Shiitake mushrooms growing on oak log
“Shiitakes are much more than their intense flavor and meaty texture,” according shiitake mushroom log grower Sandra Williams of Lost Creek Mushroom Farm. “In ancient lore, all mushrooms offer a spiritual gift. Each type of mushroom makes its own contribution to the human psyche and spirit. Shiitakes are said to bring us joyful expression, uniqueness, and refinement of the senses.”
Williams should know. She and her husband Doug have been selling grow-your-own shiitake log kits since 1992. “We love growing shiitakes. We realized early on that they have a kind of consciousness, likes and dislikes.”
Shiitakes are prized worldwide for their flavor, meaty texture and nutritional content – high in protein and low in fat, they contain compounds that strengthen the immune system.
“Supermarket shiitakes are grown on sawdust,” she continued. “Most mushroom lovers have never tasted the whole, natural, full-bodied shiitakes that grow on an oak log. That’s where the mystical, natural spirit of the mushroom lives.”
“People tell us that our mushrooms increase their sense of well being. I know it’s not just a matter of flavor, protein and complex compounds. It’s that mushrooms bring us nurturing beyond nutrition. We had that knowledge a long time ago, when we were much more sensitive and intuitive.”
“What a great holiday gift – the experience of growing shiitakes and watching them ‘bloom,’ and eating them, we receive the mushrooms’ own magical gifts.”
Grown inside with plants or outside in shade, Lost Creek Mushroom Farm logs will produce shiitakes every two months for about four years. “Soak them in ice water to trigger the ‘fruiting’
Kits include a 5-6” ‘Shroomie for $16.95, a 10’ log for $29.95 and $43.95 for a large 14” log with its own soaking tray. Kits with two logs will fruit every month by alternating the producing log. Double-log kits include the Ma & Pa with 10” logs for $48.95 and the Best Buy, two 14” tray-kits selling for $76.00 shipped to the same address. “You can give one as a gift and keep the other one for yourself,” Williams suggested.
Kits come with instructions and recipes.The 10” and 14” logs are fully guaranteed to grow mushrooms. All prices include shipping and handling.
Order online at www.shiitakemushroomlog.com or from Amazon.com (at slightly higher prices), by phone at 1-800-792-0053, or by mail to Lost Creek Mushroom Farm, PO Box 520, Perkins, OK 74059. Free brochures are available on request. Sandra and Doug donate a portion of all sales their humanitarian project, Mushrooms in Ghana www.mushroomsinghana.org
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
