST BE PREPAID
WE PREPARE SPAWN IN MARCH AND DELIVER FROM APRIL TO JUNE; CUSTOMERS IN BC CAN REQUEST EARLY DELIVERY BY PLACING ORDER EARLY
LARGE ORDERS – FOR THE REST OF CANADA – SHOULD BE PLACED BY MARCH 15
SMALL ORDERS WILL BE TAKIN UNTIL THE END OF APRIL BUT WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO FILL LATER ORDERS
LOGS SHOULD BE CUT IN THE WINTER FOR SPRING INOCULATION AND KEPT IN APPROPRIATE SETTING
DO RESEARCH DURING WINTER MONTHS AND ALSO CUT LOGS IN WINTER FOR ‘JUST IN TIME’ SPAWN DELIVERY IN SPRING
SEE OUR SPAWN PAGES (links are above) AND OUR REFERENCES AND LINKS PAGE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT SPAWN USE
Each 2.5 kilo bag of spawn will inoculate 20 to 25 logs that are 4 feet long, depending on the diameter of the log. Larger diameter logs can take more spawn and thinner logs can take less. More spawn can be used around knots in the wood and wounds.
LOOSE SAWDUST SPAWN
Loose sawdust spawn (in bags) for Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) (wide temperature range strain) and Oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus, variety – Grey Dove)
Minimum order is one 2.5 kilo bag. We no longer make 1.5 kilo bags. Plan your project to inoculate a minimum of 20 logs or work with a partner to share a 2.5 kilo bag – enough spawn for 20-30 logs depending on log diameter and inoculation rate.
1 ———– 2.5 kg. bags………………CDN$ 42.00/bag. Enough spawn to inoculate 20 to 30 logs depending on log diameter and inoculation rate.
2-4 ———– 2.5 kg. bags ……………..CDN$ 37.00/bag
5-7 ——–2.5 kilo bags……….CDN$32.00
8-15 ———– 2.5 kg. bags ……………..CDN$ 30.00/bag
16-30 ———– 2.5 kg. bags ……………..CDN$ 27.00/bag
31-49 ———– 2.5 kg. bags ……………..CDN$ 23.50/bag
50-99 ———– 2.5 kg. bags ……………..CDN$ 21.00/bag
100 or more—— 2.5 kg. bags ……………..CDN$ 20.00/bag
SAWDUST SPAWN PLUGS – as of March 2023 we are not able to supply this product. We hope to do so in the future but materials (the plastic well sheets and the styrofoam cap sheets) for producing these SAWDUST SPAWN PLUG sheets are unavailable in reasonable quantities from suppliers in Korea – can only be ordered in very large quantities. Furthermore it is impossible to rely on their availability going forward. Materials that we have been able to obtain from other sources did not perform as desired. We regret that we cannot supply this product at this time. We plan to actively search for alternative sources for appropriate and reliable materials and we will post on this site when we will again be able to supply this product in which we invested quite a lot of resources.
Spawn plug sheet photo
Spawn plugs
You can now get sawdust spawn in the form of plugs backed with a styrofoam cap. Just pop each plug out of its holder in the sheet and insert it into the pre-drilled hole in the log with your fingers.
Each sheet contains 600 plugs. Enough to do at least 10 to 15 logs that are 4 feet long and 4″ to 8″ diameter.
1 sheet CDN $45.00
2- 5 sheets CDN$ 40.00/sheet
6-10 sheets per species CDN$ 37.50 /sheet
11-20 sheets per species CDN$ 35.00 /sheet
21-35 sheets per species CDN$ 32.50 / sheet
36-50 sheets per species CDN$ 30.00/ sheet
51-75 sheets per species CDN$ 27.50 /sheet
over 75 sheets per species CDN$ 25.00/ sheet
Shipping extra. We ship via Canada Post in Canada and via UPS to the USA.
Contact us for quotes on larger orders
This picture shows the development of the spawn in the log using sawdust spawn versus wooden dowel spawn. The log on the top has been inoculated with SAWDUST SPAWN (which we produce in both loose and plug format). These logs were inoculated at the same time. The sawdust spawn runs more quickly through the sapwood of logs inoculated with sawdust spawn and will “fruit” earlier than those inoculated with dowel spawn.
Available for delivery – April until the end of May
Custom or off-season orders subject to minimum quantity & surcharge