Mushroom log incubation building

This year we have lots more to report about our "new" log incubation building. Perhaps it is no longer new - since it went up in 2023, but it has gotten much closer to done as of December 2024!

In 2023 we put up the building and had a floor poured. And we started by using it for log inoculations; see our post on that here!

It was great to have that new space, but it was still freezing - with no insulation or heat - and come summer it baked! In the late summer though we had the space insulated with closed-cell spray foam insulation; it had an immediate moderating effect on temperatures, but we still weren't able to get a heater in the space until after thanksgiving! We had a couple of cold-snaps in the meantime - only keeping the pipes from freezing by keeping the overhead door to the other space open - to share it's heat. Both insulation and heat were paid for by a LOFF grant from a Lakewinds Food Co-op!

Finally we got the heater installed before Christmas and it's been working great! We have started log inoculations again, but this year we've got a much better set-up. And - for the first time - we are incubating shiitake mushroom logs indoors using a rare "high-speed incubation technique" pioneered by Japanese mushroom farmers. I promise there will be more about this; we're really excited!

Inoculation area of our new building - now with closed-cell insulation and garage heater

the new garage heater - after removing a box to get it up onto threaded rod

We were a bit worried about how to get the heater into place, but it was really quite easy! I put in the wood supports above and some perforated steel tube, then threaded rod long enough to reach down to where I could man-handle the heater. Then it was a matter of tightening bolts until it was into position just below the wood supports.

the new separated combustion unit heater hooked up

I chose a separated combustion unit heater (aka garage heater) because we may be growing mushrooms in here in the future and fresh air is always welcome for that! That meant that I had to install a supply air duct (below) as well as the vent duct. For this I opted for the premium category iii pipe recommended for horizonal applications. Once installed we hired a plumber to hook up the unit to a natural gas line.

new garage heater keeping the room a toasty 50 degrees - perfect for log incubation!

We keep it a bit nippy - since incubating logs like it like that - but this is a hothouse compared with past years of log inoculations!

just harvested fresh oak logs ready for inoculations

log inoculations with drilling holes (foreground) inoculating, and waxing (back wall)

ta da! Here is the beginning of log inoculations - with the high speed method (more to come!)