A Naif in the Forest by Darrell Berger

Wing Tips to Hiking Boots: Musings of a New, Full-Time Poconos Resident

Readers of “Naif in the Forest” will recall my recent difficulty identifying mushrooms. This time I am 100% positive this photograph is of future Shiitake mushrooms, species Lentinula edodes, strain West Wind. I know because I planted them, or rather, plugged them. Note several roundish, waxy-looking circles. The wax seals a plug, about an inch long, that is hammered into the logs after holes are drilled using a special drill bit.

We tried this a few years ago, with minimum success. I think we left the logs a bit high and dry. This time they are in an area that is better shaded and stays damper. Now we just wait until spring.

Shiitakes are not native to our forest, though, I am assured, this plugging method has met with success locally. They are native to Japan and Southeast Asia. Their first mention in Japan was about 900 years ago, and they have been grown and categorized in America since 1877. There are all sorts of medicinal claims for Shiitakes, both from traditional Chinese medicine and current scientific studies. They are a good source of B vitamins, strengthen the immune system and increase energy. Stinkbugs and stilt grass came to America from Asia as unwelcome invaders. We’ll take all the Shiitakes we can get.

Among the many things I had never imagined myself doing was hammering mushroom spawn into logs after drilling several hundred holes precisely for this purpose. As an avid consumer of Shittakes, I undertake the task eagerly at my wife’s suggestion. This did, however, activate my long-standing difficulty in following directions, no matter how simple. 

Once I determined which setting on the drill actually drilled into the wood, I was fine. Due my extreme left-handedness, I almost always inadvertently tighten a screw before loosening; turn a drill to the wrong setting before I find the correct one. I have no learning curve on this. I make the mistake, again and again, correct it, and then do fine. I define fine as “no blood shed.”  Watch this space for signs of Shiitake success or failure in the spring.