Shiitake Revisited...

Time had passed it had been over a year with no development on the fungi front.  Enough time passed that the sting of failure wasn't going to be an issue, sure the inoculation process was a laborious one but that was over a year ago.  There were no signs of Shiitake mushrooms sprouting from my logs but I wasn't heartbroken. Not every backyard venture is going to prove fruitful.    

Then one day in August I happened to wander over to the dark corner of the yard where I had my stack of oak logs setting, sure enough there was progress.  It was plenty exciting to have two whole mushrooms sprouting from the one of the eleven logs I had mostly given up on. With the time, labor and money inputs, these mushrooms may have been the two most expensive ones I'd ever had a chance to eat.  

08/07/13

A month and a half later another cropping of the tasty mushroom appeared.  This time 11 mushrooms, not nearly the 'I shall have more mushrooms than I'll know what to do with', that I proclaimed in my first post on mushrooms. They found their way into my my next three meals: Egg Scrabble, Homemade Pasta Sauce, and Eggs with Fried Mushrooms and Onions. Finally this may have been enough mushrooms to write home about.

09/28/13

One last mushroom appeared two weeks ago, larger than my cereal bowl.  This one ended up being a two meal-er in it's self.

10/29/13

Since this was minimal input hobby, I half expected failure.  There are additional steps that can be taken to ensure a greater crop, some people even water their logs, I stacked them and left them lay.  The integrity of the logs is still intact, so it's my understanding I shall be reaping benefits of this project for years to come. 

State of the Fields (July 18th)

 I am sure its much like most people, I have troubles drawing the lines between my work and the rest of my life.  I even tell people my job isn't a career its a lifestyle.  Even when I get a the occasional day of from the farm, if I don't leave town I'll end up there a couple times that day.  With the best intentions to focus on me and the things I would like to get accomplished in my yard, work beckons. 
Yesterday, started as a rain day, which can truly be glorious.  We received some much needed rain and I got a chance to sleep in.  Goals for the day were simple... write, garden and take some pictures in the yard.  Time allowing, go to the gym (didn't happen) and then dinner in the Cities.  I needed to tend to my tomato plants, they look the best that they've ever looked in my backyard.  Is it appropriate to look to plants with pride?  They've all been caged but needed some additional tomato clips to reign in some stray branches (this required a drive to the farm for supplies).  I also had to work on a "new" grape arbor that I just added to the yard (will share more details another time).  And through this process I brought along my stills camera to document the Joy in the Garden. 

Indigo Rose Tomato: Purple on the outside, will be red on the inside.
Bred for having the highest concentration of anthocyanins which have great antioxidant capabilities.

 

Red Zebra Tomatoes: Still green but looking pretty.

Striped Caverns: When the show some red, I'll be ready to stuff them for a delicious dinner.

More fruit to come.

 

 

 

 

 

Redbor Kale: Tasty and Beautiful.

Alma Paprika: I started growing this one for an appetizer dish involving cream cheese and bacon bits.... mmm.

Garlic: Hung out to dry, in a good way.

 This is where my walk around my back yard came to an end, and work blurs with play.  When your backyard over looks this, its hard not to take a stroll.  Through the deer gates, I continued my photo survey and decided to document it as a State of the Fields: July 18th.

Through the gates we can see low ground fields, a place mother spent most of her childhood summers and where we grow the best cucumbers for pickles around.

Kohlrabi: a tasty treat.  Hard to believe that his sister is a cabbage. 

There is dill in many stages timed out for season long pickling.

Bees can be found all throughout the farm, with thirty-six hives we know someone is always tending the crops.

One of our apiaries overlooking the a wildflower meadow and a cucumber patch,
I sure hope all that clover doesn't distract them from those cucumber blossoms.

 

Pumpkins growing for fall.

This one seems to be running a bit early?!

There is wagon-fulls of pumpkins out there!  Just beneath the green canopies.

Seems the 10 foot fence wasn't enough, this six inch one should keep them out. 
Electrified to keep the raccoons from harvesting the sweet corn before we can.

Four varieties of corn to ripen throughout the summer and fall.... I could eat it for every meal.

The rain has transitioned to overcast leaving a moist breeze in the air and lasting droplets on most everything. 

Squash.  Squash leaves, hope there's tasties beneath those.

This is a good sign, the curly-q marks the ripening melon.  Three dry pig tails and the right vibrations after a tap will let us know when to pick them.

Red hot chilli peppers: I hear they're hot and red.

Banana peppers can be both hot and sweet, both tasty.

Eggplant; blossoms present, and fruit coming along nicely.

A sea of peppers. 

Tomatoes. Staked and growing nicely.

Looks like a field of corn... but the Corn Maze is taking shape and is taller than me in places.

There is red and ripe tomatoes at the stand from the High Tunnel providing us all with delicious tomatoes. 

Many beautiful plants throughout the Garden Center.

Foliage plants can bring some of the tropics right to our Northern part of the world. 

The fresh rain has left it's mark in the soil.  And my day.

This concludes my State of the Fields walk, apparently the pull of the fields drew me out of my own yard once again.

