NZ NATIVE SHIITAKE GRAIN SPAWN AND DOWELS
 
Our own unique wild sourced culture of the rare NZ Native Shiitake (Lentinula novae-zelandiae). This culture has been shown to grow well year-round in most parts of New Zealand without the need for supplimentary heating (it will fruit in temperatures between 5 and 25°C, provided that other conditions are favourable). Cultivation methods are much the same as ordinary shiitake - can be grown outdoors on logs using dowel spawn, or grown on supplimented sawdust blocks indoors (avoid soy hull supplementation). Shiitake mushrooms are prized around the world for their delicious "umami" flavours, as well as their health benefits. Delicate, sweet and savory all at the same time, and with a great robust texture. Very well suited to asian style dishes (noodle soup, stir fry, hot pot and so on) however their full culinary potential is only limited by your creativity! Very versatile mushroom. These NZ Native Shiitake have a similar flavour to Japanese shiitake, and are perhaps even more tasty, and well rounded in flavour.
 
SPAWN:
 
Fully colonised and healthy grain spawn of our selected favourite strain of NZ Native Shiitake mushroom culture. This strain performs well in New Zealand conditions and is equally as happy on logs outdoors as it is on indoor sawdust / woodchip blocks. One kilogram of spawn is enough to inoculate approximately four sawdust or woodchip blocks (advanced method).
 
1kg Grain Spawn $24.90
2kg Grain Spawn $46.90
3kg Grain Spawn $64.90
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DOWELS:
 
Fully colonised, high quality dowel plugs. Inoculated with our favourite strain of the delicious and easy to grow NZ Native Shiitake mushroom (Lentinula novae-zelandiae). These dowels are perfect for inoculating fresh cut logs of deciduous trees.
 
Simply drill some holes slightly deeper and slightly wider than the dowels, spaced about 15cm apart all around the log, tap them in with a hammer and seal the holes with melted wax. A log generally requires 15-50 dowels, depending on its size.
 
Logs take a year or so to begin fruiting, but after that, they will continue to produce several crops of mushrooms per year (when weather conditions are right) for up to five or six years. They are generally very low maintenance. A humid, shady corner of the garden is perfect for them.
 
Dowels are 8mm wide so a 8.5mm to 9mm drill bit is ideal for drilling the holes for them. Comes with instructions or check out our tips and advice page for more info.
 
50 Dowels $24.90
100 Dowels $34.90
500 Dowels $134.90
1000 Dowels $239.90
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