Edible Mushroom Garden | Episode 8

On Episode 8 of A Homestead: The Series, we are clearing a very special piece of the property! I’ve been dreaming up what to do with this space… and I’ve decided that NOW is my opportunity to try my hand at inoculating freshly cut logs with mushroom plugs! Wish me luck!

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[Music]
hey guys I am so excited about today I
don’t really know how it’s going to go
because it’s something that I’ve never
done before but today we are going to be
inoculating Logs with mushroom spores so
let’s get to
it we still haven’t been able to you
know excise the spirit of the ghost of
the dis changer yet the truck is off
there’s no keys what is it doing so we
just unhook the battery every time we’re
not using it and then hook it back up
when we need to drive it cuz you know
such is life I think we need a new
battery you think we need a new battery
well yeah because kicked its ass too
many times it’s dead and it was
unplug so I think the battery cells just
I think it’s just so the truck isn’t
going to work nope I think it’s just
toast yeah let’s do it thanks
friend oh yeah there’s so many deer
tracks around here see the point on this
one yeah so that’d be the D and look how
big and rounded that one is that’s the
buck that’s following her million Flags
around the island so that if anybody was
doing anything they would never hurt my
poor island cuz it’s too beautiful oh
look at these little
[Music]
mushies within here there’s a few things
that we really want to be careful of
like this is stinging nettle she’s super
important to us what we mainly want to
do is we want to pop out any butter cup
that we see and we want to remove any
blackberries that we see these guys here
with the pink flowers those are salmon
berries and we want to protect them as
well okay
okay good
talk do you just not feel comfortable
identifying the plants and stuff no I’m
I feel like I’m going to just start
ripping stuff out of there
and and then I’m going to be
[Music]
heartbroken well the nice thing is that
everything over here is so wet I’m not
too worried
about starting to
fire it’s actually through the whole
tree it comes through the other side
it’s completely through the
fencing that’s actually
Wild
oh so many stinging
nettles now there’s a whole bunch of
pieces of wire that are just sticking
out right here
okay I mean nobody’s going to be up here
in their bare feet between the stinging
nettle the blackberries the salmon
berries metal Sharps maybe we’ll make a
sign that says don’t come in here in
your bare feet so what trees do you want
then cuz if you show me what trees you
want I’ll cut them down and start and
you want logs like this big uh or like
this big like between 2 to 3 feet okay
and and like this bigger roundish is the
goal what all the information said was
that if you you don’t want too small of
a pole cuz it’ll fruit and you won’t get
fruit for very many years it’ll just
like fruit right away and then that’s it
if you choose a huge log you probably
won’t get fruit for a couple years but
then you’ll get massive fruit for many
years so you want something in
between uh like this is is what they
were working on on the stuff for the
grow Canada
website
so this tree looks like a lovely size so
really you could cut down both of these
trees because there’s a tree there all
these trees here all around
this tree don’t worry I won’t hit your
truck oh I would appreciate
[Music]
[Applause]
it that loosened right
off what progress have you made on
Alice uh the hydraulic fluid is finally
changed and it was dirty
it’s definitely time to change that out
but the screen was nice and clean so
that’s a good
sign that’s a weird place you got to
pour that 5 gallon pale in
here that’s going to
[Music]
[Music]
be
I thought that was a good spot but it’s
just making me so nervous why is that
well just because the cedar has dropped
so much stuff nothing really wants to
grow under there even the Moss like
there’s all this beautiful Moss here and
little mushies kind of growing out of
the log but there’s nothing really
growing over there
I’ve never grown mushrooms before I just
want it to be
awesome I just want it to be
cool all
[Music]
right why did I pick this spot uh well
for lots of reasons actually because I
mean for one it’s a super Shady Nook and
it’s so
[Music]
beautiful the creek is on both sides and
it’s just kind of one of those areas
that I haven’t had a chance to really do
anything with yet but it’s I just knew
that underneath all of
the whatever it was just hiding such a
beautiful beautiful soul and I just
wanted to be able to hey squirrel
there’s a a golf ball anyways
sorry I just wanted to be able
to kind of bring some life back into
this little island because it’s so
beautiful and I just thought because it
always stays so moist and so shady in
here I just think it’s going to be the
perfect home for the mushrooms I think
that it’s already really Mossy and damp