Shiitake over the World

A man can never have too many hobbies..... especially when some of them are slow paced yet don't consume much time.  After discussions with an Arborist friend, the cultivation of mushrooms came up.  In theory all of the work is upfront and then you sit back and wait to collect the fungi.
It sounded so pleasant and simple.  Take and inoculate a few logs, place outside in the forest and 6 months to a year you begin gathering mushrooms. 
This is where it went an bit wrong, a few logs became 11 with a thousand 1" dowel pegs of Shiitake spores that needed to be drilled, pounded, and then sealed with wax into each of the four foot long red oak logs of 4"-7" in diameter.  All of this needed to be done in May, my busiest retail time at work...

Needless to say this simple additional yard hobby ended up being 5 1/2 hours of the most grueling 'off duty' time I have ever spent.  With gathering the logs and sealing all the fresh cuts with wax happening a week or two earlier, this was no simple free time activity.

Dowels come with swirls cut into them for the Shiitake spores to grow on.

After each log was drilled and inoculated the each had to be sealed with wax.

But I will be able to reap the benefits of this lonely time spent in the barn drilling 5/16" holes every six inches across and around my red oak logs.  Hopefully if everything went right, and there's no way to know until something happens, I shall have more mushrooms than I'll know what to do with. As of now they are just logs stacked in the backyard.

Logs of Shiitake mushrooms sit under the canopy of a Norway Maple.

  The patience game is what follows, and I that is one game I am good at.  

Hops 'Cascade' Up

Three years ago I was given a few sprigs of a 'Cascade' hops plant from a good friend, a brewer and a farmer.  I began growing them in pots at the Garden Center.  At that point I began daydreaming of trellis systems and where the best place would be for one in the yard. 

My thoughts were to build one more for aesthetics than utility, there are many system designs online for trellising hops, but I wasn't drawn to the metal poles and cables that most suggested.  I had come across some old 6x6 timbers, and decided to re-purpose them.  Along with that I found an old wood & chain conveyor belt at the Farm and the materials designed themselves into a trellis.

Rough sketch of trellis, simple and rustic.

From then it was still a process to build and implement.  Assembly went well, though it was too big for one to install on their own.  Last year, at the same time as when I dug the holes for the posts, the power went out in the barn.  This put an hiatus on the project until the power could be restored to the barn.  A slight relief was gathered when it was determined to be gophers and not my shovels that took out the power.  Though my battle remains with the yard varmints. 

This spring, the power back on, nothing was going to stop me from getting my trellis up and my hops in the ground.  Heck, I was already getting reports of batches of beer made from offshoots of my original 'Cascade'.  And here I was still watering mine twice a day in a container. 

Potted plant ready for planting.

Finally, one Monday (April 23) this spring my hopes for hops had been planted. Lets just hope its not another three years before I get to the next step with these vines, brewing. There has been much progress since the planting and before the post.  Here's a few photos of my trellis being filled with the vines of 'Cascade'. 

The Hops climbs trellis' chains with ease.

Old chain and wood rungs add to the aged look of trellis.

Little fella found the leaf tasty, don't he know the flowers are where the flavor is?

Hops have nearly reached the top, have have just begun to grow side shoots..

A Spring is Loose.

 Spring inspires me. There is so much that happens in such a little seasonal window.  After a drab winter it can bring on a much needed revitalization. It is all about new beginnings, a yearly chance to start again. These trees and plants have saved up as much energy as they could last season to prevail through a winter which they didn't know for how long or when they'd get a chance to grow again.
Through this botanical patience they wait for signs of spring; and when it arrives, whether it is the warmer nights and soil temperatures or increased day length the plants begin their yearly adventure. Some bloom long before they break bud, ensuring the passing of their genes before consideration of their own needs. All this fresh foliage brightens my days, as I watch the transition from browns to reds, greens and yellows. it is hard to take a walk without a smile.   
 In life we are given opportunities to start again without knowing the outcome.  Much like a flower's growth each spring; if it knew of a frosty morning in the ten day forecast would that prevent it from trying?  How long do we put things off when we worry of the risks and outcomes, could we miss spring because we are worried of frost?

On Easter Sunday I took a walk with my family and  my camera.  We walked the whole farm, and ended up in my yard. Here is a bit of the signs of spring that I thought were note worthy.
 

The Tulips in my mom's yard had brought out the color for the start of the glorious morning. 

Plum blossoms on green canvas.  Note: Plum blossoms smell much better than pear blossoms.

'Goldheart' Bleeding Heart.  Yet to fully bloom but adding some great color to the yard.

Oak: huge tree, tiny blossoms. 

Maple seeds developing; from the edge of the low ground I saw this tree just speckled with red.  Closer inspection through the swamp revealed the red to be the samaras of the maple providing the glow of red.

Another Maple with its seeds on display. 

 

The garlic has made it through the winter swimmingly, and in no time they'll be adding much appreciated flavor to nearly every meal in my kitchen. 

Hot air balloon parade to finish off the walk. 

Thanks for joining me on this Spring walk.  I hope your days are full of just enough rain and plenty of sunshine.