Grow Your Own Shiitake & Oyster Mushrooms! Plus, Grab a Goose Egg…

Do you have dark, shady spot in your yard that just won’t grow anything but moss? Veggies and fruit trees won’t produce there, but did you know that’s the perfect location to grow your own gourmet mushrooms!

Mushroom logs are surprisingly easy to manage, thrive in the shade, are fun for the whole family, and an excellent way to get gourmet mushrooms that taste better than when you buy them in the store! First of all, did you know that most mushrooms thrive on dead hardwood trees? That’s why mushroom logs work so well! Mushrooms fruit cyclically which means that the spore colonizes the log and after a particularly wet period—and during certain seasons, you can see and reap the benefits of the fruit (aka the mushrooms!) This year we have inoculated mushroom logs for sale—shiitake and oyster mushrooms!

Why Raise Your Own Mushrooms?

Why raise your own mushrooms, you ask? There are a couple good reasons to make having your own mushroom logs worthwhile. First of all, most mushrooms that you buy in the store are raised in sawdust, as opposed to the mushroom’s natural homebase of hardwood trees and logs. This imparts a different flavor in the mushrooms and the difference can really be tasted when you raise your own.

Also, mushroom logs can be super low maintenance if you let them. You can manage them two different ways:
1) You can place them in a shady and moist location and let them bear fruit when they naturally would (in our climate typically twice per year in the Spring and Fall), or
2) You can more actively manage them and water/soak the logs to force them to fruit and harvest mushrooms 7-10 days later.

Whichever method you choose, be sure to keep your logs in a shady spot out of direct sun. Northern sides of buildings, under porches, and beneath evergreen trees and shrubs are all ideal locations. Keep them off the ground like you would firewood, and give them a sprinkle or soak if we have an extremely dry summer.

Reserve Your Mushroom Logs!

If you’re interested in raising shiitake or oyster mushrooms for your family, shoot us an email or come by the Corner Farmers Market tomorrow from 9am-12pm to talk about reserving your mushroom logs for the spring. Once you taste the deliciousness of your very own, homegrown mushrooms, you won’t regret it! See you soon.

Glorious Goose Eggs!

Do you know what’s fun for brunch? A goose egg! Huge, with baseball-sized yolks, these eggs sure are fun to cook for the kids. Grab one before goose egg season is over!

Celebrate Those Geese, Come On! 

Since we’re looking at goose eggs this week, we decided to celebrate our veteran goose trio (pictured above)! Our geese live with our ducks, chickens, and turkeys year round and help protect them. Geese are super noisy and fussy and can scare away four-legged predators with their racket. They also deter aerial predators because of their size, and we’re grateful to have them on our homestead. We have a few breeds: African (2 pictured here), Chinese (1 pictured here), and Embden. They certainly make our days more lively and we can’t wait until Uhtred is old enough to raise his very own pet goose from a gosling! In the meantime, we wish our goose trio good health and green grass!
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KW Homestead
1839 Dillard Road
Madison, NC 27025

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KW Homestead · 1839 Dillard Road · Madison, NC 27025 · USA

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