and picking the right spot is just it’s
it’s like it’s so important I mean you
can always move things down the road you
can always change your mind but picking
the right spot it’s one of those things
that you for me anyways I dream about
for a long time like I’ve been dreaming
about this island for a long time like
your mom dreaming about where she’d put
her tree for her mom you know like just
like thinking about it thinking about it
and kind of moving it around and it’s
like you just got to figure out exactly
where where you want it to be and where
it’s going to be the happiest too right
[Music]
so check on the kitties heck
yes they eat a lot of food I mean
there’s four of them in there so it
doesn’t surprise me really kitty kitty
kitties Hello Kitty
kitties I am so excited to show the
Katie’s Place episode it was just so
sweet and the girls were all so amazing
every volunteer there were just they
were just so
wonderful like they have over a hundred
cats there that need to be adopted right
now
and it’s just so beautiful and I think
that I’m really looking forward to the
episode it’s going to be very
cool coming soon coming
[Music]
soon
yes no now it’s going to be drilling
holes and getting ready to put mushroom
spores in
logs sweet
yep it’ll be nice to have our own
mushrooms in a couple
years so yeah you can kind of see the
zone that
we
cleared
right so this is where we’re going to do
the mushrooms right here and and then
we’ll keep cleaning you know that’ll be
another day of cleaning and that’ll be
another day of cleaning or whatever but
I mean look at how freaking beautiful
that is like I it’s like I need a bench
right I just you need like a tiny little
toad toad stool you don’t like those
little sculptures yes we need some mushy
sculptures we need some little fairy
doors in here little fairy in that
little yes yes it’s going to be so fun
I’m going to put Mario blocks all over
the place Mario blocks coin blocks oh
Mario you know like the squares where
youing Ding and then the change pops out
or a mushroom pops out and then you Bo
big I’ve never actually played Mario but
like from reference I think I know what
you’re talking about
no no Cody did you hear what Jolene just
said she’s never played
Mario were you so confused at Halloween
with with the with the garbage can I
just thought it was
fun I love you so much I’ve never played
Mario that’s amazing we’re going to have
to remedy that situation so I actually
changed my plan okay I mean when do I
ever do that change my plan plan Midway
is this to do with the mushrooms or are
you cooking something yes no this is to
do with the mushrooms I need to melt wax
and we to seal the hole to seal the hole
I’ve seen a video about this and so we
have the camping stove and we’re going
to melt wax this is a good activity yes
so we’re going to stack some logs along
this way and then the long inoculated
logs will go that
way
so I mean I don’t know I’m just winging
it
there we
go okay
okay so is is it literally just like
chopped up
mushrooms is that all it is it’s just
like the inoculated spores yes I uh I
don’t know it’s the melum not theing
bodies they I don’t know mycelium is
basically the root Network and the the
fruit of the mushroom is the mushroom
right yes I think yeah no that’s true
for sure I don’t know how exactly they
do it but is fun yes they put the they
put the spores on the those are the
plugs and then in a very moist yeah
these are like basically very fine Roots
yes by the way those um morels that you
have hiding not at your place yeah oh
there’s a few of them popping up oh
there is another one there’s a bunch of
them there’s like at least five if they
really spread out and you get a lot of
them I would like to take some of that
dirt and bring some of it over here and
and do that over here oh we could try
and take some of the wood chip and like
spread it under some trees that’s a good
idea yeah cuz morels you can’t replicate
that very easy it’s so hard that’s why
if you find somewhere if you find them
somewhere it’s like what are these
conditions
make it happen somewhere and then bring
those over to that same kind of area and
hope that they
take uh okay how many holes do you want
in this okay that’s what this is where
we’re at don’t you don’t you at me Cody
okay so I feel
like the explanation said 6 in apart and
then 2 in down so you you your holes are
6 in apart this way then you step down 2
in and go in between like a diamond
pattern okay so one here
yeah okay we’re looking good in
here once we get the plugs into the
holes we need to seal it off so that a
bunch of bacteria and junk can’t get get
into it uh we want to make sure that the
spores that are growing in the logs are
the spores that we want not just
whatever else is kicking about that
feels like making a home in there so we
seal it with wax and then that gives the
things that we are trying to grow a
better chance of uh owning that
log and we’ve got our very
professional stir stick
[Music]
