Mana Mushrooms

Shiitake and oyster mushroom production follows similar steps to those used in button production. One difference is in the type of substrate used. Shiitake mushrooms are grown on sterilized hardwood sawdust. Shiitake spawn are mixed into the sawdust and placed in plastic bags, usually the size of a loaf of bread. The spawn hold the sawdust so tightly that it will form into the shape of the bag. The ‘logs’ are then placed indoors on shelves to develop and ultimately fruit flushes of fruiting bodies, which we know and love as ‘mushrooms’.

Oyster mushrooms are grown on sterilized straw, corn cobs, coffee pulp, waste paper, pulpmill sludge, cotton bolls, cotton waste, or cotton seed hulls. They can be grown in polyethylene bags, trays, beds, pressed blocks, vertical structures, or baskets (Ellor).

The most common practice involves the use of straw in 5-foot-long bags that have holes on all sides. The bags are filled with straw that is pre-inoculated with spawn. The bags are then hung from hooks in the mushroom house. Mushrooms form on all surfaces of the bag. Shiitake and oyster mushrooms are irrigated differently than the button variety. Shiitake logs are immersed in water every 10 days. Oyster mushrooms are grown in high humidity, much like a dense fog (Wuest).