Mushroom Plug Spawn – Lions Mane (Hericium erinaceus) 100 plugs approx

Description

Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus) is an incredible icicle-like tooth fungus. Unlike standard cap-and-stem mushrooms, it grows in cascading white pom-poms directly out of the sides of logs.

Lion’s Mane Spawn Plugs Cultivation Guide

Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus) is a world-famous gourmet and medicinal mushroom. It forms beautiful, white, shaggy clusters that resemble a lion’s mane or a cascading waterfall. When sliced and cooked, it has a tender, meaty texture with a sweet, savoury flavour often compared to lobster or crab.

Growing Lion’s Mane on logs takes 12–18 months for the first harvest. However, it is an incredibly resilient wood-rotter; once established, a single log can continue to fruit seasonally for 3–6 years.

 Lion’s Mane mycelium is very fine, wispy, and slow-moving compared to aggressive oysters. It requires dense hardwood logs and a reliable temperate climate (12–20°C) to trigger its gorgeous, toothy flushes.

(Out of stock? Please allow 2–4 weeks for shipping.)

🛠️ Quick Gear Checklist

• Fresh Hardwood Logs: Oak, Beech, Maple, Birch, and Walnut are highly recommended. Avoid softwoods or conifers. Logs should be 10–20 cm in diameter and ~1 meter long.

• Lion’s Mane Spawn Plugs: Wooden dowels colonised with fine Lion’s Mane mycelium.

• Drill & Bit: Sized to match the plug diameter for a tight, snug fit.

• Waxing Kit: Food-grade wax, an old pot, and a paintbrush.

🪵 Step-by-Step Process

1. Age the Wood (2–4 Weeks)

• Let your freshly cut hardwood logs rest off the ground in a shady spot for 2–4 weeks. This allows the tree’s natural anti-fungal defences to drop so the delicate Lion’s Mane mycelium can colonise safely. Keep them moist by hosing them down regularly.

2. Inoculate & Seal

• Drill: Drill holes in a staggered diamond pattern all over the log, spaced 5–10 cm apart, to a depth of 1.5 times the plug length.

• Insert: Hammer the plugs in until they sit completely flush with the bark layer.

• Wax: Melt your wax and paint generously over every single plug hole and both cut log ends. This creates a perfect moisture seal and prevents wild competitor fungi from overtaking the slow-starting mycelium.

3. Incubation (12–18 Months)

• Place the log in a deeply shaded, damp outdoor area protected from drying winds.

• Never let it dry out! Lion’s Mane mycelium looks very faint and faint-white (almost invisible) inside the wood. Keep the log hydrated by hosing it down heavily during dry summer spells.

🌤️ Environment & Fruiting Quick-Reference

Lion’s Mane naturally fruits sideways right out of cracks in the bark or from old plug sites during the shifting, cooler seasons.

🍄 Shaggy Texture Tips & Troubleshooting

• Mycelium looks dead/invisible? Don’t panic. Unlike Oyster mushrooms which form thick white sheets, Lion’s Mane mycelium is notoriously thin and translucent. It is likely running beautifully deep inside the wood.

• Turning yellow or pink? If your young outdoor pom-poms start turning yellow, orange, or pinkish-brown, they are either drying out from the wind or getting too much direct sunlight. Increase your ambient misting around the log and move it to a more sheltered, shady spot.

🔪 Harvesting & Ongoing Care

• When to Pick: Harvest when the clusters are large, dense, and snowy white, and the “teeth” (spore spines) have clearly lengthened to about 4–6 mm long, but before the top or bottom begins to turn yellow.

• How to Pick: Grab the entire pom-pom cluster firmly, twist gently, and pull it clean off the bark. Alternatively, use a sharp knife to slice it flush with the log.

• The Rest Period: Let the log rest for 6–8 weeks between flushes so the mycelium can rest and digest more wood nutrients before your next cold soak.

• Long-Term Care: Protect the outer bark layer from peeling or taking damage, keep the logs entirely out of direct sunlight, and look forward to beautiful gourmet harvests every autumn and spring!

**Please keep in the fridge until you’re ready to use them.

Please note this culture is sold with our Mushroom Spawn and Cultures sale agreement. By purchasing you agree to this agreement

Dimensions: 8mm diameter. Recommended 8.5mm drill bit when preparing logs.