Monthly Meeting

The WPMC 2023 cultivation meeting will begin with log drilling at 6:00 p.m. Current members who attend will receive an oyster mushroom grow kit. For those new to cultivation, oyster mushrooms provide a great starting point, as they are more resilient than some other mushroom varieties, and they’re delicious to eat, as well! The kit will consist of oyster spawn and cottonseed hulls, with instructions provided.
Shiitake are another delicious mushroom for cultivators and are traditionally grown on hardwood logs and kept outside. We encourage you to bring a log for shiitake inoculation. WPMC will provide the tools, wax, and shiitake spawn to inoculate it. Volunteers will be at the event to help you through each of the stations as you inoculate your log. No prior experience is needed.
Ideal logs will be 36 to 40 inches long and 4 to 8 inches in diameter. The best logs are oak or maple, but other hardwood varieties will work as well. The logs should be newly harvested from a live tree within the last few months, as older logs will not be viable for the spawn to colonize.
Once inoculated, logs should be protected from drying out by storing them out of the sun and where they can receive natural rainfall. We ask that you bring no more than two logs per person, to allow time and materials for all members.
The inoculating stations will be outside, so please dress appropriately. If the weather is severe enough to pose a risk, we will postpone the event; otherwise, we will accommodate light rain