so wait it’s just they actual dowels
yeah they’re just wooden dowels and then
they take the spores and they grow the
spor fours on the dowels oh and then you
just slam those into yeah so then those
just get plugged
in and then sealed
[Music]
off
[Music]
so it said 6 months to 2 years so
smaller logs typically you’ll see
mushrooms sooner and then larger logs it
takes longer for the mushrooms to pop
but then you usually get mushrooms for a
longer period of time because they’re
basically breaking down the log so it’s
like my understanding anyways which I’m
very brand new to this this is me just
learning how it goes um but my
understanding is that it is breaking
down the log so if it can break down the
log immediately then it’s a quick flash
of mushrooms that we’re going to get and
that’s going to be like a oneandone kind
of thing but if you have a larger log
and it takes longer for it to break down
and and everything then you can have
many years of it coming so as these ones
break down um I did read some stuff
about how you can just kind of keep
stacking on top of it and then the
mushrooms could continue to move up
through the stack so I don’t know who
knows it said online that we could have
mushrooms for you know a year to 7 years
whatever and uh if we keep building it
up then we can have mushrooms
forever so let’s cross our fingers for
that mushrooms for life so what’s
stopping us from just taking those uh
those plugs and just slamming them into
that log that’s already sitting there is
it not the right kind of log well it’s
not the right kind of log well actually
I don’t know what kind of log it is I
think it looks like Cedar which is not
what we want to use it’s decomposing
already but yeah that’s the main thing
is that it’s been breaking down for a
long time so there’s already all of that
life breaking it down and so it would be
like competing with all the other stuff
which is why you want to take these down
fresh and and preferably in like the
early spring so that there’s still lots
of sugar content in the log and then the
mushrooms get to eat
itol I
think I think so like this log has got a
full tank of gas and that log is pretty
much on fuse
yes hey when you’re done there do you
mind giving me a quick hand we are
dumping this table cuz it feels like
there’s good bit on it so we’re going to
walk it over
there and we’re going to dump it and see
if mushrooms grow just right here yeah
we can just like to the dip to the dip
yeah then who
knows maybe mushrooms will
[Music]
grow I need the hose
Cody’s getting
us the
wheelbarrow then we probably need a
pitchfork hose wheelar Pitchfork this a
plan we are going to inoculate wine caps
underneath this
tree the explanation that I got through
like what I read and and the couple
videos that I watched is basically that
you can use hay so you can mix hay up
with a bunch of water and lay the hay
down and mix it up with the spores and
you can use hard wood chips you can use
soft wood chips but it said it has to be
at least 50% hardwood chips and so we
have all of this stuff from the
Cherrywood that we did last weekend I
think and so we’re going to utilize up
all these hardwood chips here we’ll
probably come like a short distance in
the front and then come along and maybe
just come out a little wider here and
around there and then the way they
explained it is that all you have to do
is water it in through the summer and
then they should fruit quite quickly and
they should fruit and come back every
year if you mulch them every fall so
basically every fall we just have to
come back in with another load of
hardwood chips and just do top it all
off off again and then they should just
keep coming and coming hopefully my goal
is that we can build this out as a nice
pretty area and we’ll just always have
good edible mushrooms to sustain us
through the
years does anybody know what time it
is cuz like we still have to get
showered it’s
1:25 buddy
we’re cutting her freaking clothes we’re
cutting her
clothes yes this is what I
want these mushrooms came from my mom’s
house okay it’s very
heavy this is going to be so cool it’s
going to be so cool we’re going to have
mushrooms growing around our
mushrooms okay so we have come to the
end of the day we are definitely cutting
it close to the line because we are
taking off right after here to go
downtown for some fun for kirsy Maya’s
birthday Extravaganza so I’m really
looking forward to that and uh yeah I
mean I think
that I mean we did the dang thing I’ve
been dreaming about these mushrooms for
oh since we got here I mean really for
years I’ve been dreaming about doing a
mushroom something so for this to
finally come to fruition is really
just so wild and wonderful but uh yeah I
mean we got our Stacks done on the
Mushroom Island and we got this done
here so I mean I think the only thing
left is to get showered and get on the
road I hope you guys like what we got up
to today and
have a good
[Music]
one they smell like nothing I smell
[Music]
nothing